Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke : experiencing contemporary Japanese animation

Napier, Susan Jolliffe. (Author).

Summary: Japanese animation, known as anime to its fans, has a firm hold on American pop culture. However, anime is much more than children's cartoons. It runs the gamut from historical epics to sci-fi sexual thrillers. Often dismissed as fanciful entertainment, anime is actually quite adept at portraying important social and cultural issues such as alienation, gender inequality, and teenage angst. This book investigates the ways that anime presents these issues in an in-depth and sophisticated manner, uncovering the identity conflicts, fears over rapid technological advancement, and other key themes present in much of Japanese animation.

Item details

ISBN: 0312238622 (hbk.)
ISBN: 0312238630 (pbk.)
Physical Description: print
viii, 311 p. : col. ill. ; 22 cm.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: New York : Palgrave, 2001.

Contents / Notes

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [291]-299) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Why anime? -- Anime and local/global identity -- Akira and Ranma 1/2 : the monstrous adolescent -- Controlling bodies : the body in pornographic anime -- Ghosts and machines : the technological body -- Doll parts : technology and the body in Ghost in the shell -- The enchantment of estrangement : the sh*ojo in the world of Miyazaki Hayao -- Carnival and conservatism in romantic comedy -- No more words : Barefoot Gen, Grave of the fireflies, and "victim's history" -- Princess Mononoke : fantasy, the feminine, and the myth of "progress" -- Waiting for the end of the world : apocalyptic identity -- Elegies -- Conclusion : A fragmented mirror -- Appendix : The fifth look : Western audiences and Japanese animation.