Stray Dog of Anime: The Films of Mamoru Oshii [Hardcover]

Brian Ruh (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1403963290 | ISBN-13: 978-1403963291 | Publication Date: June 12, 2004 | Edition: 1st

Upon its US release in the mid-1990s Ghost in the Shell, directed by Mamoru Oshii, quickly became one of the most popular Japanese animation films, or anime, in the country. Despite these accolades, Oshii is known as a contrarian within anime, a self-proclaimed "stray dog", with a unique cinematic vision. Working in both live-action film and animation, directing everything from absurdist comedy to thrillers to meditations on the nature of reality, Oshii defies the confines of genre and form. Stray Dog of Anime is the first book to take an in-depth look at his major films, from the early days working on Urusei Yatsura to Avalon, his most recent feature. Ruh details Oshii's evolution as a director, paying special attention to his personal style and symbolism, resulting in a unique guide that will appeal to anime fans and cineastes of all kinds.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fine introduction to one of Japanese animation's few true auteurs, Stray Dog examines Oshii's films from both sides of the camera. Brian Ruh's work is scholarly but readable, and affirmative but critical -- an education for academics and fans alike. Welcome to Class Real." --Jonathan Clements, co-author, The Anime Encyclopedia

"Brian Ruh's Stray Dog of Anime is a wonderfully accessible introduction to Oshii Mamoru, one of the most brilliant and challenging anime directors working today. Stray Dog provides a fine overview of the spiritual, aesthetic and political issues that weave through Oshii's work. This book is an excellent resource on a major director, still too little studied in the States. Fans of Oshii and fans of anime in general will find it both stimulating and enlightening."
--Susan Napier, author of Anime: from Akira to Princess Mononoke

"Ruh deserves attention simply for stepping up to the mat as one of the few writers building a framework for the mature appreciation of anime as a creative form by British and American viewers, but he's also provided an overview of one of the medium's most interesting figures. His synthesis of the available material is accompanied by a passionately argued statement of Oshii's importance as director and auteur. There's plenty to interest students of film as well as anime buffs, and Ruh's thoughts will generate argument in fan circles throughout the English-speaking world."
--Helen McCarthy, Author of Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation and The Anime Encyclopedia

"Brian Ruh's new book Stray Dog of Anime: The Films of Mamoru Oshii is the first comprehensive treatment in English on a Japanese director who is by turns familiar, alien, grim, funny, evasive, brutal, ethereal, and deeply human. Readers will begin to understand why the imagination of Mamoru Oshii inspires The Matrix's Wachowski brothers and Titanic's James Cameron. Stray Dog will be of interest not only to those who want to get to know Mamoru Oshii, but those who presumed they already knew him well. For those new to Mamoru Oshii, Stray Dog of Anime is the viewer's companion to have. For those already fans, Stray Dog is likely to provoke at least half-a-dozen new questions."
--Carl Gustav Horn, co-author, Japan Edge: The Insider's Guide to Japanese Pop Subculture

From the Inside Flap

“A fine introduction to one of Japanese animation’s few true auteurs, Stray Dog examines Oshii’s films from both sides of the camera. Brian Ruh’s work is scholarly but readable, and affirmative but critical -- an education for academics and fans alike. Welcome to Class Real.” --Jonathan Clements, co-author, The Anime Encyclopedia

“Brian Ruh’s Stray Dog of Anime is a wonderfully accessible introduction to Oshii Mamoru, one of the most brilliant and challenging anime directors working today. Stray Dog provides a fine overview of the spiritual, aesthetic and political issues that weave through Oshii’s work. This book is an excellent resource on a major director, still too little studied in the States. Fans of Oshii and fans of anime in general will find it both stimulating and enlightening.”
--Susan Napier, author of Anime: from Akira to Princess Mononoke

“Ruh deserves attention simply for stepping up to the mat as one of the few writers building a framework for the mature appreciation of anime as a creative form by British and American viewers, but he’s also provided an overview of one of the medium’s most interesting figures. His synthesis of the available material is accompanied by a passionately argued statement of Oshii’s importance as director and auteur. There’s plenty to interest students of film as well as anime buffs, and Ruh’s thoughts will generate argument in fan circles throughout the English-speaking world.”
--Helen McCarthy, Author of Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation and The Anime Encyclopedia

“Brian Ruh’s new book Stray Dog of Anime: The Films of Mamoru Oshii is the first comprehensive treatment in English on a Japanese director who is by turns familiar, alien, grim, funny, evasive, brutal, ethereal, and deeply human. Readers will begin to understand why the imagination of Mamoru Oshii inspires The Matrix’s Wachowski brothers and Titanic‘s James Cameron. Stray Dog will be of interest not only to those who want to get to know Mamoru Oshii, but those who presumed they already knew him well. For those new to Mamoru Oshii, Stray Dog of Anime is the viewer’s companion to have. For those already fans, Stray Dog is likely to provoke at least half-a-dozen new questions.”
--Carl Gustav Horn, co-author, Japan Edge: The Insider’s Guide to Japanese Pop Subculture

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition (June 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403963290
• ISBN-13: 978-1403963291
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,480,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am the author of 'Stray Dog of Anime: The Films of Mamoru Oshii.' I am currently studying at Indiana University working on my PhD in Communication and Culture.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bring this Stray Dog Home., March 3, 2008

By 

Ahmad Jordan "Ahmad Jordan" (Bufalo, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stray Dog of Anime: The Films of Mamoru Oshii (Paperback)

I wrote a review of the book "Cinema of Mamoru Oshii: Fantasy, Technology and Politics by Dani Cavallaro", describing it as "comprehensive, even if a bit dense." Well, Brian Ruh's book "Stray Dog of Anime" accomplishes the same goal that Cavallaro set out to accomplish, only minus the thick academic language. This is not a slight to Cavallaro's work, which should help bring Oshii's genius into the line of sight of Western Academia. However, for the rest of us who appreciate an intelligent yet more accessible style of writing, there is Ruh's book.

What's interesting is that Ruh's book captures the same format as Cavallaro's, walking the reader through Oshii's work in chronological order. Ruh follows a helpful outline approach that offers an introduction, description, synopsis and, finally, analytic commentary on each film. Ruh's dissection of each film is presented in a conversational format that is without pretense. Readers like myself will especially appreciate the Oshii interview excerpts throughout the book. In fact, I bought both books hoping to find not just a critical look at Oshii's films, but also some insight from the man himself. It's always a good feeling to come across an outside view of a movie or film director that is in line with my own. I really appreciated how Ruh takes notice of Oshii's maturation through each film, with Patlabor 2 being something of a pivotal point in Oshii's more subdued yet enriching approach to how dialog and mood is captured and conveyed in his films.

Unfortunately, my favorite Oshii film -- Innocence -- was not yet finished at the time of the publishing of this book, so you won't find any discussion about this film. But it is a minor miss for an otherwise well written, comprehensive inspection of Oshii's other works.

If you can afford it, buy this book and Cavallaro's together.