Customer Reviews

Japanese Visual Culture: Explorations in the World of Manga and Anime

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

 

 

Just in terms of the expansive area with which MacWilliams covers the topic of Japanese Visual Culture is enough to warrant kudos. This book collects writers from across the globe to comment on Japanese visuals, aesthetics, and media from before the world knew of Hokusai's views of Mount Fuji all the way up to computer-generated animation in films like Ghost in the Shell 2.

However, this book does not merely cover the historicity of Japanese visual culture but how it has impacted gender relations, politics, international relations, and cultural identity.

While this book does tend to get bogged down in certain areas through repetition in multiple articles (how much do we really need to hear about the changes Shojo manga brought to the industry or how Osamu Tezuka is the founder of modern manga and anime?) the book is a great foundational piece for anyone looking to further their own studies on the subject of Japanese visual culture.