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Anime from Akira to Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation
by Susan Napier
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (2001-06-22)
ISBN: 0312238622
EAN: 9780312238629
Dewy Decimal #: 791.433
Hardcover: 336 pages
SKU: B870-1129
Condition: As New
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Customer Reviews
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From Akira to Princess Mononoke? not quite...
Rating  (3)
Date: 2004-01-02
18 out of 21 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book may appear to be a very helpful resource, and in some ways it is, however, the factual errors and the large oversights of sometimes simple ideas would encourage caution.
This book isn't gospel, it's merely one womans ideas on a subject, many are valid but as many are poorly backed up or one sided, an equal and oppersite view could be proved just as easily.
When writing on Evangelion, she mentions the Evas in maternal terms, with the pilot in a form of 'womb' potected from the world. however she fails to mention that the main character is indeed in this state, since the robot he pilots contains his mothers soul and he can communicate with her when he merges with the machine. She also neglects the Eva movies and the japanese historical references within the plot.
Another error accours when referencing Miyazakis film Totoro as "nostalgic for an imagined past" for the director, it was designed as reminding Japan what it is losing by destroying the countryside and to give children in cities, who have no greenery or nature around them, the chance to see another way of life. (stated by Miyazaki in many interviews)
More errors like this occour that would mislead anyone with only a small knowledge of the subject.
A good book to read and use as a starting point for criticism, but not for beginners, and to be read with more than a pinch of salt.
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An interesting take on anime film theory
Rating (3)
Date: 2002-11-06
7 out of 8 customers found this reveiw helpful
On the face of it, this is a pretty good book, with some interesting concepts (some perhaps a lttle far-fetched with little to back them up) but others providing an interesting insight into the philosophies and symbolism behind some anime classics.Well researched, good quotes - and a healthy dash of feminist film theory make this an intriging book to read - so long as you do not take it as the be all and end all of anime theory.
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Good, but not what i was waiting for.
Rating (3)
Date: 2001-08-29
9 out of 11 customers found this reveiw helpful
If you haved looked forward to this book, I think you're likely to be disappointed.It's a lively text. There are lots of suggestions, some of which seem plausible and thought provoking. Napier quotes anime professionals and critics in Japan, whose views make fascinating reading. Napier also quotes Western critics whose direct relevance is less clear, at least to a reader unfamiliar with them. It seems that Napier has trouble with the more obvious facts too. Its hard to believe what you're reading as she gets so many simple things wrong.On actual content things get worse. In conclusion, there's little sense of how a particular piece of animation featured really visualises or feels to the viewer. There are better books around on this subject in my opinion.
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