Customer Reviews

The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917, Revised and Expanded Edition

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The first thought that runs through the mind of a potential otaku faced with the wealth of Anime films that are available is, frankly, "Where do I start." It doesn't take a great deal of time to sniff out the Evangelions and Princess Mononokes, but beyond the great successes are many lesser lights that all promise pleasure and entertainment if one only knew which they were. Of course, part of the challenge is that coming to understand anime and manga requires reaching some level of understanding of the Japanese culture that underlies them. However, the simple truth is that, lacking a guide, the effort is always in danger of becoming fruitless.

'The Anime Encyclopedia' is the answer to need. While it really isn't encyclopedic, it provides summaries, data, and even some analysis of over 2,000 anime films. The authors confess that there are probably another 2,000 films that could have been included, and a complete failure to touch on interactive (game) animation. Nevertheless, 2,000 titles covering the period from 1917 to 2001 is a lot. While the writers are rarely excessively judgmental, there is enough information to identify both films of interest and films to be avoided.

Occasionally, the reader finds a lengthy discussion, but most of the descriptions are 100 to 200 words. One will find dates, formats, key translations, creative staff, and length listed. Some indication of the appropriate audience where needed, and indication of whether English productions are available. In short, enough to navigate one's way to the winded path of an otaku's apprenticeship. The writers have a dry, witty style that makes this more than a simple catalog, but far less than a treatise. The book does exactly what it promises to do, competently and clearly. Lacking a command of Japanese, this is the best resource available for US viewers.

While it may be the best and more thoroughly thought-out book about anime so far, it is not quite as relevant as one first hopes. I bought it to have a reference guide, and for this it has proven useful. It is a great tool for finding various animes by a specific directors, or, on the flip side, finding out who produced which shows. However, this is almost the extent of its usefulness.

If one is searching for a comprehensive guide to themes in anime (say the theme of reaching maturity or of encountering alien life or of the woes of war), one will be completely disappointed. The only way to search for anime is by title or producer. If one seeks factual information about anime, like which Mangas or comic strips the animes are based on, one will be disappointed. Even basic terms, plot tools, cliches, genres, and so on are completely overlooked. Japanese culture and language are apparently never consulted by the authors. All that matters to the writers is what the title of the anime was, usually the basic plot, and who made it (and in some instances influences). And that is greatly disappointing for something called an "Encyclopedia." Also, if you seek any form of information on a spin-off or a sequel series to any anime, you are at a loss-- the only references to such follow-ups (often more important or popular than the antecedent), if at all existent, are to be found only within the entries to the original released series. As if that wasn't enough, one must also sustain insult while the author shows disdain and disregard for certain animes which may happen to be some of the most popular and loved (Evangelion comes to mind).

Of course, it is a first edition. And it is already very dated, with much important anime being too recent for any real inclusion (for example, the world-shaking Spirited Away is mentioned as an upcoming Hayao Miyazaki film). Therefore, if one seeks a comprehensive guide to what anime has been out there for a while, it is a crucial and necessary book to own, but not if one seeks to understand a particular anime better, or if one has questions about anime in general. "The Anime Reference Guide" is a title better suited for this book. Definitively buy it if such a book is what you seek, but do not expect an encyclopedia.

It is difficult being an otaku (anime fan) when it comes to finding useful source material. Most of the good information is in Japanese, and only reaches the Western viewer in a trickle-down fashion.
So, on the face of it, this would seem to be a crucial book, telling you what is out there. Alas, while this book does try to be informative and useful, it is filled with so many errors and embittered opinions, that I would not recommend using it as an authorative source. Whether it is a simple error of claiming that the anime classic "Otaku no Video" was created in 1985-- which was two years before the creator of this anime (Gainax) was founded; or the embittered opinions of attacking one series (Fushigi Yugi) merely on the grounds that it wasn't as good as another series (Escaflowne) there are many pieces of unreliable information. Series are given the wrong year, wrong number of episodes and frequently plot descriptions that are so distorted that one wonders how closely the authors followed the series in question.

When I first got this book, I thought I'd stumbled upon a wealth of information. As an amateur anime reviewer, I had wanted a more comprehensive guide to anime than the books that had been previously released, and I was convinced this should be it.

"Should" be.

For a first-time anime fan, this seems like the way to go. But for the experienced fan who has seen even a tenth of the anime listed here, the luster fades rather quickly.

Unfortunately, the Anime Encyclopedia is plagued with factual errors, occasional Anglocentric comments, and an often acerbic tone hardly befitting the word "encyclopedia". Review guide, perhaps. But impassive reference material? Hardly.

Often, the authors come up with completely new (and erroneous) title translations such as "Chancer Princess" and "Heart Mark" for anime not released in the West, whereas some shows within the time period stated (Risky Safety) are omitted outright, or hidden under discussion of nominally related titles (Gensoumaden Saiyuuki). Japanese names are misspelled or mistranslated with abandon, whether it be anime titles or creators, like Yoshizumi Wataru, here transliterated incorrectly as Yoshizumi Ayumi, and not even listed as the creator of her major anime work!

The worst part is that, as in Helen McCarthy's previous works, the authors here attempt to review and cast judgment on titles they obviously have not seen, which is reprehensible for anyone who claims to be a serious reviewer of any genre of art. The informal (and obviously British) tone of the book meshes poorly with the fact that this was released for a primarily American audience, with the authors poking fun at American distributors where there ought not to be any poking of fun at all.

While a lot of the basic information in fact is, in fact, solid, and this is currently the most comprehensive work on anime published in English to date, the Anime Encyclopedia certainly is not perfect, and could use a lot more revision ... and a lot less speculation.

In general, I avoid anime books. They seem to fall into two camps: Those by people who know nothing, and those by people who think they know everything, but see no reason to tell you. Too many are timid slaves to fan opinion, happy to be big fishes in the little pond of the convention circuit. The authors of the Anime Encyclopedia have changed all that. They honour anime by treating it was just another part of the film and TV world, but do so with years of TV experience = she as the editor of my favourite anime magazine, he as the translator of many famous shows. The result is the best ever survey of the anime medium, dwarfing even Japanese books on the subject, and listing hundreds of new titles.

It is wonderful to read a book about anime that generally delivers the goods = the Anime Encyclopedia is an education, not just in anime itself, but in its cross-overs with manga, TV , film and even kabuki. Best of all, in refusing to cut bad anime any slack, the authors have done a service to fandom as a whole. Too many people give up (or grow out) of the medium because they start off on the wrong foot, but with the Anime Encyclopedia everyone now has the chance to comprehend anime in its historical context. A fascinating introduction to an incredible medium, but liable to break some fans' hearts by telling a few unwelcome truths.

Clements and McCarthy are clearly fans of the Brooks and Marsh "Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and TV Shows", keeping closely to the style of the landmark US TV book in their groundbreaking anime study. Like Brooks and Marsh, they demonstrate unparalleled knowledge of both plot and insider information, as well as a comprehensive breakdown of entire story arcs. Unlike Brooks and Marsh, they foreground the achievements of writers, directors and designers in the creative process, revealing entire careers behind the scenes. Thanks to the Anime Encyclopedia, it is now easier to follow the career of an obscure anime writer like Masaki Tsuji, than it is to track, for example, the life of Steve Bochco in comparable American volumes. The Anime Encyclopedia sets a level of excellence that other resource guides will find hard to match, and it does it for a foreign language subject, a remarkable achievement. Though it focusses on TV shows, it also includes film and video releases, as well as innumerable references to source material -- for example, there are more *manga* discussed in this book than in Frederick L. Schodt's "Dreamland Japan".

It was only a few years ago that people couldnt even get Japanese
animations name right. It was just "that Manga stuff" to most of us, though it had a history back to the time of World War One. Helen McCarthy's Anime Guide told us that the anime world was bigger than we knew, but its taken this giant Encyclopaedia to really prove it. Since it would take eighteen years or so to watch every anime, the half-million words or so in the Anime Encyclopaedia can barely scratch the surface of this incredible world. Even so, its absolutely PACKED with data, from directors and artists to bits of history and gossip.
Theres so much info in here that after a few hours I kept getting carried away and reading the other entries around the stuff I was looking for. So I gave up and just read it from cover to cover. Now I KNOW ANIME. I still dont know kung fu though :). I dont want to complain coz this book easily should get five stars, but I still wish there was more. It could be twice the size if the authors wanted to make it that way. I hope they are writing an even bigger one :). Its funny too and shows a real love for anime: they care about Japanese animation for real, enough to be tough on it when it disappoints them. But when they tell you something is good, you know they mean it from the heart. The
best book Ive read all year... and the biggest book I own except Lord of the Rings. Thats a scary thought. :)

I really wanted to like this book. After all, it is an supposed to be a guide to Japanese animation since 1917. Clements and McCarthy were editors of British anime magazines, which should lend creditablity to this encyclopedia. One of the problems that I had with this book is that it combines the reviews and descriptions of an anime series with its respective movies. For example, the three different Tenchi series are all listed in the same entry and very little information is given about the individual series. Instead the authors of this book would rather editoralize about how awful they think the Tenchi series is, and and compare other series to it, none of which far any better in the authors eyes.
Entries in this encyclopedia range from a paragraph to a few pages. The entries will either give very a very detailed history of the series/movie, or it will contain the authors opinion of the series, which is mostly negative and led me to question if Clements and McCarthy really like anime. Sometimes I had a hard time figuring out if they were reviewing the America dub or British dub, which could account for some of the inaccuracies.
You will either love this book or hate it. The authors opinions on many popular anime series are negative, and will not be welcomed by fans whose favorite series has just been trashed. Buy this book if you want detailed production staff information. Don't buy this book if you want information on anime.

This book fulfills the dreams of all anime fans... it is a true Encyclopedia, with just about every anime described and catalogued in loving detail.

The index alone is worth it, and the sheer size of the thing (way over 500 pages) is impressive. (I just got my copy this weekend and have been combing thru it nonstop. And I'm still not finished.)

The authors have real opinions and a funny, really literate style, too. You can tell they've actually seen the anime they're writing about, which is refreshing, especially after all the pseudo-academic anime books that have come out in the past year.
In short, THIS IS IT! The Anime Encyclopedia totally replaces the old protoculture book (especially since it goes from the really old stuff--since 1917--to the present) and is a lot more complete.

If you are like me, a hardcore otaku, and merely want to have a little more insight to the lesser known animes or even need help making purchasing decisions on the most current shows released in America, this book is for you. The reviews in The Anime Encyclopedia vary greatly in size, but all contain good summaries-with only minimal spoilers-and it is full of humor and the authors' own (good) opinions. I have agreed with every review in this comprehensive Encyclopedia.

But even the people out there who are just starting to get into anime, or the friends and family members who are wondering just what the heck we find so cool about these shows, this book is also for you. Each review gives the Japanese, English, and many variable titles of the show, the year it was first released, major crew members, the number of episodes and their length, tells what the show is about, usually what the authors think about the show, and content descriptors for you concerned parents out there.

Whether you are a veteran otaku or a newbie who just wants to learn more about anime, I highly recommend this book based on the excellent opinions, color commentary, and the vast amount of information to be gathered in its pages.

Thanks go to the authors: Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy for such good bathroom reading!