Book Reviews

Contributor details
Kosuke Fujiki earned his Ph.D. degree in film studies in 2017 from King’s
College London, where he completed his thesis on the Okinawan cinema of
the 1980s and the 1990s. His research interests encompass contemporary East
Asian cinema and the representation of history and memory. He currently
works as a film critic and as an English Japanese translator specializing in film
subtitles.
E-mail: kosuke.fujiki@yahoo.com

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1311-6411

Interpreting Anime, Christopher Bolton (2018)

Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 328 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-51790-403-6, p/bk, $24.00;
ISBN 978-1-51790-402-9, h/bk, $96.00

The Anime Ecology: A Genealogy of Television, Animation

and Game Media, Thomas Lamarre (2018)
Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 448 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-51790-450-0, p/bk, $27.00;
ISBN 978-1-51790-449-4, h/bk, $108.00

Reviewed by Thomas E. McAuley, University of Sheffield

When approaching the study of media in the classroom, perhaps the greatest
challenge facing the scholar is how to take the initial step from being a simple
(although I use that term carefully) consumer of a particular media type, or
franchise, or artist or narrative – the list is as endless as is media – to someone
who can look beyond the pleasures of consumption to those that derive from
considering what the works may mean, to change, that is, from an uncritical
fan, to critical analyst, although this should not be taken to imply that fans
are not critics, or that all analysis is critical. Judging by the descriptions on
their back covers, both these books, in their own way, would seem to aid this
task, although in different ways: Interpreting Anime ‘reveals what makes anime
unique as a medium: how it engages profound social and political realities’,
while The Anime Ecology ‘show[s] how animation helps us think through tele-
vision in the contemporary moment’. The question to answer is whether the
two works live up to these descriptions.
Bolton’s work, Interpreting Anime, takes as its starting point that anime,
perhaps uniquely among media types, ‘mak[es] the viewer remember self-
consciously that he or she is encountering a created world’ (12), and that
this is one of the features that makes it especially worthy of study. A further

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Book Reviews

aim is to ‘survey a range of writing on anime, from early interventions to the

current state of the art’ (17) to ‘help readers […] develop their own original
ways of reading and interpreting anime, in order to make these works even
more interesting, compelling and relevant’ (17). Finally, it seeks to ‘encourage
readers to compare a wide range of critics and critical theories to ask which
provide the most compelling readings and interpretations’ (18–19) through
providing both illustrations of readings of specific anime works using partic-
ular theoretical frameworks and comparisons of the techniques used in the
anime with those used in other media.
Divided into seven chapters, the book then explores the differences between
Akira in its anime (1988) and manga (1982–90) forms through the lens of a
historical and political reading with a focus on the variations in visual language
(Chapter 1); analyses Kido- keisatsu patoreib a- the movie 2 (Patlabor 2) (Oshii, 1993)
as a social critique of media use, through examining its formal composition
with film theory (Chapter 2); compares attitudes to the body in Ko-kaku Kido-tai
Go-suto In Za Sheru (Ghost in the Shell) (Oshii, 1995) and Japanese puppet thea-
tre in the light of feminist theory (Chapter 3); provides a psycho-sexual analysis
of Sazan Aizu (3×3 Eyes) (Nishio, 1991–92; Sayama, 1995–95) and Banpaia Miyu
(Vampire Princess Miyu) (Hirano, 1988–89) (Chapter 4), linking this with previ-
ous literature on otaku; and examines Kon Satoshi’s Sennen Joyu- (Millenium
Actress) (Kon, 2002) and a live-action theatrical performance (2009, 2011) of
it as meditations on the nature of fans and fandom (Chapter 5). In Chapter 6
Bolton both provides a reading of the cinematic anime Blood: The Last Vampire
(Kitakubo, 2000), based on its portrayal of movement, and also considers the
wider Blood franchise in the light of recent theories that stress the importance of
consumption or production over individual works. Finally, in Chapter 7, Bolton
takes on Miyazaki Hayao through a consideration of the differences between
his film Hauru no Ugoku Shiro (Howl’s Moving Castle) (Miyazaki, 2004) and the
novel (1986) upon which it was based. A final demonstration of anime’s quality
of ‘oscillation’ between worlds is then provided through a brief consideration of
Hosoda Mamoru’s Sam a- Wo-zu (Summer Wars) (Hosoda, 2009).
Lamarre, by contrast, seeks to ‘explore the relation between television and
animation’ (1) through

draw[ing] on research in a number of disciplines, including cognitive

science, neuroscience, economic and sociological studies of telecommu-
nications, infrastructure studies, as well as in the vast middle ground of
cultural studies, film and media studies, and critical theory and philoso-
phy, not to mention the field of Japanese Studies.
(1)

To achieve this aim, he divides his work into three parts: the first, ‘The Screen-
Brain Interface’, utilizes the medical, scientific, legal and political reactions to
the seizures suffered by a number of children in Japan watching an episode
of Pokemon in 1997 to consider both how televised images are received and
perceived by the human eye, and what this means for the relation between
animation and television. Part Two: ‘A Little Social Media History of Television’
provides a ‘genealogical spin’ (27) to the history of national broadcast-
ing networks in Japan to unite analyses that exclusively see the medium as
constructing a uniform national culture or as providing an atomizing or indi-
vidualizing effect on society. Part Three: ‘Infrastructure Complexes’ uses the
theoretical insights developed in parts one and two to provide analytical case

86   East Asian Journal of Popular Culture

 Book Reviews

studies of four distinct ‘media ecologies’ (28): Kureyon Shin-chan (Crayon Shin-
Chan) (Hongo, 1992–96; Hara, 1996–2004; Muto, 2004–present), Meitantei
Konan (Detective Conan) (1994–present), hack (2002–12) and Shin Megami Tensei:
Persona (Persona) (1996–present). Finally, the conclusion ‘Signaletic Animism’
draws together the various theoretical strands from the preceding sections.
Bolton, with his careful elucidations of differing theoretical perspectives
and approaches, followed by the application of those theories to specific
anime works, provides an excellent illustration of the way in which theory
can be utilized in the analysis of anime. The majority of the works he selects
are well-known classics of the medium, and so readers are likely to start their
encounter from a position of familiarity with them, which is only reinforced
by the detailed explanations provided. To his credit, Bolton does not claim that
any of the readings that he provides are correct, only that they are possible in
the light of a particular theory, and his work, therefore, encourages readers to
engage with the theories that he provides, and others that they may find for
themselves, to develop readings of their own. There is no doubt that this book
will find a home in the reading lists of most courses on anime, and provide
both students and teachers of the subject with encouragement and stimula-
tion. If it has a weakness, it is the perennial one of the specialist writing for the
non, in that Bolton occasionally assumes a greater familiarity with his theoret-
ical material on the part of his readership than may be warranted (the phrase
‘Lacanian notion’ [35] appears in the text, for example, as if anyone should
know what this means), but these instances are few and minor.
The Anime Ecology, however, is an entirely different beast. To return to
the back cover, one of the effusive reviews states that ‘to write this book you
would need to be a world-class media theorist’, but I fear that it would be
equally accurate to say that ‘to read this book you would need to be a world-
class media theorist’ too. Particularly in Part One, the sheer range of theo-
retical references and perspectives renders the argument opaque to any but
the most well-read and theoretically informed; any other readers are likely to
give up in frustration. This is a pity, as part two, with its synthesis of differ-
ent views of the impact of television as a medium, is both more accessible
and highly valuable. The analyses of part three fall part way between these
two poles in that comprehension of part one is beneficial for understand-
ing them. In addition, the reader’s understanding of the work’s thesis is also
complicated by Lamarre’s tendency towards florid and over-blown expres-
sion that often defies analysis or comprehension. Examples could be found on
practically every page of the book, but for instance: he deals with ‘the stuff of
blink’ (93), ‘TVs attention-reason complex sets up a vortexlike charged field of
intoxication’ (187) and so forth.
To conclude, then, do the two works live up to their descriptions? In
Bolton’s case the answer is definitively ‘Yes’; in Lamarre’s, the answer depends
on who ‘us’ is: erudite media theorists, ‘Yes’, other readers, probably, ‘No’.

References
Hara, Keiichi (原恵一) (1996–2004), Kureyon Shin-chan (Crayon Shin-Chan),
Japan: Shin-Ei Entertainment.
Hirano, Toshiki (平野俊貴) (1988–89), Banpaia Miyu (Vampire Princess Miyu),
Japan: AIC.
Hongo, Mitsuru  (本郷みつる) (1992–96), Kureyon Shin-chan (Crayon Shin-
Chan), Japan: Shin-Ei Entertainment.

www.intellectbooks.com   87
Book Reviews

Hosoda, Mamoru (細田守) (2009), Sam a-  Wo-zu (Summer Wars), Japan:

Madhouse.
Kon, Satoshi (今敏) (2002), Sennen Joyu- (Millenium Actress), Japan: Madhouse.
Miyazaki, Hayao (宮崎駿) (2004), Hauru no Ugoku Shiro (Howl’s Moving Castle),
Japan: Studio Ghibli.
Muto, Yuji (ムトウユージ) (2004–present), Kureyon Shin-chan (Crayon Shin-
Chan), Japan: Shin-Ei Entertainment.
Oshii, Mamoru (押井守)  (1993), Kido- keisatsu patoreib a- the movie 2 (Patlabor 2:
The Movie), Japan: Production I.G.
—— (1995), Ko-kaku Kido-tai Go-suto In Za Sheru (Ghost in the Shell), Japan:
Production I.G., Bandai Visual.
Nishio, Daisuke (西尾大介) (1991–92), Sazan Aizu (3×3 Eyes), Japan: Toei
Animation.
Sayama, Kiyoko (佐山聖子) (1995), Sazan Aizu (3×3 Eyes), Japan: Toei Animation.
Wynne Jones, Diana (1986), Howl’s Moving Castle, London: Methuen.

Contributor details
Thomas McAuley is a lecturer in Japanese studies in the School of East Asian
Studies, University of Sheffield, where he teaches Japanese popular culture
and Japan English translation.

Contact: School of East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield, 6-8 Shearwood

Road, Sheffield, S10 2TD, UK.
E-mail: t.e.mcauley@sheffield.ac.uk

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9181-8291

The Global Road Movie: Alternative Journeys around the

World, Jose Duarte and Timothy Corrigan (eds) (2018)
Bristol and Chicago: Intellect, 265 pp.,
ISBN: 978-1-78320-877-7, h/bk, $93.00

Reviewed by John A. Riley, Woosong University, South Korea

The road movie has often, in the popular imagination, been thought of as a quin-
tessentially American genre, with emblematic films such as Easy Rider (Hopper,
1969) promoting a countercultural idea of individual freedom that nonetheless
borrows narratives and iconography from the western and other earlier genres.
In their introduction to the present volume, Timothy Corrigan and Jose Duarte
note that, as other national cinemas have taken up the road movie, the genre has
become self-consciously global, focusing on transnational protagonists, varied
and sometimes incongruous forms of transport, and unusual blends of the global
and the local. In addition, the efforts of film historians have brought to light older

88   East Asian Journal of Popular Culture