The Anime Companion: What's Japanese in Japanese Animation - Softcover

Poitras, Gilles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1880656329 ISBN 13: 9781880656327

Publisher: Stone Bridge Press, 1999

Synopsis

Anime is from Japan, so it's full of all sorts of cultural details that are downright perplexing . . . unless you're Japanese or unless you've got The Anime Companion. Find out why characters wear belly bands and what nosebleeds really mean. Learn about the Edo Jidai and those games they play at New Year's. Gilles Poitras has taken his popular anime website and created a new print version that's filled with curious details and fresh insights drawn from dozens of the most popular anime. And for students of Japanese, The Anime Companion is a great way to learn about Japan while indulging in your favorite pastime.

"Combining personal passion with an intelligent sense of perspective, this enjoyable book is just right for dipping into, full of amusing and informative snippets which fans will love and even non-fans can enjoy."—Helen McCarthy, author of The Complete Anime Guide

"I've worked on over 20,000 pages of manga over the last ten years, and I still learned quite a bit from this fascinating book. For anyone with more than the most casual interest in anime and manga, The Anime Companion should be on their coffee table right next to the remote control."—Toren Smith, Studio Proteus

"Entire generations of English speakers now receive their first exposure to Japanese culture through anime. But many cultural references can be puzzling. Gilles Poitras's book is like a Rosetta Stone for confused anime fans. Before slipping that next anime video into your VCR, make sure this book's handy!"—Frederik L. Schodt, author of Manga! Manga! and Dreamland Japan

Categories covered:
Building/Structure/Landmark
Clothing
Culture
Entertainment/Game
Food And Drink
General
Geographical Feature/Location
History/Society
Home
Nature
People
Religion/Mythology/Belief
Sports/Activity
Weaponry/War

Sample Entry: AIDORU (IDOL SINGER)
Pop singers. Idol singers are not unique to Japan; every modern country has its clean-cut prefabricated stars known for their short careers. In Japan highly competitive management companies maneuver to get their latest singers in the spotlight for as long as they can before the nex

About this title

About the Author

Gilles Poitras is a California librarian who first discovered anime in 1977. As a fan of films he was attracted by the use of cinematic efffects in ways that he had never seen in animation. He has been interviewed in several documentaries on anime and writes a monthly column on anime for Newtype USA magazine. He is also author of Anime Essentials.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

"KIDS WATCH THIS! Can't people get it through their heads that anime is a medium for artistic expression and that anime content should not be determined by the American preconception that "cartoons" are only for kids? Sure, much of the anime produced in Japan is for children, but there is a sizeable percentage that is made for youth and adults. It is this latter percentage that is most represented in anime titles available in the U.S. Hell, anyone who has sat through a "Spike and Mike Sick and Twisted" animation show knows that some pretty vile and sexual stuff is being made in the U.S. Just because Fox and the Disney channel don't show it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. So the next time someone confuses "Ogenki Clinic" with kiddy cartoons, point out the difference to them. If they are shocked by the mild nudity in the bath scene in the first Ranma 1/2 TV episode consider severing all ties with them!" --from The Anime Companion

Edition details

• Publisher: Stone Bridge Press
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1880656329
• ISBN 13: 9781880656327
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176