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Animated Discussions: Critical Essays on Anime
Whether they’re tracing depictions of the apocalypse from their roots in the ancient Near East to hit anime of the 90s and 2000s, exploring the ways in which certain mecha and magical girl shows equate trauma and heroism, or just trying to figure out why the hell Utena turned into a car, the essays in this collection combine an accessible style and a bit of humor with literary analysis to present anime in a new light for old fans, new fans, and scholars alike! The product of nearly a decade of studying, writing about, and presenting on anime, these essays—many never before seen!— • Time travel and time loops in anime like Higurashi, Haruhi Suzumiya, and Erased • Narrative traps and identity in Utena and Princess Tutu • A defense of the notorious final two episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion • The secret history of American anime fandom • A guest chapter by Charles Dunbar on mecha, maturation, and the divine • And more!
276 pages, Paperback
First published May 28, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 27, 2017
Animated Discussions / B072N4C1ZR
I'm a big fan of deconstructions like Fred Clark's series on Left Behind and Mark Oshiro's "Mark Reads" series of books. I followed Jed Blue on Fred Clark's site and was pleased with his thoughtful comments, and a friend recommended that I needed to read his essays on Revolutionary Girl Utena and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. I'm so glad I did!
This is a series of incredibly thoughtful essays on the writing, tropes, and narrative arcs within a number of popular anime series. Even if you're not a fan--I haven't watched all of the anime featured herein--there's a lot here to enjoy and learn from; Jed's observations have made me think a lot about the craft of writing and what my own ultimate intentions are when I sit down to create.
For actual fans of the series, though, there's so much more. The Utena essays are very much my favorite, and gave me a much more nuanced view of the series; so much so that I wanted to sit down and re-watch the whole thing after reading. I especially love the discussion around Utena's deconstruction of gender, misogyny, and the difference between "saving" (the job of the Prince) and "helping" (which carries real pain and risks, but is ultimately more respectful and loving).
Regarding the ending of the series, Jed writes: "Utena finally takes the action which proves she has grown beyond the old, Dios-derived ideal of the prince: she holds out a hand and lets Anthy decide whether to take it. She is no longer saving, but helping, letting Anthy make the choice." I love this so much, and it's made me think a lot about my interactions with others and with my own creations.
~ Ana Mardoll
I'm a big fan of deconstructions like Fred Clark's series on Left Behind and Mark Oshiro's "Mark Reads" series of books. I followed Jed Blue on Fred Clark's site and was pleased with his thoughtful comments, and a friend recommended that I needed to read his essays on Revolutionary Girl Utena and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. I'm so glad I did!
This is a series of incredibly thoughtful essays on the writing, tropes, and narrative arcs within a number of popular anime series. Even if you're not a fan--I haven't watched all of the anime featured herein--there's a lot here to enjoy and learn from; Jed's observations have made me think a lot about the craft of writing and what my own ultimate intentions are when I sit down to create.
For actual fans of the series, though, there's so much more. The Utena essays are very much my favorite, and gave me a much more nuanced view of the series; so much so that I wanted to sit down and re-watch the whole thing after reading. I especially love the discussion around Utena's deconstruction of gender, misogyny, and the difference between "saving" (the job of the Prince) and "helping" (which carries real pain and risks, but is ultimately more respectful and loving).
Regarding the ending of the series, Jed writes: "Utena finally takes the action which proves she has grown beyond the old, Dios-derived ideal of the prince: she holds out a hand and lets Anthy decide whether to take it. She is no longer saving, but helping, letting Anthy make the choice." I love this so much, and it's made me think a lot about my interactions with others and with my own creations.
~ Ana Mardoll
August 25, 2025
These essays are things the author thought about while procrastinating on other projects. It also includes some unpublished essays, one on anime fandom, for example. Basically it's a book where the stuff that had nowhere else to go was put.
There's nothing wrong with a grab bag of essays that are only loosely related in theme. Those can be fun. Some of Sloan Crosley's books are like that. But the essays themselves still have to be polished.
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2025/com...
There's nothing wrong with a grab bag of essays that are only loosely related in theme. Those can be fun. Some of Sloan Crosley's books are like that. But the essays themselves still have to be polished.
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2025/com...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 13, 2020
2020 Read #726
These essays are pretty spectacular; my only gripe is that you do definitely need knowledge of the specific anime beforehand to properly understand the analysis therein.
These essays are pretty spectacular; my only gripe is that you do definitely need knowledge of the specific anime beforehand to properly understand the analysis therein.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews