World Famous Comics: From Impressionism to Anime: Japan as Fantasy and Fan Cult in the Mind of the West
From Impressionism to Anime: Japan as Fantasy and Fan Cult in the Mind of the West
By: Susan J. Napier Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Palgrave Macmillan Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 272 Publication Date: December 26, 2007 Release Date: December 26, 2007
What is it about anime that is so appealing to a transnational fan base? Is the American attraction to anime similar to the popularity of previous fads of Japanese culture, like the Japonisants of fin-de-siecle France enamored of Japanese art and architecture, or the American poets in the fifties and sixties who latched onto haiku? Or is this something new, a product of global culture in which ethnic identities carry less weight? This book explores these issues by taking a look at anime fans and the place they occupy, both in terms of subculture in Japan and America, and in relation to Western perceptions of Japan since the late 1800s.
Soft Power of Japonism Conquers the World Review of Susan J. Napier's "From Impressionism to Anime: Japan as Fantasy and Fan Cult in the Mind of the West".
Professor Napier has disproved Kipling's aphroism -"The east is east, and the west is west, and never the twain shall meet". In her latest book, Professor Napier establishes the long and impressive history where the east meets the west - specifically, how the images and fantasy of Japonism were reflected in the Western intellectuals' minds.
When the bamboo curtain was forcefully drawn open by Commodore Perry in 1853, Japan didn't lose its mystery; in fact, the glimpses of Japan magnified its exotic allure to the Western intellectuals. This book is not only a tour de force, it is a tour d'horizon - introducing us to those whose works were influenced profoundly by their ideas (fantasies) of Japan - from the Impressionists (e.g., Monet and Van Gogh), to playwrights (e.g., Gilbert and Sullivan), to architects (e.g., Frank Lloyd Wright), to contemporary writers and film-makers (Quentin Tarantino). This cultural influence is what Prof. Napier refers to as "soft power" of Japonism. Contemporary popular Japanese culture vernacularized by anime has brought Japonism to millions to youths in the West.
I give this book four stars rather than five, because I feel forced to take away a star due to the unfortunate editing. First of all, the cover is ghastly. The photo itself is ridiculous, and its washed-out color makes it look like it went through the washing machine. Second, the quality of the photo illustrations are so pathetic - mostly black and white when the color may be the most important aspect of the Japonism to be illustrated, and even the colored illustrations are too small to appreciate. Lastly, the editor must have been asleep - the index paginations are all two or more pages off as he/she forgot to count the illustrated pages. One suspects that the publisher was trying to publish the book on the cheap, when the book is so rich, not only in textual content, but also begs for visual illustrations as they are the visions of the fantasies fancied by the Western mind.
Ko-Yung Tung, Yale University
East meets West and Wonderful Things Happen From Impressionism to Anime: Japan as Fantasy and Fan Cult in the Mind of the West This book provides an illuminating history and analysis of the interactions of Japan and the West in the realm of the arts, literature, and film, yielding insights and assessments that are original and on the mark. It also explores the ways in which these aesthetic creations affect individual artists, viewers, readers, and fans, resulting in a virtual reality which is not just an escape but also an imaginary realm in which problems and possible solutions can be experimented and played with until they are ready for prime time in the real world. Reading it was a pleasurable and stimulating experience.
Rather Disappointing I'm a little confused by this book. Taken in the context of professor Napier's other books, it is difficult to place. A few finished and thoughtful essays are embedded in a matrix of tentative and poorly developed filler. I can see that the intention was to place the study of anime and manga fandom into a broader context including art-historical and anthropological analysis, but the effort falls well short of the mark. A well-considered and interesting essay on Pierre Loti's Madame Chrysanthemum rubs elbows with a feeble name-drop style entry on Frank Lloyd Wright. The bibliography is useful. The cover design is HORRIBLE. The typography is surprisingly bad. The illustrations in the book are printed so poorly that they have become pointless. All of the index entries that I checked referred to the wrong page numbers.
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