A review by rejecteddounut
Robot Ghosts and Wired Dreams: Japanese Science Fiction from Origins to Anime by Takayuki Tatsumi, Christopher Bolton, Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr.
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.