Samurai from Outer Space: Understanding Japanese Animation,   ISBN:9780812693324

Customer Rating: 

Even though this book was published in 1996, much of the information included in the book is still as relevant today as it was when the book was first published. Because of the book's age, there is a small number of anime referenced for examples, since at that time, not as much anime was being brought over to America. If you read this book, expect to find a number of references to such older anime titles as Ranma 1/2, Bubblegum Crisis, Star Blazers, Oh My Goddess!, Urusei Yatsura, and Tenchi Muyo! Also because of when the book was written, the author makes many references to Generation X in the text.

Samurai From Outer Space: Understanding Japanese Animation covers such topics as how anime became noticed in the United States, the reactions and reception anime received in the United States, the mythology behind the various gods, demons, heroes, and villains that appear in anime, the origin of mecha in anime, topics that are covered in anime that are generally taboo on American television, and the portrayal of women in anime.

Even though Antonia Levi is a college professor, she understands that she is writing for an audience that consists of more than college students learning about anime. She understands that she doesn't need to use a lot of big words and overly long sentences to get the information across to the reader. There's only one chapter that could even be seen as a "boring" chapter ("Other Gods, Other Demons"); however, this is only due to the fact that this particular chapter has a lot of information about Japanese history included in it to explain some of the character types that are frequently seen in anime.

Personally, I would recommend this book to anyone who is starting to become interested in anime. While the book itself is old, the information included in it is still helpful to people who read it today. I would also recommend this book to people who already have a familiarity with anime, because in some respects, it also gives a historical perspective of what the anime industry in the United States was like back in the mid-1990's.

Customer Rating: 

From the title and the beautiful cover art from Starblazers, I couldn't wait to read this book. The subtitle is "Understanding Japanese Animation". Quotes on the back call it a "guide" and claim it reveals " a lot about contemporary Japan", and that the author uncovers the "hidden meaning" of Japanese animation, and "the symbols and stories drawn from Shinto, Buddhism, and Japanese art". That made me want to read it more.



Let's start with the givens. This book is almost ten years old, and shows signs of being edited to reach a wider audience. It also seems to consist of a number of papers or essays tied together. The author blurb on the back is about how she has a PhD in Japanese history and all her credentials for writing about things Japanese. That wouldn't be germane to the issue, except for the slant in the book. And it's very slanted.



The opening chapter is extremely intriguing and asks, in essence, "Are you Otaku?" which is to say, a fan of anime. Then the author defensively asserts her chops, a tendency which becomes far more prevalent as the book goes on, continually saying "I know more than you do." Or sometimes, "You think you know what's going on, but you don't." It reminds me of the love- hate relationship sci- fi writers have to Star Trek conventions. The only time she mentions Star Trek, incidentally, is to point out how later anime fan writers sneak in references to anime and opt for more ambiguous story lines.



Almost every chapter (or essay) ends with an unstated thesis that would have made an interesting book: that Gen X (so called) viewers are drawn to anime because of ambiguity in their own lives. However, she usually outshouts that thesis with another one-- that this proves they're not the attention deficit slackers they're often written off as. Even that would be an interesting thesis were it supported by even one example.



The Otaku viewpoint is significant because the author judges a work based on its audience. While she pays the necessary tribute to Osamu Tezuka, she nevertheless dismisses Astro Boy (Mighty Atom), one of the early popular anime shows in the US, because the audience didn't know it was Japanese. That would seem to be in its favor, but it conflicts with another hidden thesis that anime is made for Japanese and not Westerners. To support that thesis requires ignoring all other early anime offerings, including Speed Racer, Gigantor, and Battle of the Planets. It also ignores the long history of live action films like Godzilla in the West.



But then, the West is, of course, the problem. The author's way of explaining the Japanese view of anything is to contrast it to the "Judeo- Christian" view we in the West all believe. Never mind that a great number of people in the West don't believe these views which are held by Judeo- Christians, whatever those are. The author is so sure "we" believe these things that she never checks facts, and is therefore content to repeat one sentence myths about the Middle Ages, long discredited, that we all know. All this does is make me wonder about the Japanese views the Western views are contrasted with. Since again, not one example is given of any Japanese thinking this way, they seem at best inconclusive.



Quick! Retreat into the I know more than you do mode (or transform into it, for Mecha fans). The Japanese word is, of course, untranslatable. I, genius that I am, think this, whereas stupid fans-- that would be you watching the show-- mistake it for that. Ha ha! Aren't those Otaku amusing? It's like a Star Trek convention.



The parts about Shinto stories inspiring anime are intriguing. You knew something like that was going on in Pokemon, and with eight million gods, souls or spirits to choose from, the results are endless. But again, the author must assert a hidden thesis which eventually seems based merely on personal preference and Freudian double speak. You can't possibly enjoy this advanced anime because you don't know a nosebleed always represents something else. If it comes to that, you wouldn't notice this god from this ancient story because the gender has been changed and she is an executive in Tokyo (no, you probably wouldn't notice that). But when she admits an obvious connection in a well-known and much studied anime like Dragonball, she then asserts there's no relation to its source material. Freudian lit analysis plays the same game of now this gun represents something else; presto! now it's just a gun.



The one place to connect with the casual viewer is in the section on mecha. But the author's thesis that the Japanese have a horror of cyborgs since they involve replacing body parts in no way explains something that far more puzzles and intrigues Western viewers-- their fascination with giant robots. Her way of explaining this is to not explain it, and instead concentrate on exoskeleton suits.



This is the sort of pop cult book by an academic that is all answers and no questions. You learn a lot more about the author than you do about anime or Otaku. You learn, for instance, that she likes (or at least chooses to continually write about) Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2, Bubblegum Crisis/ Bubblegum Crash, Doomed Magalopolis, and grudgingly, Akira, which was, of course, changed to accomodate Western audiences, who ruined it by making it popular, but fortunately didn't understand it. Transformers is conspicuous by its absence. Neither did Battle of the Planets, or its Japanese original, Gatchaman, make the cut.



Of course one can't cover everything, and one doesn't need to. But if the author hoped to convince readers to watch new anime, as maintained in the Preface, the effect on this reader was the opposite. By ignoring anime I am familiar with, and which has long been available in the US, by stereotyping the "West" in one sentence dismissals, and by expressing continual disdain for the unlettered, unwashed anime audience, she's convinced me to stay away from her favorite anime, which I otherwise might have watched. After all, even ten years ago there was plenty of anime to choose from, and no lack of zealous Otaku eager to share their favorites.

Customer Rating: 

This is actually a very good book despite the awful title and uninspired cover work. It's strength is in the detail with which it deals with the cultural and mythological subtexts of anime. While this is only one way of approaching anime, "Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke" takes a differnt, sociological approach, it offers interesting and useful insight into what to look for in watching anime. Where else, for instance, would you learn to look at how the heroine in "Zenki" controls her demon as an allegory for how Japanese wives control their husbands?

Customer Rating: 

Samurai from Outer Space is a little dated. However, the cultural information is valid, relevant, and amusingly presented. As a diehard, long-time fan of the medium, I also consider the examples listed to be a basic primer of classic anime. Like watching old American movies, watching older anime helps a viewer appreciate where the medium has been, where it is now, and the possible directions it could go.

Customer Rating: 

I've never liked Japanese animation. I missed out on "Astro Boy" and "Speed Racer" when I was a kid. To me, "Kimba the White Lion" represented Japanese animation. Something about the oddness in the characters voices (they always threw in extra syllables at the end of their sentences, "We have to go save him, huh?") and the gender ambiguity of the lead character (these things are important to uptight pre-pubescent kids) really bothered me.

By the time Japanese animation took hold in the US cartoon market with shows such as "Voltron," or "Robotech," I was done with cartoons. By the time Japanese animation started showing up on the shelves at Blockbuster Video, I learned that one should refer to Japanese animation as "Anime." In the years between, I found that the same kind of geeky know-it-all kids who dominated the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons scene and who lingered too long at comic book stores discussing the outcome of a battle between the "Teen Titans" and "Alpha Flight," were the same folks who loved Anime.

Have you ever disliked a band because of its fans? This was the same kind of thing. I have yet to listen to anything by The Misfits merely because of all the losers in leather jackets who would come to concerts and stand in my way or push people around in the pit. Nine times out of ten they'd have on some sort of Misfits paraphernalia. No one's written a book explaining the music of the Misfits from an outsider's point of view.

Thankfully, Antonia Levy's book Samurai from Outer Space is the perfect guide for jerks like me who've dismissed an entire animation style out of dislike for its diehard fans. Subtitled "Understanding Japanese Animation," Levy takes the reader through the history of Anime and Manga (Japanese comic books). She explains common themes explored in these media, helping to put them into cultural and historical perspective.

Levy's book isn't a lofty dissertation on the integration of Shinto myths into modern Anime. While she covers those subjects and more, Levy quickly gets to brass tacks. In her first chapter, she addresses one of my burning questions about Anime and Manga, "Why do these Japanese characters have exaggerated Anglo features?" According to Levy, the characters are not thought of as belonging to any one particular race. Instead, those big round eyes are more of a stylistic flourish of Manga - just as big eyes are trademark in the U.S. to those annoying Precious Moments statuettes.

In Samurai from Outer Space, Levy addresses the appeal of Anime and Manga to Easterners and Westerners. More than cheaply made adventure stories, Anime and Manga are often steeped in the rich culture of their homeland, just as U.S. storytellers sweeten their narratives with references or by playing off of common cultural themes. Just as a viewer not entirely familiar with Greek mythology might not get as many laughs watching "Xena: Warrior Princess" as someone who really knows their Homer, without a substantial understanding of Shinto myth one might scratch their head at "Ranma ½." A thorough and well-written tome, Samurai from Outer Space convinced me to give Anime another chance. (ISBN: 0812693329)