|
Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. |  | Author: Roland Kelts
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
List Price: $17.00
Buy New: $9.89
as of 3/10/2010 16:20 CST details
You Save: $7.11 (42%)
Seller: smilez4lex
Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 73145
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 140398476X
Dewey Decimal Number: 791
EAN: 9781403984760
ASIN: 140398476X
Publication Date: November 13, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Add to Wishlist
| |
| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9781403984760 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Japanamerica is the first book that directly addresses the American experience with the Japanese pop culture craze--including anime from Hayao Miyazaki's epics to the burgeoning world of hentai, or violent pornographic anime to Haruki Murakami's fiction. Including interviews with the inventor of Pac-man and executives from TokyoPop, GDH, and other major Japanese and American production companies, this book highlights the shared conflicts both countries face as anime and manga become a global form of entertainment and change both the United States and Japan in the process.
Book Description
Japanamerica is the first book that directly addresses the American experience with the Japanese pop culture craze--including anime from Hayao Miyazaki's epics to the burgeoning world of hentai, or violent pornographic anime to Haruki Murakami's fiction. Including interviews with the inventor of Pac-man and executives from TokyoPop, GDH, and other major Japanese and American production companies, this book highlights the shared conflicts both countries face as anime and manga become a global form of entertainment and change both the United States and Japan in the process.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
 Interesting insights into a complex phenomena December 12, 2009
Steven Savage (California)
PROS: A breezy, readable, yet informative look at how Japanese pop culture has become part of US culture, mixing theories, the big picture, and personal stories.
CONS: The book's approach makes it more useful for getting the big picture than direct research. Some theories may seem odd or vague.
SUMMARY: An interesting and thought-provoking book that can help you get a good picture of how Japanese culture has become prominent in the US, why it may have happened, and the future.
I picked up Japanamerica after I realized that despite my interest in things Japanese, there was a lot I hadn't understood - and I, geek that I am, hadn't given thought to how Japanese culture was affecting the U.S. This may seem to be an odd statement, but I'm USED to the fact it's become prominent and hadn't given thoughts to why.
So with this book having good reviews, I picked it up.
Japanamerica is a journey - in some cases literally - through the world of Japanese Pop Culture in Japan and America, the fused world of "Japanamerica". Mixing visiting historical places and persons, talking to individuals, and speculation, author Roland Kelts asks just why and how Japanese Culture is big in America, and what it may mean.
This is a phenomenally difficult task quite frankly, and he does a good job of it.
Kelts approaches his subject in several ways, mixing them together throughout the book:
* The development of and traits of Japanese media companies.
* The history of the U.S. interests and how those intersected with Japanese products.
* The changing relations and technologies that made this possible.
The author handles these by using a mix of history, interviews, statistics, and speculation. Much as it's hard to break out one factor from another, Kelts doesn't really try - the entire "Japanamerica" phenomena is studied from its facets as opposed to broken down.
Thus the book looks at everything from the way Japanese media companies have developed the ability to produce effective niche media, to the effect of Star Wars and 9/11 on American media interests, to contrasts of artistic styles between Japanese and American aesthetics. The structure of the book itself is personal, almost like a story, and thus there are no "hard answers", so much as look at the players and their interactions.
I found the book to be very informative, mostly because of this approach - without overarching theories or simplistic answers, the book invites you to discover what's going on through the eyes of Kelts and the people he talks to. You don't go to this book for a list of answers - you go to it to get a feel for what's going on.
The book succeeds quite well, its only major flaw being that when the author hints at definite theories - he believes 9/11's impact had a big effect on American culture that primed it for certain interests - that the book seems to falter. It disrupts the nuanced approach, though thankfully these moments are few.
I can't classify this as a must-read because of the specialized subject matter - I myself am glad I bought it and learned quite a deal. I would say it is best for:
* Those working in industries that have a heavy presence or strong relations in Japan like animation, manga, or video games. There are some wonderful cultural, historical, and practical tidbits help you get a big picture of your industry.
* People who are general Japanese pop culture enthusiasts, especially anime and manga, who have a general curiosity of how the cultural fusion of "Japanamerica" came about.
* Anyone interested in working in Japan because of their hobbies.
* Those who work with anime conventions and similar events - it'll give you a lot of ideas for panels and so forth.
* It's also a good gift, though be warned the author does take time to discuss some of the seedier aspects of Japanese pop culture, which could shock some, despite his approach.
I hope Kelts continues to write on these subjects. This was a useful and informative book - that now I have to lend out to a few friends . . .
 Fascinating, perhaps overreaching June 6, 2009
John E. Vidale (Seattle, WA USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I bought this book after seeing the author speak at the 2009 anime festival in Seattle. He has a significant and enlightening story to tell about the emergence of anime and manga in America. He describes how the American version is distinct from the original, and which personalities made it what it is today.
I found the first half fascinating, the next quarter interesting, and the final quarter of the book difficult to digest and even harder to gain much credence. Personally, I think anime is what it is, and where it goes next cannot be predicted. By the end, I also thought, for all its elegance and fascination, anime is more attitude than it is substance.
Nevertheless, this major cultural movement defies casual inspection, and this book is an excellent guide for the inquisitive.
 Misleading title May 21, 2009
Mark Graham (allentown, pa United States)
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
Despite the subtitle, there's very little information on Japanese pop culture's adoption by America since World War II. Most of the material covers the phenomenon from the business angle and so there's very little about the actual genres, the major creators, or their impact on the American consciousness other than half a chapter on American fandom. While focusing on the post-Pokemon era, Kelts ignores the decades of interest in Japan stimulated by Godzilla films, the giant robot series like Ultraman and early animes such as Star Blazers. He even fails to mention the enormously popular Transformers--originally a Japanese concept. To my surprise he also ignored the way in which anime and manga have already affected American animation and cartooning--an influence so obvious and pervasive that it surely deserved some mention here. In fact, most of the book is about the anime/manga business in Japan, not the United States. Kelts interest in anime/manga appears to be less for its aesthetic or cultural qualities and more for its changing role in a twenty-first century global economy.
 Good read, but has problems staying on target December 7, 2008
A. Smiley (Seattle, WA USA)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
The book is at its best when chronicling the history of the anime industry and the struggle of its major producers to develop a new, internationally-motivated business model without eroding their creative capital. It's worth reading for this reason alone.
It's at its worst when trying to explain the popularity of anime and the cultural confluences that have allowed it to rise into the American public eye, or the factors that might hamper it in the future. Here some of the connections the author attempts to draw fall flat. (Anime is more popular because of 9/11! Um, no.) Matters are not helped by the occasionally jarring non sequiturs he throws in. (For a book which looks down its nose at mindless cultural fetishism, 'Japanamerica' works hard to be one of the cool kids. What do Fox News and the burning of Dixie Chicks CDs have to do with the future of Japanese cultural exports? Realistically, nothing; they're mentioned only so that the author can demonstrate how cool he is by looking down his nose at them. One wonders what kind of America he grew up in such that those elements are representative.)
Overall, this is a worthy snapshot of the state of anime as a cultural phenomenon. I would give it four or even five stars if more of the book were given over to this. As it is, I'd say get the book but skip the preaching about how rape is no problem in Japan and Americans are either Japanophiles or record-burning, Puritan-descended rednecks. Also, take his praise for Bakshi's animated 'Lord of the Rings' with some salt.
superb discussion of Japan and the US, beyond anime and manga June 2, 2008
Jazz fan (New York, New York United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
As an American who is fascinated with Japan, but frustrated with books about the relationship between the two countries, I found Roland Kelts' "Japanamerica" to be a welcome breath of fresh air. Kelts focuses on the growing popularity of manga and anime among Americans, and the "mobius strip" of give and take between the two cultures, but his focus inevitably widens to address the broader mutual fascination between these two worlds. I love the fact that, as an American with a Japanese mother, Kelts avoids the two hazards of Japanophilia and Japanophobia. There is a refreshingly grounded and sensible middle ground in his analysis, a realism that seems to lighten things up and make it all more accessible and welcoming. Perhaps best of all - and this is a miracle in the world of cultural analysis - Kelts is delightfully unpretentious and his prose is as clear and comprehensible as it is filled with fascinating ideas and observations. Never for a moment do we doubt that Kelts knows what he's talking about it - and he brings it all across with infectious enthusiasm.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
|
|
|
|
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. | |
