Interpreting Anime

334 Pages·2018·4.75 MB·English

by  Christopher Bolton

Interpreting Anime
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Interpreting Anime
Christopher Bolton
University of Minnesota Press
Minneapolis
London
An earlier version of chapter 1 was previously published as “From Ground
Zero to Degree Zero: Akira from Origin to Oblivion,” Mechademia 9
(Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2014), 295–3 15. An earlier
version of chapter 2 was previously published as “The Mecha’s Blind Spot:
Patlabor 2 and the Phenomenology of Anime,” Science Fiction Studies 29,
no. 3 (November 2002): 453– 74, and in Robot Ghosts and Wired Dreams:
Japanese Science Fictions from Origins to Anime, ed. Christopher Bolton,
Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr., and Takayuki Tatsumi (Minneapolis: University
of Minnesota Press, 2007), 123– 47. An earlier version of chapter 3 was pre-
viously published as “From Wooden Cyborgs to Celluloid Souls: Mechanical
Bodies in Anime and Japanese Puppet Theater,” positions: east asia cul-
tures critique 10, no. 3 (Winter 2002): 729–7 1. An earlier version of chap-
ter 4 was previously published as “Anime Horror and Its Audience: 3x3
Eyes and Vampire Princess Miyu,” in Japanese Horror Cinema, ed. Jay McRoy
(Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2005), 66– 76. An earlier version
of chapter 6 was previously published as “The Quick and the Undead:
Visual and Political Dynamics in Blood: The Last Vampire,” Mechademia 2
(Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2007), 125– 42.
Copyright 2018 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota
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ISBN 978-1-5179-0402-9 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-5179-0403-6 (pb)
A Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the
Library of Congress.
Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper
The University of Minnesota is an equal- opportunity educator and employer.
24 23 22 21 20 19 18 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Kija, Mariko, and Erika
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Contents
A Note on the Text ix
Introduction. Read or Die: Reading Anime 1
1 From Origin to Oblivion: Akira as Anime and Manga 23
2 The Mecha’s Blind Spot: Cinematic and Electronic 59
in Patlabor 2
3 Puppet Voices, Cyborg Souls: Ghost in the Shell and 95
Classical Japanese Theater
4 The Forgetful Phallus and the Otaku’s Third Eye: 137
3x3 Eyes and Anime’s Audience
5 Anime in Drag: Stage Performance and Staged 169
Performance in Millennium Actress
6 The Quick and the Undead: Blood: The Last Vampire 197
and Television Anime
7 It’s Art, but Is It Anime? Howl’s Moving Castle and 233
the Novel
Conclusion: Summer Wars 253
Chronology 261
Acknowledgments 263
Notes 265
Moving Image Sources 289
Bibliography 293
Index 305
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A Note on the Text
W
ith the exception of one or two titles mentioned in passing, all
of the anime discussed in this book have been released in North
America, in DVD or Blu- ray editions with English subtitles. These
subtitles provide reliable translations, but for the quotations in
this book I have made my own translations from the original Jap-
anese dialogue. (Readers consulting English dubbed versions of
the anime may notice some differences, since dubs often feature
freer translations and incorporate changes to the original scripts.)
Japanese names in the body of the text are given in Japanese
order, family name first.
ix