Customer Reviews

Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The dean of English-language work on Japanese manga, Frederik Schodt has followed up his classic, Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics, in brilliant form. Dreamland is a series of essays that outline just what manga is, the otaku phenomenon, notable magazines, a who's who of individual artists and their work, and a lengthy chapter on Osamu Tezuka.
Japan is, as the author notes, a country "awash in manga." Of all the books and magazines sold in Japan in 1995, manga accounted for a stunning 40%, or some 2.3 billion (that's 15 for every Japanese person). In dollars, the industry's annual worth is in the neighborhood of $7-9 billion. At some of Japan's prestigious publishing houses, manga are subsidizing the more serious art and literature they put out.
Yet, the real triumph of manga "lies in their celebration of the ordinary." As a US comic artist notes, in the US comics are a caricature, while in Japan "it seems like most popular comics are...of normal people doing normal things." Schodt goes further: manga are "an articulation of the dream world. Reading manga is like peering into the unvarnished, unretouched reality of the Japanese mind." He concedes, though, that one must question what the overall effect of having so much information transmitted via the medium of a comic book-"that deliberately emphasizes deformation and exaggeration-has on a people.
Schodt's understanding of his theme and of Japan are breathtaking. His section on Tezuka, the originator of Kimba the White Lion and Astro Boy and many more titles, is especially well done. The God of Manga, for whom a museum has been constructed, was a friend of the author and contains many insights into a revered figure in Japan. Highly recommended-for manga and non-manga fans alike.

....and absolute gravy for the connoisseur. Actually, for the veteran manga fan, the return of Frederik Schodt in Dreamland Japan is a delight. His first book Manga! Manga! was for many of us the first scholarly recognition of the genre (which is not to say it was boring, either). His new book provides a tour of the huge variety of manga available in Japan today, from old favorites like Shonen Jump (where many of my favorite manga series, including Dragon Ball Z were first published) to the explosion of shojo (girl) manga following the success of Sailor Moon, to the more esoteric genres of hentai (pervert, or pornographic) and pachinko manga. The writing is lucid, as before, and has a sympathetic yet cool view of Japanese pop culture. There could be more illustrations (what's a book about manga without the pictures?) and a more comprehensive list of manga sources, artists, and publishers, but this is the kvetching of a longtime manga fan. Readers new to the world of manga will be surprised and enlightened.

This handy little book explains it all: why the unexplainable boom of girlie-girly obsession especially with much older males, all the different levels of manga readership ranging from boy's and girl's comics to instructive comics for young mothers who were once street punks to very cynical workplace comics for middle-aged salarymen which are not at all unlike the American comic strip "Dilbert". And you are also introduced to a great variety of Japanese comics, well-known or not - including the perverted, gross-out, and graphically violent ones that no American page will ever accept! You will personally witness the very evolution of the medium all the way from the prints of feudal days to a whole cultural spawn of both manga and anime alike that frequently (for some reason) feature the usual skinny, wide-eyed high-schooler, but not quite always. In addition, we learn all about the very surprising consquences caused by the very creation of manga, including the tragic incident of tear-gas bombing in the Toyko subways; women already into their 30s trying to look like little girls in sailor uniforms; and the massive censorship of the most offending manga. A very fascinating and educational read as well as a entertaining one all about the immensely popular work from The Far East. And if you want to learn some more, try "The Anime Companion" as well!

This is the most comprehensive overview of the topic I've read to date. It's obvious the author has a passion and uncommon depth of understanding of manga and Japanimation. At the moment, it is the authoritative reference book.Nice work, Fred.

This is the New Testament to his work of Biblical proportions Manga! Manga!. Kore kara mo kitai shite orimasu.

I have yet to read Manga! Manga!- this was what I was able to get my hands on first, but with enough background info, it is a great read. And as Schodt says in his intro, one can read Dreamland without Manga!Manga! but it is meant to be a sequel of sorts. The most useful part of the book, as a researcher, was the section with descriptions of individual artists and their works. Basically, Schodt takes you through the world around manga, the different kinds of publications, then the individual artists within those publications, and then on top of that, leaves you with some thoughts on manga in the context of art and literature in both Japan and the US. The most useful part of the book is in the back where Schodt offers some helpful resources for the English reader of manga as well as internet resources (although, no fault of the author, many of these sites are changing all the time!). All in all, a worthwhile read for many different purposes.

This book is absolutely fantastic. Many of us know about numerous anime, or "Japanimation" series like Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and others like that. But few people know much about the roots of anime, MANGA. This book is a fantastic source on modern manga in Japan. It goes over conventions, the doujinshi scene, the current state of manga, the more popular manga magazines in Japan, popular artists and their work (featuring tons of B&W illustrations), and a section devoted to Osamu Tezuka (the Manga no Kamisama, or God of Manga). Each section is well written and interesting to read. The different artists work range from romance stories to action stories to the fascinatingly grotesque works of Suehiro Maruo. This book reaffirmed my love for manga, and I'm now snapping up all the collections translated into English that I can find. The only reason it failed to get five stars is because while it is an awesome book, it's predecessor, "Manga! Manga!" is even better!

In some ways this book was even better than Manga, Manga, although I missed the manga chapters from the first book, and most of his recommended mangaka's stories are out of print. But over all it was more informative than the first book.

It tops Mr. Schodts original look at manga, which I didn't think was possible. Well researched, but at the same time engaging and easy going. Gives insight into how the Japanese people think, feel, and behave. Now if only someone would write a book on French comics and Graphic Albums.

I would highly recommend this book for all manga lovers. It provides a run-down of all the popular manga magazines in Japan, Japanese manga culture, and manga's place in society, as well as outlines of many famous and less-famous mangaka (manga writers) of interest.
Frederik Schodt is a god of manga translation, and his writings are extremely interesting, especially with regard to Tezuka Osamu.
Unfortunately, this book is rather old and it shows. The information regarding anime/manga fandom in the USA and internet resources is woefully out-of-date (fandom has exploded since the book was written, and the internet has obviously changed a ton even over the past few years), and some of the manga magazines Schodt discusses are not in print any more.
Even so, I would recommend this book for those with a solid grounding in manga or a deep interest in manga magazines/manga culture IN JAPAN.