Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation

With the popularity of Pokemon still far from waning, 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 like 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.

Author: S. Napier
Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan
Published: 05/02/2003
Pages: 311
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.71lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.58w x 0.85d
ISBN: 9780312238636

Review Citation(s):
Choice 11/01/2001 pg. 502

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