[Book] The Rough Guide to Anime

[brichibi]

Seriously, where was this book when I was in college trying to write anime research papers?



Age Rating: 13 and Up
Released By: Rough Guides
MSRP: 18.99
Pages: 304
ISBN: 978-1858282053
Size: A5
Orientation: Left to Right

Books like this remind me how I fell so hard for those series that came on late at night on the sci-fi channel and why I find myself in a fabric store a few times a year to try and find the right shade of pink for Princess Peach’s dress. And after reading how anime started and how far its come along I feel proud to be a part of this phenomenon. I’ve seen it go from being something very small and only known for the tentacles to being something you can find at any major retailer, be it videos or keychains and even baby clothing with Pikachu’s face plastered all over it.

Evangelions, Bebops, and Utenas oh my!

[The Great Bear]

Interesting review. Sounds like a good read. But I'm tired of reading about anime

…

And yet I might still buy this one day.

[njchobitsfan]

Having the latest version of Anime Encyclopedia, I'm not sure if it's worth getting. Your review, though, has me wondering....

[UncleBen]

Originally Posted by The Great Bear

Interesting review. Sounds like a good read. But I'm tired of reading about anime

I know the feeling. Writing about anime and manga has dulled my appetite for reading about it, though I think I still watch and read the shows and series as much as ever.

I'm not sure whether I would like this book or not. Since it's a comprehensive work, there are probably parts I would like and parts I wouldn't care to read at all. (The very thought of a chapter on "decoding" anime makes me shudder, if the word is being used the way I think it is.) I know I'd want to read anything it has to say on origins and early development: I'm pretty murky on that point, and I like knowing things like that.

Anyway, good work on the review. I like the way you used personal experience throughout; that added a lot to the review. Nice job.

[The Great Bear]

Originally Posted by UncleBen

I know I'd want to read anything it has to say on origins and early development: I'm pretty murky on that point, and I like knowing things like that.

That would also probably be the most interesting part for me.

And like you, I do wonder about the term "decoding." Depends on what audience the author wants to "decode" anime for.

[DocWatson]

Would a moderator please correct the title of the thread?

[sir_integra]

Originally Posted by The Great Bear

Interesting review. Sounds like a good read. But I'm tired of reading about anime

…

And yet I might still buy this one day.

I'm sure I'll take a look at it. There aren't too many generalist wiorks out there that aren't overly simplified, this might strike a nice middle ground.

[brichibi]

Originally Posted by DocWatson

Would a moderator please correct the title of the thread?

Ahahaha yeah I'm an idiot like that -_- *is so embarrassed*

I'm glad there's so much discussion about this book. I can understand the burnt out feeling though (which I think I mentioned in the book) and I didn't even think about the whole "reviewing anime burns me out" thing. I do a lot of yaoi reviews so when I see it in the bookstore now I'm like, "read it, read it, read it... don't want to read it sounds too cliche, probably going to get that one sent to me and it also sounds cliche," and it sort of makes it lose its magic (though sometimes there's that one book that makes me love the genre all over again). I can get the sort of hesitation with picking up ANOTHER anime book because at this point there are a lot out there, but there are definitely some enjoyable parts to this one. When I first went into this book I was actually summarizing each chapter and Chris told me not to and to just focus on the parts I liked, which made the book more enjoyable for me because I got to talk about how cool it was that anime started in the 20s, ect. ect.

There are some chapters to this that I personally sort of skimmed through but thought, "Hey its cool that he put that in there," like the last chapter with all of the resources and the one that goes through the different genres. But since I've been into anime for so long I kinda felt like that I myself wouldn't read those because I already know that there are several types of anime. I think that's how long time fans will approach the book

As for putting the personal touch on it, kinda felt like I had to so I could show how long I've been into this lovely craze ^^ It's hard to believe that it's been so long, I was writing the review thinking, "Dear god has it really been 15 years O.o" and felt a huge hit of nostalgia and a new found love of anime since, back in the day, it was just this random "cartoon" that came on at like 2 in the morning because that was the only time Wicked City could be shown on TV.