Author(s): Susan J. Napier

A thoughtful and carefully researched account.
-- The New York Times

Informative, well-written, and yet entertaining.both generous and critically insightful.
-- Sharalyn Orbaugh, University of British Columbia

This worthy addition to the burgeoning literature on Japanese popular culture will stand the test
of time.
-- Choice

Although packaged as a book for general readers, "Anime: From Akira to Princess Mononoke" is a
dreary academic study that showcases the cliches of "higher" criticism but tells the reader little
about the art form. The potentially interesting points that Susan Napier raises (e.g., Are characters
with blond, pink, or purple hair really perceived as Japanese?) are ignominiously buried in arcane
jargon. And she too often discusses other authors' theories instead of anime itself. In a section
on Ranma 1/2, she refers to various books, but in a footnote she cites only a single published
interview with series creator Rumiko Takahashi. If Napier regards the Ranma series as significant,
why didn't she interview the artist? The text is riddled with errors, which suggests that the author
hasn't watched the films carefully. For example, she cites a "brilliant" essay referring to the loss
of all electrical power in Japan (a symbol of "modernization under the patriarchal system") in episode
3 of Neon Genesis Evangelion. No blackout occurs in this episode. In episode 6, however, all the
electricity in Japan is requisitioned to power a superweapon. "From Akira to Princess Mononoke" is
the sort of book churned out by professors to satisfy publish-or-perish rules.
--Charles Solomon

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