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Anime and Manga:
For More Information

For More Information About Anime and Manga:

Books

Books on Anime

Samurai from outer space : understanding Japanese animation / Antonia Levi. Peru, Ill. : Open Court, 1997, c1996.
Run, don't walk, to your nearest bookstore (or Internet retailer) and grab a copy of this book while it's still in print, probably the best introduction to anime for Western readers ever written. This is the book that provides you with the initial clues you need to begin deciphering the many cultural references and concepts that make anime so interesting, and sometimes so "quirky" to the beginning viewer. It's not an anime "guide"; for that, see below. Rather, it deals a chapter at a time with such topics as religion, mecha, androids, and death, and their relation to anime, with plenty of examples. Highly, highly recommended.
     A personal note: We'd seen perhaps five or six anime, usually rented from a local laserdisc outlet, and found it interesting but "odd." We ran across this book in our local university library, and after reading it picked up a few of the titles mentioned that sounded particularly interesting. One of them was All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku. We've never looked back since.

The anime encyclopedia : a guide to Japanese animation since 1917 / Jonathan Clements, Helen McCarthy. Berkeley, Calif. : Stone Bridge Press, 2006.
I really wanted to like this book,both in it's original 2001 incarnation and its much-expanded 2006 edition. After all, it was the long-awaited successor to co-author McCarthy's The anime! movie guide (see below), an instant classic written with insight, wit, and a near-encyclopedic grasp of the subject matter, and whose only significant weaknesses were its sparse coverage of anime television series and its chronological limitations.
     The anime encyclopedia, which adds the talents of former Manga Max editor Jonathan Clements, now includes over 3,000 titles and drops the awkward year-by-year format of its predecessor. Coverage extends to the mid-2000s, and television series now receive equal treatment, including timings and total numbers of episodes. Indexing and cross-referencing is exemplary. To be sure, a few omissions and glitches are inevitable as with any work of this scope. For example, Ryu Knight lacks essential ycross-references, and the plot summar of Debut nears no recognizable relation to the OAV series, apparently being that of the video game. But these are minor quibbles.
     What makes this work hard to recommend is the extremely subjective tone of the writing. The authors have assumed a new mantle, that of Arbiters of Taste, with all of the pontification and arrogance implied. The gentle humor of The anime! movie guide is here replaced by ugly sniping and moralistic value judgments. Tenchi Muyo! is a case in point: reference to this popular series appeared on no less than 37 pages of the 2001 edition (I haven't counted in the 2006 one) apart from the actual entry for the series, all of them disparaging in one way or another. This isn't criticism, it's viturpation bordering on the obsessional. The more one reads, the more one feels that with a very few exceptions these authors no long care for or about their subject.
     That said, with all its warts The anime encyclopedia remains an indispensible reference for any serious anime enthusiast. But if you're the gullible sort that lets "critics" do your thinking for you, you may want to aboid this book: you'll be steered away from a lot of very enjoyable anime.

The anime! movie guide / Helen McCarthy. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1996.
If you want a good, reliable guide to individual anime, including ratings that we've found to be generally on the mark, this is the best there is. Covering the time period from 1983 through 1995, it's reasonably complete--at least as far as anime released in English-speaking countries is concerned. We've found it to be invaluable for what it is, particularly considering that many of the titles listed have either gone out of print entirely or are only now coming out on DVD. Don't be misled by the title; this guide includes OAVs and television series as well as theatrical releases.
     The book has two weaknesses: the organization by year and within each year by format (which means the user has to continually refer to the index to find a specific series, which is by far the more likely way the book will be used), and the lack of coverage before 1983 (which rules out such classic series as Mazinger Z) or after 1995 (and the 1995 coverage is spotty as well). So, no Slayers either. But these are nitpicks, and no serious otaku should be without this volume. (NOTE:

The complete anime guide : Japanese animation film directory & resource guide / Trish Ledoux, Doug Ranney ; edited by Fred Patten. 2nd ed. Issaquah, WA : Tiger Mountain Press, 1997.
Another valuable resource that should be in every anime enthusiast's library. Although lacking the objectivity of Helen McCarthy's reviews (much of the text reads like blurbs from the VHS boxes), it does include titles McCarthy lacks, especially those prior to 1983, and is arranged alphabetically by title. ^_^ Also included are chapters on the history of anime, an introduction to some of the major genres, and directories of organizations, magazines, conventions, and vendors (to be sure, some of this is now out of date). Examine your copy before buying; our first one lacked the last few index pages and had several blank ones in the middle of the vendor listing.

The anime companion : what's Japanese in Japanese animation? / Gilles Poitras. Berkeley, CA : Stone Bridge Press, 1999.
This volume is a fascinating read, especially if you're watching subtitled anime rather than Dumbed Down Dubs. If you've ever wondered about the purpose of those "beckoning cats" you see in stores, for example, here you'll learn that they're called manekineko and are intended to bring good fortune (usually in the form of customers). The book is arranged alphabetically by Japanese term, and there's an English-Japanese lookup table in the back (although a more complete index would have been nice). There are also many examples cited from actual anime. The author maintains The Anime Companion Supplement, a web-based supplement to this book, at http://www.koyagi.com/ACPages/ACmain.html.

Books on Manga

Manga! Manga! : the world of Japanese comics / Frederik L. Schodt ; foreword by Osamu Tezuka. Updated pbk. ed. Tokyo, Japan : Kodansha International, 1986, c1983.

Dreamland Japan : writings on modern manga / Frederik L. Schodt. Berkeley, CA : Stone Bridge Press, 1996.

If you want to learn the history, cultural background, and commercial organization of the Japanese manga (graphic novel) industry, these books make very interesting reading. Don't, however, expect to find information on Ranma 1/2 or Video Girl Ai here; the author concentrates primarily on older manga and some non-mainstream recent titles. There's also an occasional unconscious bit of ethnocentricity, particularly in the area of sex, with a distinct odor of "Of course we know better in the West" at times. Nonetheless, if you're serious about manga you shouldn't be without these.

Books on Japanese History/Culture

Japan : its history and culture / W. Scott Morton. 3rd ed. New York, N.Y. : McGraw-Hill, 1994.

The Japanese have a word for it : the complete guide to Japanese thought and culture / Boye' Lafayette de Mente. Lincolnwood, Ill. : Passport Books, 1997, c1994.
Originally published as: NTC's dictionary of Japan's cultural code words.

Magazines

General Magazines

Protoculture Addicts : the Anime & Manga Magazine. Published bimonthly by Protoculture Enr., PO Box 1433, Station B, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3B 3L2 (http://www.protoculture-mag.com/).
Like Animerica, we don't read this for the reviews, which rarely rise above the superficial. However, Protoculture Addicts does often provide considerably more in-depth coverage of individual series than does their American rival, sometimes even including detailed episode guides. Also unlike Animerica they're willing to spend a considerable amount of space on series that aren't even available in North America yet (except as imports), such as Marmalade Boy. If I had to choose between the two, I'd take Protoculture Addict, typos and all.

Online Vendors

Right Stuf (http://www.rightstuf.com/main.shtml)
Anime, graphic novels, and some artbooks, CDs, and anime-related merchandise. Their weekly specials and DVD bundles can offer very good deals on select items. Membership in their Got Anime? Purchasing Club may result in additional discounts.

AnimEigo (http://www.animeigo.com/)
Some of their anime output is available only through them, at first release.

AnimeNation (http://www.animenation.com/)
Anime, graphic novels and some manga, artbooks, CDs, and anime-related merchandise.

CD Japan (http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/)
One of the premier Japanese vendors of Japanese CDs, laserdisks, VHS, and Region 2 DVDs.

Sasuga Japanese Bookstore (http://www.sasugabooks.com/)
Imported books, manga, artbooks, anime, CDs, and anime-related merchandise.

Note: We have no commercial ties or other financial interest in any of the above vendors, nor are we endorsing them. We do not receive a share of profits if you visit one of these vendors from our site. Ours is a 100% non-commercial site. We list them only because we have personally had good experiences patronizing these vendors.
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This page last updated 2/5/2010.