Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. [Hardcover]

Roland Kelts (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1403974756 | ISBN-13: 978-1403974754 | Publication Date: November 28, 2006 | Edition: 1st

Contemporary Japanese pop culture such as anime and manga (Japanese animation and comic books) is Asia's equivalent of the Harry Potter phenomenon--an overseas export that has taken America by storm. While Hollywood struggles to fill seats, Japanese anime releases are increasingly outpacing American movies in number and, more importantly, in the devotion they inspire in their fans. But just as Harry Potter is both "universal" and very English, anime is also deeply Japanese, making its popularity in the United States totally unexpected. Japanamerica is the first book that directly addresses the American experience with the Japanese pop phenomenon, covering everything from Hayao Miyazaki's epics, the burgeoning world of hentai, or violent pornographic anime, and Puffy Amiyumi, whose exploits are broadcast daily on the Cartoon Network, to literary novelist Haruki Murakami, and more. With insights from the artists, critics, readers and fans from both nations, this book is as literate as it is hip, highlighting the shared conflicts as American and Japanese pop cultures dramatically collide in the here and now.

For more information visit http://www.japanamericabook.com/

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The influx of Japanese art and fashion into the American cultural mainstream gets an entertaining treatment from Kelts, an essayist and lecturer at the University of Tokyo, who interviewed many of Japan's leading culture gurus over the past three years. Kelts is clearly most interested in the world of anime and manga (from Pokémon to Princess Mononoke), as his readers will most likely be. A primary theme is that of the Japanese paradox: how has such a strictly defined and rigid society produced pop art that is, compared to its American counterparts at least, wildly imaginative and boundary bursting? Kelts's belief is that one directly created the other, that anime and manga's wild and kinetic structures, hyperaddictive apocalyptic story lines and surprisingly emotional content (not to mention sex and violence unheard of in American pop culture) could never flourish in an openly permissive and individualistic society that had not experienced nuclear devastation. Although the book grasps too eagerly at its subject's grander implications, it still effectively conveys the cross-Pacific cultural dissonance. Kelts has a sharp grasp of his subject and is on sure ground when discussing the history of the form, especially the impact of Disney on postwar Japanese animators or the reverential awe in which American animators hold such filmmakers as Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away). (Dec.)
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Review

"Embrace the world of otaku in Roland Kelts' comprehensive study of how Japanese pop culture enchanted the West, from Speed Racer and Pokémon to cosplay and hentai manga."
--Wired magazine

"Japanamerica offers an intriguing picture of anime's import..."
--The Boston Globe
 
"Like a Wired magazine article on steroids, Japanamerica segues between street-cred observation and bullish corporate discourse. Kelts's analysis is more nuanced than that of a typical otaku ... [and] Japanamerica is a broad primer; if you're seeking investment opportunities, it's practically a prospectus."
--The Village Voice
 
"Kelts has a sharp grasp of his subject and is on sure ground..."
--Publisher's Weekly

 

"Japanamerica is the book I have been waiting for.  It tells the incredible story of the way the colorful and eccentric world of Japanese entertainment and popular art has enriched our lives in the West.  But it also deals with why it has a poetry that has taken Americans many years to understand and feel able to echo.  Japan's holocaust was equally traumatic to the ones experienced by many Americans, and perhaps more sudden, more extreme and more focused. This story shows how today we all use movies, comics, music, art and advertising to face our past and its traumas, rather than to escape.  The Japanese methods of facing the past are restrained and unusual, but ultimately glorious, and mean more to us in our post-9/11 era than ever they could before.  Roland Kelts, part American, part Japanese, brings real insight to the way this union of hearts and souls through entertainment will continue to grow and draw two very different worlds together."
--Pete Townshend, The Who

 

"Roland Kelts sees deeply and writes elegantly; he gives us a unique and powerful vision of Japanese and Western culture."

--Daniel Bergner, author of In the Land of Magic Soldiers and God of the Rodeo

"Roland Kelts is a keen observer of both American and Japanese pop culture, placing him in a unique position to discuss the rise of anime in America and the West."

--Martha McPhee, author of Bright Angel Time

 

"The brain of Roland Kelts is not only a brilliant interpreter of places where Japanese and American culture meet, it is also one such important place."

--Matthew Sharpe, author of the NBC book club selection, The Sleeping Father, and Nothing is Terrible, Stories from the Tube, and the forthcoming Jamestown: A Novel

 

"As the step-mother of an anime-crazed teen, I read Japanamerica curious to understand the obsession. What I didn't expect was that Roland Kelts's intelligent and precise observations would shed so much light on my own cultural experience."

--Adrienne Brodeur, author of Man Camp, Founding Editor of Zoetrope: All-Story

 

"Japanamerica provides insight into the collision of Eastern and Western pop culture, and the aftermath that is this cutting edge phenomenom known as Anime."

--Joe Hahn, Linkin Park

 

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition (November 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403974756
• ISBN-13: 978-1403974754
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #474,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Roland Kelts, half-Japanese American writer, editor and lecturer, lives half of each year in Tokyo and New York. He is the author of "Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture has Invaded the US," writes about contemporary Japan for several publications in the US and Japan, and is a frequent commentator on Japan for National Public Radio and the BBC. His forthcoming novel is called "Access." He also plays the drums.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, February 7, 2007

By 

Alex Carson (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. (Hardcover)

I read this book after a Village Voice critic called it "a Wired Magazine article on steroids," and Ain't It Cool News said that it was "an imperative resource." Then Bookforum called it "an amazing ride," and The Boston Globe raved.
Then: Even Pete Townshend of The Who endorsed it!
I am skeptical of books trying to capitalize on trends, and very skeptical of books on Japan. But the chorus of praise from so many different voices was enough for me.
This book is written in lucid, carefully crafted prose--telling you everything you need to know about transcultural entertainment and the psychological and spiritual traumas embedded in pop culture, and also precisely what makes Japan so sexy to Westerners in the 21st Century. It is also hip and smart, and very accessible. I only wished it were longer.
The author is no geek, but a writer of considerable talent and range. Get Japanamericaa now.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Anime, December 28, 2006

By 

William Hagen (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. (Hardcover)

Americans like to think that our culture sets the standard for the rest of the world; however, Kelts takes us beyond our narrow cultural lens to understand the pervasive influence of Japanese aesthetics on the US. Kelts has an engaging and provocative writing style that educates and entertains. This book will satisfy a wide group of readers, including students of popular culture, Japanophiles, and "otaku." As a member of the first group, I couldn't put it down.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, perhaps overreaching, June 5, 2009

By 

John E. Vidale "conventional Earth scientist" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. (Paperback)

I bought this book after seeing the author speak at the 2009 anime festival in Seattle. He has a significant and enlightening story to tell about the emergence of anime and manga in America. He describes how the American version is distinct from the original, and which personalities made it what it is today.

I found the first half fascinating, the next quarter interesting, and the final quarter of the book difficult to digest and even harder to gain much credence. Personally, I think anime is what it is, and where it goes next cannot be predicted. By the end, I also thought, for all its elegance and fascination, anime is more attitude than it is substance.

Nevertheless, this major cultural movement defies casual inspection, and this book is an excellent guide for the inquisitive.