Anime and Philosophy: Wide Eyed Wonder

Popular Culture and Philosophy #47

by Josef Steiff (editor), Tristan D. Tamplin (Editor)

Anime and Philosophy focuses on some of the most-loved, most-intriguing anime films and series, as well as lesser-known works, to find what lies at their core. Astro Boy, Dragon Ball Z, Ghost in the Shell, and Spirited Away are just a few of the films analyzed in this book. In these stories about monsters, robots, children, and spirits who grapple with the important questions in life we find insight crucial to our lessons on morality, justice, and heroism, as well as meditations on identity, the soul, and the meaning — or meaninglessness — of life. Anime has become a worldwide phenomenon, reaching across genres, mediums, and cultures. For those wondering why so many people love anime or for die-hard fans who want to know more, Anime and Philosophy provides a deeper appreciation of the art and storytelling of this distinctive Japanese culture.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Anime, Japan, Art, Cultural, Ebooks

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[T.L. Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to read and definitely a page-turner.

However, fair warning, nearly 25% of this book is all credits, dedications and one huge chapter citing works that were even remotely mentioned. So do not be afraid to skip a few chapters as they have zero value other than a nod to the source material.

[Jamessteeleii · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting perspective on many different aspects of anime. It introduced me to concepts of transhumanism and singularity. Well worth considering in the framework of Ayn Rand's Objectivism.

[Wayward Child · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, times are still tough for not only Japanese anime, but animation in general. The public largely seem to think it’s a medium for children and children alone and it’s constantly being looked down on, underappreciated and denied the respect it deserves. Luckily, Japan is one of the few places on the planet where anime gets all the recognition it rightly deserves and, thanks to the past several decades of exposure, the rest of the world is slowly starting to catch up as well. As someone who was raised on a steady diet of Disney movies, Cartoon Network (back when it was still good) but, first and foremost, shounen anime, I’m glad that I can finally say I see positive changes taking place both within the industry and when it comes to individuals. This book does a wonderful job of pinpointing exactly what it is about the Japanese culture that we find so appealing since, for a lot of us, anime served as our first and major gateway into a distant culture we can’t seem to get enough of. Fifteen years ago, my mum would roll her eyes whenever she heard battle sounds coming from my room, courtesy of DBZ. Last night, she actually sat down with me to watch Your Name. Yeah, I had to get the dubbed version because of her and, yeah, I had to pause every ten minutes or so to explain all the culture-specific points and ambiguous translation to her, but it was worth it. She ended up loving it and told me she couldn’t believe I had such great taste. Gee, thanks... In any case, public opinions are definitely shifting in anime’s favour and I can’t wait for it to gain all the respect it deserves.

[compassion_for_all · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read. For people who already like anime, most of the articles would be captivating. For people who are not into anime, reading the book may still be fun and useful, as it touches a lot of fascinating topics (identity; the nature of capitalism; cultural transformation of Japan; consciousness and machines).

[Spring Holbrook · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part, this is a pretty interesting book. It's fascinating to see the meanings that can be read into various anime, such as Highlander: Search for Vengeance. I actually think Ghost in the Shell is the obvious topic, and it was used too many times. Reading different perspectives on it back to back was actually pretty annoying.

Overall I wish the number of anime that were actually analyzed and not just name-dropped was higher, but overall this was still a pretty good read, and I think now I will dig a little deeper when I'm watching anime.

[Bridgett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look at different anime and philosophical issues, though focusing a bit heavily on technology in anime (not really my area of interest).

[Ta0paipai · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, interesting read, but in a collection of college term papers kind of way.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

524 - 2015