Mechademia, Volume 1: Emerging Worlds of Anime and Manga

Book Overview

After decades in which American popular culture dominated global media and markets, Japanese popular culture--primarily manga and anime, but also toys, card and video games, and fashion--has exploded into a worldwide phenomenon. From Pokémon and the Power Rangers to Paranoia Agent and Princess Mononoke, Japanese popular culture is consumed by an eager and exponentially increasing audience of youths, teenagers, and adults. Mechademia, a new annual edited by Frenchy Lunning, begins an innovative and fresh conversation among scholars, critics, and fans about the complexity of art forms like Superflat, manga, and anime. The inaugural volume, Mechademia 1 engages the rise of Japanese popular culture through game design, fashion, graphic design, commercial packaging, character creation, and fan culture. Promoting dynamic ways of thinking, along with state-of-the-art graphic design and a wealth of images, this cutting-edge work opens new doors between academia and fandom.The premiere issue features the interactive worlds that anime and manga have created, including the origins of cosplay (the manga and anime costume subculture), Superflat, forgotten images from a founding manga artist, video game interactivity, the nature of anime fandom in America, and the globalization of manga. Contributors: Anne Allison, Duke U; William L. Benzon; Christopher Bolton, Williams College; Vern L. Bullough, California State U, Northridge; Martha Cornog; Patrick Drazen; Marc Hairston; Mari Kotani; Thomas LaMarre; Antonia Levi, Portland State U; Thomas Looser, NYU; Susan Napier, U of Texas, Austin; Michelle Ollie; Timothy Perper; Sara Pocock; Brian Ruh; Takayuki Tatsumi, Keio U, Tokyo; Toshiya Ueno, Wako U, Tokyo; Theresa Winge, U of Northern Iowa; Mark J. P. Wolf, Concordia U; Wendy Siuyi Wong, York U.Frenchy Lunning is professor of liberal arts at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816649456
• ISBN13: 9780816649457
• Release Date: December 2006
• Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 7.1" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

Perfect!!!

As an anime and manga fan and an academic researcher, I see Mechademia as a great contribution. This first number has not the maturity of the following volumes, but it's fresh and full of great information and discussions. The Utena's article was my favorite, great contribution for feminist and gender studies concerning shoujo anime and manga. I'm really satisfied with my acquisition.

Put your thinking cap on!

This a literary journal that discusses the anime/manga fandom on an intellectual level. I enjoyed this very much. The disscussions on animation in general were very interesting, i learned a lot. I read this a long time ago, so i'm a bit fuzzy on the other essays, but if manga/anime, is as much a part of your life, as it is apart of mine, then you owe yourself to check this out, and it's following volumes.

Brilliant

I love this book. The articles are excellent and interesting. This is the first book of it's kind that I have ever seen. It is nice to see something critically reviewing anime and manga story lines like native books and television shows have been reviewed and studied for years. I suggest it.

J-POP FOR SMARTIES

An "academic journal" on this J-Pop phenomenon that should interest anyone/everyone, accessible to all. Don't miss the second issue, "Networks of Desire." A thousand ideas per second.

Full table of contents

The full table of contents for this book is as follows: "The Japan Fad in Global Youth Culture and Millennial Capitalism" by Anne Allison "Globalizing Manga: From Japan to Hong Kong and Beyond" by Wendy Siuyi Wong "The World of Anime Fandom in America" by Susan Napier "Costuming the Imagination: Origins of Anime and Manga Cosplay" by Theresa Winge "Assessing Interactivity in Video Game Design" by Mark J.P. Wolf "Mori Minoru's Day of Resurrection" Introduced by Takayuki Tatsumi "Superflat and the Layers of Image and History in 1990's Japan" by Thomas Looser Kurenai no Metalsuits, "Anime to wa nani ka/What is animation" by Ueno Toshiya, translated by Michael Arnold "Anime: The Multiplanar Image." by Thomas Lamarre "The Werewolf in the Crested Kimono: The Wolf-Human Dynamic in Anime and Manga" by Antonia Levi "Metamorphosis of the Japanese Girl: The Girl, the Hyper-Girl, and the Fighting Beauty" by Mari Kotani "Revolutionary Girl Utena: Manga and Anime Citations" Compiled by Timothy Perper and Martha Cornog REVIEW & COMMENTARY SECTION (Edited by Timothy Perper and Martha Cornog) "Metropolis," reviewed by Bill Benzon; "Adult Manga: Culture and Power in Contemporary Japanese Society," by Sharon Kinsella, reviewed by Vern Bullough; "Mobile Suit Gundam," by Tomino Yoshiyuki, translated by Fred Schodt, reviewed by Patrick Drazen; "Maria-Sama ga Miteru" and "Azumanga Daioh," reviewed by Marc Hairston; "Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics," by Paul Gravett and "Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews," by Fred Patten, reviewed By Brian Ruh; "Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Adolescence of Utena,"by Saito Chiho, reviewed by Timothy Perper and Martha Cornog. TORENDO SECTION (Edited by Michelle Ollie)