The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
mallaeuswastaken's review
4.0
A really interesting series of critical perspectives on Japanese sf.
All of the essays are really informative and well researched/argued, and I particularly enjoyed the final one on Otaku sexuality and yaoi culture.
Great stuff!
All of the essays are really informative and well researched/argued, and I particularly enjoyed the final one on Otaku sexuality and yaoi culture.
Great stuff!
ctrack's review
3.0
There’s a lot to like in this book. The first part, all about Japanese print SF, was incredibly interesting on a historical level. The second part, about anime and SF, was also very interesting historically but the technical jargon on some of them was almost impenetrable. Additionally, some of the views on psychology, gender, sexuality, etc… are noticeably dated both for then and now. Otherwise, a fairly good intro into the history of SciFi in Japan and the influence it had on the country’s literary and animated works.
mallaeus's review
4.0
A really interesting series of critical perspectives on Japanese sf.
All of the essays are really informative and well researched/argued, and I particularly enjoyed the final one on Otaku sexuality and yaoi culture.
Great stuff!
All of the essays are really informative and well researched/argued, and I particularly enjoyed the final one on Otaku sexuality and yaoi culture.
Great stuff!
tinycl0ud's review
3.0
Chapters I particularly enjoyed:
3. Alien Spaces and Alien Bodies in Japanese Women’s Science Fiction (Kotani Mari)
A very interesting and v different take of the monstrous maternal than western literature/film.
6. When the Machines Stop: Fantasy, Reality, and Terminal Identity in Neon Genesis Evangelion and Serial Experiments: Lain (Susan J. Napier)
In-depth analysis of medium/style!
9. Sex and the Single Cyborg: Japanese Popular Culture Experiments in Subjectivity (Sharalyn Orbaugh)
This was so interesting!! A reading of NGE and GitS through a rigorous psychoanalytical framework IN CONTEXT.
3. Alien Spaces and Alien Bodies in Japanese Women’s Science Fiction (Kotani Mari)
A very interesting and v different take of the monstrous maternal than western literature/film.
6. When the Machines Stop: Fantasy, Reality, and Terminal Identity in Neon Genesis Evangelion and Serial Experiments: Lain (Susan J. Napier)
In-depth analysis of medium/style!
9. Sex and the Single Cyborg: Japanese Popular Culture Experiments in Subjectivity (Sharalyn Orbaugh)
This was so interesting!! A reading of NGE and GitS through a rigorous psychoanalytical framework IN CONTEXT.
rejecteddounut's review
4.0
I didn't read every chapter because there were a few things that I was unfamiliar with or didn't want to get spoiled because I'm in the middle of some of the anime. However, I did read about 75% of the book. It had some really interesting insights into Japanese science fiction.
Some of the most intriguing chapters were the ones that spoke about the origins of Japanese science fiction, Japanese women in scifi, cyborgs and sexuality, loan words from different languages that have infiltrated Japanese scifi, and otaku sexuality.
If you enjoy anime, manga, or any type of Japanese scifi, I suggest you give this a look because it really put some things into perspective regarding why Japanese scifi is so different from, say, American scifi. The different essay writers do a very good job with providing examples and explaining their arguments even if you aren't familiar with every single piece of work that is mentioned.
Overall, it was an interesting and fun read and I felt like I learned quite a bit about Japan's scifi origins and Japanese scifi culture.
Some of the most intriguing chapters were the ones that spoke about the origins of Japanese science fiction, Japanese women in scifi, cyborgs and sexuality, loan words from different languages that have infiltrated Japanese scifi, and otaku sexuality.
If you enjoy anime, manga, or any type of Japanese scifi, I suggest you give this a look because it really put some things into perspective regarding why Japanese scifi is so different from, say, American scifi. The different essay writers do a very good job with providing examples and explaining their arguments even if you aren't familiar with every single piece of work that is mentioned.
Overall, it was an interesting and fun read and I felt like I learned quite a bit about Japan's scifi origins and Japanese scifi culture.
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