The first book-length collection by the most respected writer on anime and manga today

Watching Anime,
Reading Manga

25 Years of
Essays and Reviews

FRED PATTEN

Foreword by Carl Macek

376 pp, 6 x 9", paper, 40 illustrations,
fully indexed,
ISBN 1-880656-92-2, $18.95



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“With this twenty-five-year overview, Fred Patten establishes himself as the uber-fan and reporter par excellence on the anime scene in America. Among other things, he puts to rest the long-simmering dispute about Kimba versus Simba, The Lion King. A must-read for fans and pros alike.”
Fred Ladd, writer/director/producer of Astro Boy, Gigantor, 8th Man, Kimba, and many more

“These collected articles on Japanese animation and comics are essential reading. Fred Patten is not only America’s leading expert on anime and manga, but his enthusiasm for the subject and his efforts on behalf of the genre have influenced and enlightened a whole generation of fandom.”
Jerry Beck, animation historian and author

“Fred Patten is an acknowledged authority on manga and anime in the United States, having been an active part of its fandom decades before it became mainstream. Fred’s writings give a unique insider’s view into this fascinating genre.”
Stan Sakai, writer and artist of Usagi Yojimbo

Anime’s influence can be found in every corner of American media, from film and television to games and graphics arts. And Fred Patten is largely responsible. He was reading manga and watching anime before most of the current generation of fans was born. His active participation in fan clubs and his prolific magazine writing helped create the market and build American anime fandom into the vibrant community it is today.

Watching Anime, Reading Manga gathers together a quarter century of Patten’s lucid observations on the business of anime, fandom, artists, Japanese society, and the most influential titles. Illustrated with original fanzine covers and archival photos.

Fred Patten discovered manga and anime in the 1970s and was a cofounder of the first American anime fan club in 1977. He has been writing about anime since the early 1980s for popular culture magazines like Starlog and for specialty magazines like Manga Max. He currently writes regular anime columns for Animation World Magazine and Newtype USA and acts as a consultant for many animation and anime film festivals.


SIXTY-THREE ARTICLES ON

Anime Fandom
• the first ads in America
• Japanese recognition of American anime fans
• fanzines
• anime conventions
• into the mainstream on cable TV and in films like Kill Bill and “live-action anime” like The Matrix

The Business of Anime
• soundtracks
• licensing
• home video
• theatrical features
• Simba versus Kimba
• Nadia versus Atlantis
• anime pornography

Artists
• Shotaro Ishinomori
• Go Nagai
• Hayao Miyazaki
• Carl Macek
• Fred Ladd

Japanese Culture in Anime
• anime business in Japan
• manga
• refighting WWII

Includes classic articles throughout annotated with the author's own updates and reflections comparing past understandings (and misunderstandings) with the current scene.


Other titles of interest

Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga by Frederik L. Schodt

The Anime Companion: What's Japanese in Japanese Animation? by Gilles Poitras

Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation by Helen McCarthy