Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke; Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation

by Susan J. Napier

• ISBN13: 9780312238636
• ISBN10: 0312238630
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2001-04-21
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

With the popularity of Pokmon still far from waning, Japanese animation, known as anime to its fans, has a firm hold on American pop culture. However, anime is much more than children's cartoons. It runs the gamut from historical epics to sci-fi sexual thrillers. Often dismissed as fanciful entertainment, anime is actually quite adept at portraying important social and cultural issues such as alienation, gender inequality, and teenage angst. This book investigates the ways that anime presents these issues in an in-depth and sophisticated manner, uncovering the identity conflicts, fears over rapid technological advancement, and other key themes present in much of Japanese animation.

Author Biography

Susan J. Napier teaches at the University of Texas, Austin. Her previous books include The Subversion of Modernity and Escape from the Wasteland. She lives in Austin, Texas.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
PART ONE INTRODUCTION
Why Anime?	3	(12)
Anime and Local/Global Identity	15	(24)
PART TWO BODY, METAMORPHOSIS, IDENTITY
Akira and Ranma 1/2: The Monstrous Adolescent	39	(24)
Controlling Bodies: The Body in Pornographic Anime	63	(22)
Ghosts and Machines: The Technological Body	85	(18)
Doll Parts: Technology and the Body in Ghost in the Shell	103	(18)
PART THREE MAGICAL GIRLS AND FANTASY WORLDS
The Enchantment of Estrangement: The Shojo in the World of Miyazaki Hayao	121	(18)
Carnival and Conservatism in Romantic Comedy	139	(22)
PART FOUR REMAKING MASTER NARRATIVES: ANIME CONFRONTS HISTORY
No More Words: Barefoot Gen, Grave of the Fireflies, and ``Victim's History''	161	(14)
Princess Mononoke: Fantasy, the Feminine, and the Myth of ``Progress''	175	(18)
Waiting for the End of the World: Apocalyptic Identity	193	(26)
Elegies	219	(16)
Conclusion A Fragmented Mirror	235	(4)
Appendix The Fifth Look: Western Audiences and Japanese Animation	239	(18)
Notes	257	(34)
Bibliography	291	(10)
Index	301