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

by Mark W. MacWilliams (Editor)

Manga (comic book or graphic novels) and anime (animated films), both born of Japan's cultural encounter with Western Entertainment media, are two of the most universally recognized forma of Contemporary mass art. Because they tell stories through visual imagery, they vault over language barriers. Well suited to electronic transmission, and distributed by Japan's increasingly globalized culture industry, they have become a powerful force in the mediascape and the marketplace.

To probe the richness and subtleties of these deceptively simple cultural forms, this volume brings together an international group of scholars who share a fascination with manga and anime. Their essays explore the historical, cultural, sociological, and religious dimensions of these popular forms of visual culture that appeal so strongly to mass audiences both in Japan and worldwide. They explore the Japanese cultural, historical, and political context in which manga and anime evolved, and focus on specific sub-genres, artists and stylistics. Included here too are such topics as spirituality and new religious movements, Japanese Goth, nostalgia, comics for girls, and more.

Genres: Nonfiction, Manga, Japan, Art, Japanese Literature, Asia

364 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Syd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few of the essays I skipped over but overall very interesting, especially the shoujo chapter.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excerpt from page 5:
Manga and anime attract fans, both Japanese and Western, not because of any Eastern mystical sense of harmony with nature, but because of what Jean Marie Bouissou has called their “aesthetic of excess, conflict, imbalance, and overt sensuality.” They are especially appealing because they are “pure pleasure commodities,” inexpensive forms of entertainment that are to be enjoyed. However, this does not mean that they are nothing more than cheap thrills, created to escape from the pressures of the real world. Most would agree with manga expert Frederik Schodt that they also have the power to express people’s hopes and fears.

Indeed.

[Eric Orchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit slow to start, with the first few essays not really stating anything new or that interesting. Later there are some fascinating essays on otaku, Hayao Miyazaki, terrorism and manga, and Tezuka.

[Alice Jennings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good in explaining the history of Japanese manga/anime, from blue-collar expressive pieces to morale=boosting mass produced work. I'm not interested in manga so I found it a bit boring, and it needed more pictures to me, but all in all very good- it gives what it offers

[Soobie is expired · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the articles are pretty interesting, especially the last one, which states that Japanese scholar writing on manga is too journalist and insular to be of any help to people outside of Japan.

Most of these articles proved very useful for my thesis.

[Patty · Rating 2 out of 5]

A scholarly look at manga and anime that I found mostly unapproachable. I read the historical overviews and skimmed most of the rest.