Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle, Updated Edition: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation [Paperback]

Susan J. Napier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 24, 2005

This new edition of the groundbreaking popular book 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--Miyazaki's latest hit film, already breaking records in Japan--this edition will be the authoritative source on anime for an exploding market of viewers who want to know more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the first edition:
"...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

About the Author

Susan J. Napier is Professor of Japanese Literature and Culture at the University of Texas, Austin.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; Revised and Updated edition (November 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403970521
• ISBN-13: 978-1403970527
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This review is full of phallic symbols, too., May 16, 2011

By 

L. Sanchez - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle, Updated Edition: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation (Paperback)

Whether it is still relatively new to us, or as Westerners we are close-minded to accept what the overwhelming world of Japanese popular culture has to offer--nevertheless there are not a lot of texts published (academic or otherwise) on the topic. While it is nice to see anime and manga recognized as valid art forms, personally, I don't find Susan Napier to be the one to write about these sorts of things. I was forced to read this book for a class on the visual pop culture of Japan, and although I am not entirely familiar with many of the series she mentions, I still know the difference between a good and bad argument in academic writing.

Although she means well and brings up relevant points (like the three types of series: elegiac, festival, and apocalyptic plotlines) and has the occasional interesting and original interpretation or idea (though scarce), the book soon becomes chapter after chapter of Freudian thought and it's not only tiresome, but it makes me question if she is doing this for shock value and sex appeal, or if she truly believes InuYasha's sword is a phallic symbol or the blood smeared on San's ("Princess Mononoke"'s) face is reflective of her menstrual cycle, which Napier uses to instantly suggest she is feminine and fertile, while immediately countering it with counts of San's masculine acts, constantly in this wishy-washy pattern that makes the book hard to comprehend. It was amusing the first time, but it just becomes ludicrous how often she thinks of characters and symbols sexually, instead of for what they are or other possible interpretations, and sees gender as a black-and-white issue, and has to bring it up for every series, regardless of its demographics. She stretches it a little too far when she analyzes the grotesquely pornographic anime "Legend of Overfiend" and suggests "the film's orgy sequences may hint at the financial orgies engaged in by Japan's newly rich at the height of the bubble economy" (273). I don't know about you, but I think most of the people who enjoy pornography aren't watching it for the profound political satire and social critiques.

If you enjoy reading bad arguments and wondering how many times you can see the word "vagina" in a chapter (13 times in chapter 4), and if you are also a fan of really dated anime and authors who twist their source material and use selective but completely irrelevant quotes to fit their arguments, then I would recommend this book. Otherwise, stay far away from it.
The saddest part is that this was an updated version, and as it has errors of its own, it makes me wonder how many errors were in the first edition (From Akira to Princess Mononoke), and if any of those errors were fixed. It also makes me wonder, and a little afraid, if Napier will update this book again with more relevant anime series or films (From Akira to...Ponyo?) and I can only hope for the best in the future of Japanese popular culture in the Western world.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than reviews indicate, November 30, 2011

By 

E. Bauman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle, Updated Edition: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation (Paperback)

The problem with long-time otaku is they are fans beyond the scope of any introductory book on this topic and thus dismiss that which doesn't meet their standards for reasons that those new to the topic will neither be aware of nor care about. This book is a fine effort for the purposes of the author's goal -- explaining the topic in overview and then with detail using selected works. Its imperfections are simply no worse than any other general book on anime and it does offer a reasonable academic discussion on a very large subject with many facets.

One-star reviews are rarely justified, and this is the case here. Expecting this book to be either encyclopedic or current is pointless. And the choices of films to analyze as examples is arbitrary at best. The complaints here about the author's choices are no more valid than those from fans who invariably write to entertainment magazines complaining about films and actors/directors being left out of best or top 25/50 lists. Such quibbling is best ignored given the wide range of tastes in anime, differences of opinion and limitations of space.

The emphasis on sex is hardly out of place given the unique, frequent and varied manner in which it appears in an art form (animation) that usually has little or no such content outside of anime. The author attempts to bring all of this into perspective, and the repetitive use of certain words is hardly a valid issue given the circumstances. Her extensive notes and quotes make it obvious this book isn't simply a fabricated matrix of interpretation by her. One might not agree, but to dismiss her work as wrong is itself quite incorrect.

All in all, this is a fine read for anyone curious about and interested in anime. Should it be the only book one reads on the topic? Probably not, but that doesn't mean there's not significant value in it. Ignore the negative reviews and enjoy this work for what it brings to the subject. If you want reviews of an extensive list of anime films and tv series, there are other books that do this -- with the caveat that reviews are personal opinion and not the last word or fact no matter how experienced the reviewer is.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars It frightens me that students may be 'learning' about anime from this, May 10, 2011

By 

Melissa - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle, Updated Edition: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation (Paperback)

As it is still relatively uncharted territory, good academia on anime is difficult for students to find. While this book is certainly a step in the right direction, it is not--in any way, shape, or form--where a discussion on the subject should end.

The book's strong points mainly lie in its broadest, most generalized ideas. Most notable, I believe, is Napier's argument that the majority of anime deals with one or more of three major themes: the apocalyptic, the elegiac, and/or the carnival. In general, the rest of the book focuses on these three modes and the way that they are portrayed, using specific titles as examples. However, I felt that, to some degree, she lost her thread somewhere along the way; instead of discussing the apocalyptic, elegiac, and carnival aspects, the chapters became a mash-up of arguments on why everything you see is a reference to sex or sexuality. I read this book for a class on visual Japanese culture, and more than once my classmates and I could not help but grumble over her arguably gratuitous, page-long descriptions of how, apparently, everything we see on screen is either a phallic symbol or a vagina in disguise. While Napier is, of course, free to interpret shows as she wishes, some of her claims just smack as silly to those who have watched the series in question. For example, while I found her chapter on the subject interesting, as a fan of "Ranma ½," I must confess that I have never interpreted Ranma, his father, and Ryoga's transformations (and subsequent reactions to those transformations) as a code for "female[s ...] being inferior to either pig or panda" (55). I have heard it said that Naiper's works are popular because she focuses on the "sexy;" this is true, and it grows very tiring, very quickly.

Still, disagreeing with certain arguments made by the author is not the reason I would dissuade people from using this book. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, so long as those opinions are based on some degree of fact. Disturbingly, however, Napier has a tendency to twist the plots and characters of shows to fit her arguments, rather than the other way around. Though I have not personally watched the series, others in my class who are fans of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and "Cowboy Bebop" were quick to discredit statements she made about characters and plot (or lack thereof, as it were). The inconsistencies (as well as blatant untruths) my peers and I were able to pick out of the book made it difficult to trust any claims she made, particularly when said claims were based on series that we hadn't personally seen. This is a tendency which, quite frankly, `does not a good reference book make.' By the same token, there were times when I found myself wondering how long it had been since Napier had last watched the anime she was discussing--or even if she'd watched it at all. On page 209, for instance, she features two pictures from the "Ranma ½" anime, and both are mislabeled. (The first picture misrepresents the scene in question; the second is a screecap of Ranma and his mother, not Ranma and Akane.)

To some degree, minor faults and dissatisfactions with the book--feeling as if it was very narrow in scope, growing frustrated with the distinct lack of more recent series-- can be attributed to the fact that anime, as a genre and medium of entertainment, is incredibly diverse and ever-changing, making it difficult to stay current. However, this does not forgive Napier for the glaring factual errors she made, both accidentally and (debatably) on purpose-- especially when this is supposed to be an updated version of a previous release.

While the overarching ideas have potential, I would not recommend "Anime: From Akira to Howl's Moving Caslte" to anyone to use in class or for study, unless they already have enough background knowledge on the subject to separate the fact from the fiction. Even then, tread with caution--you're likely to get very annoyed, very fast.