Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation

by Susan J. Napier

Overview

This new edition of the groundbreaking popular book from Susan J Napier, Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle, is a must-have for both seasoned and new fans of anime.

Japanese animation is more popular than ever following the 2002 Academy Award given to Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away. It confirmed that anime is more than just children's cartoons, often portraying important social and cultural themes. With new chapters on Spirited Away and other recent releases, including Howl's Moving Castle— which broke records in Japan—this edition will be the authoritative source on anime for an exploding market of viewers who want to know more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781403970527
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/29/2005
Edition description:	Second Edition, Revised
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.55(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Susan J. Napier is Professor of Japanese Studies at Tufts University. She is the author of several books including, The Fantastic in Japanese Literature: The Subversion of Modernity and Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle.

Table of Contents

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION * Foreword to the Updated Edition * Why Anime? * Anime and Global/Local Identity * PART TWO: BODY, METAMORPHOSIS, IDENTITY * Akira and Ranma ½ : 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 * Stray: Gender Panics, Masculine Crises, and Fantasy * PART THREE: MAGICAL GIRLS AND FANTASY WORLDS * The Enchantment of Estrangement: The Shojo in the World of Miyazaki Hayao * Now You See Her, Now You Don't: The Disappeaing Shojo * Carnival and Conservatism in Romantic Comedy * PART FOUR: REMAKING MASTER NARRATIVES: ANIME CONFRONTS HISTORY * No More Words: Barefoot Gen, Grave of 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

Editorial Reviews

...A thoughtful and carefully researched account.” —The New York Times

“Napier draws a rather complete picture of Japanese animation as a legitimate art form, and uses anime as a key to the culture that creates it.” —Entertainment Weekly

“This worthy addition to the burgeoning literature on Japanese popular culture will stand the test of time.” —Choice

“This is a riveting and inspiring book, one that I have thoroughly enjoyed reading and from which I have learned a great deal. As a source of concrete information about Japanese animation it is invaluable.” —Sharon Kinsella, Cambridge University

“Informative, well-written, and yet entertaining...both generous and critically insightful.” —Sharalyn Orbaugh, University of British Columbia

From the Publisher