Customer Reviews

Anime Essentials: Every Thing a Fan Needs to Know

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I already owned Poitras' The Anime Companion and regularly visit his Web site, so I knew Anime Essentials would be a great book. Anime Essentials has A LOT of great, useful information for those just beginning to learn about anime beyond the Sailor Moon and Pokémon crazes, covering many facets from history to distribution to making connections to merchandise. Also included are 41 recommended anime titles (films, series, and OAVs), as well as various anime resources.

As an otaku, I still found plenty of new information in this book, as well as a fresh new perspective on several anime titles. Of the 41 recommended titles, I have seen all but five, which I suppose marks my "status" as an otaku. Poitras' insights into the famous Otaku no video were especially interesting, and can teach even diehard anime otaku more about this great series.

This is a great book for parents, teachers, and anyone else who deals with children who regularly watch CardCaptors, Sailor Moon, Pokémon, and other anime what anime is really about, and this information will be especially useful as these children grow and move on to more "sophisticated" anime. (If only this book had been available when I first discovered anime.....)

I was sincerely looking forward to this book, as any new addition to the body of literature on anime is a good one. However, the first thing I noticed is how small the book is; it barely squeaks over 125 pages. At the same time, the font used for the main text seems excessively large. What this means is that there was far less actual reading material in this book than I had originally hoped for?

And the content? I didn't find much new in this book, which was another disappointment; I was hoping to discover some great insider information and maybe a few fan secrets. Admittedly, this book isn't written for fans like me. Rather, this is a fairly painless entry into the world of Japanese animation, and with that in mind it serves its purpose very well. Still, it should have been titled "A Basic Primer" rather than "Every Thing a Fan Needs to Know."

I'm too old to have discovered Japanese manga and anime in my youth, but I've made up for that the past few years. Being interested in Japanese culture and literature generally, I had some understanding of why anime is the way it is, and why it's so much different from American or European graphic art, but reading this well-written book, I found there was a great deal I had missed. Poitras writes from the fan's point of view, so he knows what questions he should be addressing -- everything from the "big eye" mania, to the difference between hentai and mainstream manga, to the nervousness among the U.S. morals police about "foreign" art, to actually setting up and publicizing a fan group, plus the ins and outs of model kits, imported publications, and so on. There's also an excellent rundown of recommended anime titles and series, which I've photocopied as a checklist. This book doesn't tell you everything you need to know, but it's a good place to start.

First viewing this book I had my doubts, but reading through it proved it was worth it cost. This book is for just about anyone who is interested in becoming an otaku, or even someone who has been an otaku for some time. It gives references to an anime entitle "Otaku no Video" throughout. Also excellent hints for starting your own anime club in your area. Fallowed by a list of anime titles, web site, etc... It gives you infomation, and alows you to come up with some of your own ideas. If you are looking to become an otaku this book will put you well on the track.

This was one of the first books I ever read on the subject of anime fandom. I found it mind-bogglingly informative! Since I first read it, I have recommended it to any number of friends also hoping to get into anime. It includes all of anime's basic points in a very friendly format. Even now (as a seasoned anime fan) I still revisit it if I need a brush-up on the essentials! ^_^

This book is much better at talking about anime fan culture than anime itself. If you're interested in knowing more about the films, there are better resources such as "Anime Explosion", "Samurai from Outer Space" or, for the more academically inclined, "Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke"

This book was a needed resource when it was first published in 2001, but now (2011) there are newer, better guides available. This book is written at about a middle-school reading level as a very simple introduction. However a better anime overview for middle school kids would be the 2008 reference "Anime" by Hal Marcovitz. For parents and educators, a more thorough explanation of the anime phenomenon is available in the superb Understanding Manga and Anime.

Anime Essentials has an introduction and ten chapters, all of which are framed by the anime Otaku no Video (the cover for the book is also from Otaku no Video). Throughout the book, screen shots from the anime are included under the title "Lessons From Otaku no Video." Below each screen shot is an explanation of the context of the shot in the anime, and how it ties in to the topic being discussed in that part of the book.

In each chapter, when Poitras comes to a term that needs to be defined, or has other notes to include to explain concepts, there is a break in the text. After putting a line of dots in bold print, the term or concept will be listed underneath. The explanation for the term or the concept is in a different font from the rest of the text in the book.

In the book, Poitras explains how anime is released, looks at the eras of anime, explains various anime genres, talks about anime conventions, connections with manga, how to be a fan, controversies in anime, anime merchandise, recommends some anime titles, and also includes a listing of some print and online anime resources. One of the most interesting things Poitras did in the book is to break out the "generations" of American anime fans, as to when they became aware of anime. I had never seen this done before, so I found this section to be of interest. However, I have to question why Sailor Moon was given a generation, but that Dragon Ball Z did not. While Sailor Moon helped bring more awareness to anime to young girls, Dragon Ball Z is also an important milestone. Outside of that, however, I think Poitras did a good job breaking down the generations of American anime fandom.

Anime Essentials is a fairly quick and easy read, and is definitely geared more toward anime newcomers than to seasoned anime fans. However, I still found some sections of the book enjoyable. Not only did I learn something from the American anime fan generations, I also learned a bit about the anime merchandise that is released in Japan. I would definitely recommend Anime Essentials to someone who is just starting to wade into anime fandom, or to those who are still early on in their anime fandom.

I have been an anime fan now for about 6 or 7 years, and like most here in the U.S., I got my anime roots through undam Wing (I am still a HUGE Gundam fan). Anyway, I saw features about this book in some magazines I read, so I went to my local comic book store to buy it. It showed me EVERYTHING I needed to at least get a basic understanding of the themes and different variations of anime. Now, I enjoy all styles of anime and am even beginning to build a small collection. I would also recommend at least checking out "What's Japanese in Japanese Animation". I know I sure will.

Good for beginners, but definitly not EVERYTHING a fan needs to know. Though it has great detail and a great section on conventions I (a beginner) still feel a little lost. It's a wonderful book all the same.