The story of filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki's life and work, including his significant impact on Japan and the world A thirtieth-century toxic jungle, a bathhouse for tired gods, a red-haired fish girl, and a furry woodland spirit—what do these have in common? They all spring from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki, one of the greatest living animators, known worldwide for films such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and The Wind Rises. Japanese culture and animation scholar Susan Napier explores the life and art of this extraordinary Japanese filmmaker to provide a definitive account of his oeuvre. Napier insightfully illuminates the multiple themes crisscrossing his work, from empowered women to environmental nightmares to utopian dreams, creating an unforgettable portrait of a man whose art challenged Hollywood dominance and ushered in a new chapter of global popular culture.

Hayao Miyazaki has gained worldwide recognition as a leading figure in the history of animation, alongside Walt Disney, Milt Kahl, Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Yuri Norstein and John Lasseter. In both his films and his writings, Miyazaki invites us to reflect on the unexamined beliefs that govern our lives. His eclectic body of work addresses compelling philosophical and political questions and demands critical attention. This study examines his views on contemporary culture and economics from a broad spectrum of perspectives, from Zen and classical philosophy and Romanticism, to existentialism, critical theory, poststructuralism and psychoanalytic theory.

This collection features examinations of popular culture, including manga, music, film, cosplay, and literature, among other topics. Using interdisciplinary sources and analyses, this collection adds to the global discussion and relevancy of Japanese popular culture. This collection serves to highlight the work of multidisciplinary scholars who offer fresh perspectives of ongoing cross-cultural and cyclical influences that are commonly found between the US and Japan. Notably, this collection considers the relationships that have influenced Japanese popular culture, and how this has, in turn, influenced the Western world.

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The phenomenally popular "Power Rangers", the most mainstream offshoot of "anime", or Japanese animation, is just the tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds of these virtually astonishing films, appealing to people of all ages and tastes. This guide features detailed listings of feature films and direct-to-video features, arranged by title, year of release, and subject, that have been released since 1983. Illustrations throughout.

Cavallaro examines the artistic development of anime, from its origins as a subset of the Japanese film industry to its modern-day status as one of the most popular forms of animation worldwide, and examines the impact of the medium within Western contexts.

The one-stop reference to Japanese animation. Everything you ever wanted to know about anime in America: More than 1,200 home video titles (an alphabetical listing of ever domestic anime home video available during 1996, including video sleeve reproduction, program synopsis, production credits, technical notes and content advisory; Television series (a review of most of the Japanese animated TV series broadcast in the U.S., including synopsis, cast of characters and production credits; Anime suppliers; Fan Resources; Anime genres: