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Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews by [Fred Patten, Carl Macek]

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Fred Patten

Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews Kindle Edition

by Fred Patten (Author), Carl Macek (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition

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Anime’s influence can be found in every corner of American media, from film and television to games and graphic arts. And Fred Patten is largely responsible. He was reading manga and watching anime before most of the current generation of fans was born. In fact, it was his active participation in fan clubs and his prolific magazine writing that helped create a market and build American anime fandom into the vibrant community it is today. Watching Anime, Reading Manga gathers together a quarter-century of Patten’s lucid observations on the business of anime, fandom, artists, Japanese society and the most influential titles. Illustrated with original fanzine covers and archival photos. Foreword by Carl Macek (Robotech).

Fred Patten lives in Los Angeles.

"Watching Anime, Reading Manga is a worthwhile addition to your library; it makes good bathroom browsing, cover-to-cover reading, and a worthwhile reference for writing or researching anime and manga, not to mention a window into the history of fandom in the United States." -- SF Site

Print length

385 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Stone Bridge Press
Publication date

September 1, 2004
File size

2473 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Fred Patten was an anime fan before most of this generation of fans were born, back when color television was a novelty and the idea of playing back TV shows on tapes and discs was a science fiction fantasy. Actually, Patten was a big part of the science fiction and fantasy world before he was drawn into anime fandom in the mid-1970's. He remains active in the animation industry with Streamline Pictures. Patten is best known for his writings on anime history. This is his first collection.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Fred Patten is an acknowledged authority on manga and anime in the United States, having been an active part of its fandom decades before it became mainstream. Fred's writings give a unique insider's view into this fascinating genre." -- Stan Sakai, writer and artist of "Usagi Yojimbo --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004ZGZBDG
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Stone Bridge Press (September 1, 2004)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 1, 2004
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2473 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 385 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1880656922
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

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Customer Reviews:
9 ratings

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jmchale1959

Dated but still worthwhile

Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2013

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Interesting. It's difficult to not give this collection of essays at least four stars, simply because there's so much
material presented. It is, however, like many other books of this type, dated. Also, Patten is dealing with
anime and manga in general, so specific titles/series are not dealt with except where needed to illustrate
the point being made. I guess you could label this as a history text, of sorts, dealing with the medium
during a certain time period, by way of the observations of one individual who was in a position to do so.
If you are interested in that sort of perspective, it's worthwhile.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

It's a shame more anime and manga fans don't buy this book!

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2006

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To be honest with my title, had I seen this in a bookstore, I probably would have passed. Essays and collected reviews from one person too often give you a slanted point of view, and often not much real information. I like history, and that was the big selling point on this book for me. Too often we buy what's popular, what we know (are exposed to), or from listening to the suggestions of our friends. I'm not speaking of this book purchase now, but of the act of collection, reading, and watching of anime. It's really nice to know the history behind it.

By rights, maybe this book should be four stars instead of five, but I couldn't resist because it filled in a point of interest for me I've wondered about for years. I wrote an Amazon review a few years ago on the anime classic, Spirited Away. In the review I compared the movie to a life changing animated film I had seen as a boy. I've never been able to recall the name, and because of the era, I thought it American or perhaps a Chinese production. I've always looked for it to show up on TV, or in video, hoping I'd recognize the title or the plot. I knew little more than the type of film, plot, and name of the main character.

My dad took me to the film, and I thought it must have been because he was interested in its philosophy. My dad had visited China, and India during WWII as a Cryptographer. After the war, he brought home some items from China, and a good deal of Eastern Philosophy. What I didn't realize is that the movie he took me too, was in reality one of the earliest anime shown in the United States. It was a dubbed film called Magic Boy, that was shown in a limited release in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in June of 1961. Strangely enough, it was another limited release anime, Princess Mononoke, that sparked me to begin collecting anime and manga in 1999. Little did I know that my childhood had been influenced greatly by the earliest film of the anime genre to hit the US. Perhaps I was destined to become an anime lover!

My point here is that this book helped me find out that fact. When I read in the book about the early anime films, I suddenly realized they were from the era when I saw that film. There were three titles, released in the US about then. I looked up the pictures, plots from the web, and got a dead-on match with the film, Magic Boy! As I've read further in this book I find more things I knew little about, milestones that brought about the popularity of anime and manga. As a kind of a time-line, (based on the dates of the articles collected in the book) you can see the growth of anime and manga in the US. You can see as well why there is still a great deal of resistance to it's becoming mainstream, even today.

Just to speak to that issue, inject a little of my own philosophy to a theme expressed in many of the books articles. The answer I speak of is that viewing anime, and reading manga, is justified by the main reason many avoid it. It's new, and its different! While many anime and manga are generic SciFi or Fantasy, often they contain elements of the Japanese culture. If you've watched one too many episodes of some reality show, the same rehashed episode of a sitcom for the 50th time ,you know you too long for something new. Despite cultural differences, most anime stories are easy enough to relate to, we're all humans and many of our goals are the same regardless of culture.

One more thing on the book, this is a good read to put somewhere (you know where I mean) to read in small bursts, periodically. Since it's a collection of anime reviews and small articles, you can read one or two at a time, and pick it back up later. It's not a book you have to read in long sittings.

22 people found this helpful

Helpful

Perry

History of anime & manga in the US from one of the first fans

Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2021

This book is for anyone interested in how the anime and manga media, subculture, and fandom, has developed into such a massive entity in the US. Yes, it's from 2004, but so much happened up to that point. It covers a wide range of topics including:

-Anime's influence on American media
-The business of anime: licensing, soundtracks, home video, theatrical features, anime pornography.
-Artists: Osamu Tezuka, Go Nagai, Shotaro Ishinomori, Hayao Miyazaki.
-Japanese culture in anime: subliminal lessons in Japanese history, cyborg philosophy.
-Anime fandom: first ads in America, fanzines, conventions, Japanese recognition of American anime fans.

Overall, this is a very fascinating way to understand how the anime industry and subculture came to be what it is today in America.
It's very easy to digest since it's a collection of short essays and reviews.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Midwest Book Review

A 'must' for anime followers

Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2005

Fred Patten's Watching Anime, Reading Managa: 25 Years Of Essays And Reviews reports on the anime culture in America, gathering articles on Japanese animation and comics and examining both its fan world and the business of its production. Chapters cover everything from individual anime artists to overall licensing and theatrical issues and features, anime pornography, Japanese anime and manga culture, and more. The range of issues and considerations come from an active participant in fan clubs and writings over the years and will prove a 'must' for anime followers.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

R. Love

Pointless, why bother?

Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2006

Why buy an expensive book about anime when you can experience anime on television or read about it online.

This book doesn't have any new insights on the subject so I'll say again why bother?

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

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Charlie Skyler

Perfect transaction

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2018

Verified Purchase

All good

ca4571989

L'histoire du manga aux USA vu par l'un des premiers fans

Reviewed in France on November 2, 2013

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Ce livre est le témoignage d'un vétéran de la culture pop japonaise. Dans les années 70, il découvrit les premiers manga ou anime importés aux USA alors même que du côté français, seules deux séries nippones avaient eu droit à une diffusion télévisée rapidement oubliée. Dans son ouvrage, Fred Patten explique l'arrivée de cette culture japonaise au pays du comics : il nous raconte les premiers articles sur le sujet, les premières importations, les premiers fanzines à partir de 1978 (le premier fanzine français sur l'anime verra le jour en 1991), les premières conventions, les premières projections et toute une foule d'anecdote en n'omettant pas de présenter cette même culture et son histoire aux néophytes. Il fait part de ses impressions sur la polémique Kimba/Simba en 1994 ou encore nous présente plusieurs réalisateurs, compositeurs, mangaka et leur impact sur la jeune génération d'auteurs japonais (voire américains).

Cet ouvrage nous montre bien le retard qu'a pris la France de l'époque au niveau du fandom, bien plus jeune ici qu'aux Etats-Unis. Et même si le manga n'a pas conquis le coeur de tous les Américains de cette génération, il n'en demeure pas moins qu'il a pris une grande importance et ce 15 voire 20 ans avant qu'il n'arrive la même chose en France. A recommander absolument à tout fan de cette culture lisant très bien l'anglais et intéressé par la situation du manga aux USA.

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Lewy

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 2, 2014

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Excellent Condition. Delivered Briskly.

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