Anime is a visual enigma. Its otherworldly allure and burgeoning popularity across the globe highlights its unique ability to be more than just another type of animation. Originally a novelty export from post-war Japan, anime has now become a subtle yet important part of Western popular culture. Furthermore, it remains a key area of audience and fan research that crosses all generations – children, teenagers, and adults. From Osamu Tezuka to Hayao Miyazaki, Akira (Katsuhiro Ôtomo, 1988) to Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii, 1995), anime’s extraordinary characters and oneiric content still enable it to be regarded as one of the most awe-inspiring visual spectacles going into and during the twenty-first century.
Keenly aware of anime’s rich history, cultural and global context, and increasing presence and influence on Western art, literature and film, the theme of this issue of Cinephile is ‘Reassessing Anime.’ The six articles included herein aim to address and tackle some of the overlooked aspects of anime. Such a reassessment by each author hopes to encourage future academic scholarship into the evolution and value of anime and, moreover, its impact not only on film but also on TV, comic books, video games, music videos, and corporate marketing strategies. [Jonathan A. Cannon, Editor's Note, Cinephile, 'Reassessing Anime', 7.1, 2011. FSFF's hyperlinks]
Film Studies For Free is delighted to announce that the Spring 2011 issue of Cinephile, the excellent film journal edited out of the University of British Columbia, Canada, has just been made available for download for free as a single PDF file.
As signalled above, this issue is dedicated to "Reassessing Anime" and it features great, original articles by internationally renowned animation scholars Paul Wells and Philip Brophy, as well as illustrations by Vancouver-based artist Chloe Chan.
The issue's table of contents is given below, and below that, FSFF has also provided a handy, clickable index of its own popular posts on anime and Japanese cinema.
The latest issue of Cinephile, available for purchase now, is on Contemporary Realism. It features original articles by Ivone Margulies and Richard Rushton. There is also a call for papers on "The Voice Over".
- 'Playing the Kon Trick: Between Dates, Dimensions and Daring in the films of Satoshi Kon' by Paul Wells
- 'The Sound of an Android’s Soul: Music, Muzak and MIDI in Time of Eve' by Philip Brophy
- 'Beyond Maids and Meganekko: Examining the Moe Phenomenon' by Michael R. Bowman
- 'Reviewing the ‘Japaneseness’ of Japanese Animation: Genre Theory and Fan Spectatorship' by Jane Leong
- 'The Higurashi Code: Algorithm and Adaptation in the Otaku Industry and Beyond' by John Wheeler
- 'Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence: Thinking Before the Act' by Frédéric Clément
- On Japanese Cinema July 27, 2010
- Dreaming Movies: RIP Satoshi Kon (1963-2010) August 25, 2010
- 'Imaginary and Fantastic': Hayao Miyazaki Studies November 25, 2009
- Animation Studies: Three Fabulous Online Resources November 14, 2011
- Mickey Mouse and Animation Links November 18, 2008
- War, Conflict and Commemoration in the Age of Digital Reproduction December 6, 2010
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