Mechademia 1: Emerging Worlds of Anime and Manga [Paperback]

Frenchy Lunning (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 22, 2006

After decades in which American popular culture dominated global media and markets, Japanese popular culture—primarily manga and anime, but also toys, card and video games, and fashion—has exploded into a worldwide phenomenon. From Pokémon and the Power Rangers to Paranoia Agent and Princess Mononoke, Japanese popular culture is consumed by an eager and exponentially increasing audience of youths, teenagers, and adults. Mechademia, a new annual edited by Frenchy Lunning, begins an innovative and fresh conversation among scholars, critics, and fans about the complexity of art forms like Superflat, manga, and anime. The inaugural volume, Mechademia 1 engages the rise of Japanese popular culture through game design, fashion, graphic design, commercial packaging, character creation, and fan culture. Promoting dynamic ways of thinking, along with state-of-the-art graphic design and a wealth of images, this cutting-edge work opens new doors between academia and fandom. The premiere issue features the interactive worlds that anime and manga have created, including the origins of cosplay (the manga and anime costume subculture), Superflat, forgotten images from a founding manga artist, video game interactivity, the nature of anime fandom in America, and the globalization of manga. Contributors: Anne Allison, Duke U; William L. Benzon; Christopher Bolton, Williams College; Vern L. Bullough, California State U, Northridge; Martha Cornog; Patrick Drazen; Marc Hairston; Mari Kotani; Thomas LaMarre; Antonia Levi, Portland State U; Thomas Looser, NYU; Susan Napier, U of Texas, Austin; Michelle Ollie; Timothy Perper; Sara Pocock; Brian Ruh; Takayuki Tatsumi, Keio U, Tokyo; Toshiya Ueno, Wako U, Tokyo; Theresa Winge, U of Northern Iowa; Mark J. P. Wolf, Concordia U; Wendy Siuyi Wong, York U. Frenchy Lunning is professor of liberal arts at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: University Of Minnesota Press; 1 edition (December 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816649456
• ISBN-13: 978-0816649457
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #564,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full table of contents, October 20, 2007

By 

Christopher A. Bolton (Williamstown, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mechademia 1: Emerging Worlds of Anime and Manga (Paperback)

The full table of contents for this book is as follows:

"The Japan Fad in Global Youth Culture and Millennial Capitalism"
by Anne Allison

"Globalizing Manga: From Japan to Hong Kong and Beyond"
by Wendy Siuyi Wong

"The World of Anime Fandom in America"
by Susan Napier

"Costuming the Imagination: Origins of Anime and Manga Cosplay"
by Theresa Winge

"Assessing Interactivity in Video Game Design"
by Mark J.P. Wolf

"Mori Minoru's Day of Resurrection"
Introduced by Takayuki Tatsumi

"Superflat and the Layers of Image and History in 1990's Japan"
by Thomas Looser

Kurenai no Metalsuits, "Anime to wa nani ka/What is animation"
by Ueno Toshiya, translated by Michael Arnold

"Anime: The Multiplanar Image."
by Thomas Lamarre

"The Werewolf in the Crested Kimono: The Wolf-Human Dynamic in Anime and Manga"
by Antonia Levi

"Metamorphosis of the Japanese Girl: The Girl, the Hyper-Girl, and the Fighting Beauty"
by Mari Kotani

"Revolutionary Girl Utena: Manga and Anime Citations"
Compiled by Timothy Perper and Martha Cornog


REVIEW & COMMENTARY SECTION
(Edited by Timothy Perper and Martha Cornog)

"Metropolis," reviewed by Bill Benzon; "Adult Manga: Culture and Power in Contemporary Japanese Society," by Sharon Kinsella, reviewed by Vern Bullough; "Mobile Suit Gundam," by Tomino Yoshiyuki, translated by Fred Schodt, reviewed by Patrick Drazen; "Maria-Sama ga Miteru" and "Azumanga Daioh," reviewed by Marc Hairston; "Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics," by Paul Gravett and "Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews," by Fred Patten, reviewed By Brian Ruh; "Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Adolescence of Utena,"by Saito Chiho, reviewed by Timothy Perper and Martha Cornog.

TORENDO SECTION
(Edited by Michelle Ollie)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect!!!, December 12, 2008

By 

Valeria F. Silva "Valéria Fernandes" (Brasilia, DF, Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mechademia 1: Emerging Worlds of Anime and Manga (Paperback)

As an anime and manga fan and an academic researcher, I see Mechademia as a great contribution. This first number has not the maturity of the following volumes, but it's fresh and full of great information and discussions. The Utena's article was my favorite, great contribution for feminist and gender studies concerning shoujo anime and manga. I'm really satisfied with my acquisition.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Put your thinking cap on!, November 3, 2008

By 

Kayuga - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mechademia 1: Emerging Worlds of Anime and Manga (Paperback)

This a literary journal that discusses the anime/manga fandom on an intellectual level. I enjoyed this very much. The disscussions on animation in general were very interesting, i learned a lot. I read this a long time ago, so i'm a bit fuzzy on the other essays, but if manga/anime, is as much a part of your life, as it is apart of mine, then you owe yourself to check this out, and it's following volumes.