''The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917'' is a 2001
encyclopedia
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
written by
Jonathan Clements
Jonathan Michael Clements (born 9 July 1971) is a British author and scriptwriter. His non-fiction works include biographies of Confucius, Koxinga and Qin Shi Huang, as well as monthly opinion columns for ''Neo'' magazine. He is also the co-auth ...
and
Helen McCarthy
Helen McCarthy (born 27 February 1951) is the British author of such anime reference books as ''500 Manga Heroes and Villains'', ''Anime!'', ''The Anime Movie Guide'' and '' Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation''. She is the co-author o ...
. It was published in 2001 by Stone Bridge Press in the United States, and a "revised and expanded" edition was released in 2006. In the United Kingdom, it was published by
Titan Books
Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and c ...
. The third edition was released on 3 March 2015 with the subtitle of ''A Century of Japanese Animation''. It gives an overview of most of the famous
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
works since 1917.
Reception
Anime News Network
Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ...
's George Phillips commends the encyclopaedia for "In-depth analysis of several major series, and discussions on hundreds of anime series rarely (if ever) heard of in the West" but criticises it for titles that "aren't listed under the names you suspect; can be quite confusing at first".
Animation World Network
Animation World Network (often just "AWN") is an online publishing group that specializes in resources for animators, with an extensive website offering news, articles and links for professional animators and animation fans. Specifically, AWN co ...
's
Fred Patten comments on the book being "300 pages larger; a 40% expansion" in its "Revised and Expanded" edition compared to the original volume. He commends the manga for being "designed for all readers; laymen and experts (fans and academicians) alike". Animefringe's Ridwan Khan commends the book for having "the entries summarize the plot, offer an opinion, and often discuss points of interest, including similar anime or historical roots. Icons indicating the presence of bad language, nudity, and violence follow each entry. For many, including librarians, parents, and club leaders, this is potentially a very useful at-a-glance feature".
Patrick Macias
Patrick Macias (born 1972 in Sacramento, California) is an American author and co-author of several titles on pop culture fandom, specifically relating to Japanese culture and culture in America. Macias is also a correspondent for NHK World Te ...
from ''
The Japan Times
''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo.
History
''The Japan Times'' was launched b ...
'' comments "while Clements and McCarthy's mastery of Japanese culture, both high and low, is impressive, the authors sometimes stumble when they try to step outside their fields of expertise". Valerie MacEwan commends the book saying, "only the most ardent aficionado of anime would find this volume lacking in detail.
t iseasy to use, fully indexed and cross-referenced with titles in Japanese and English". Sarah of Anime UK News criticises the book saying that Clement's and McCarthy's "descriptions can betray personal preferences which may not coincide with the reader's".
References
Further reading
*
External links
Official site* . Third revised edition (2015).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917, The
2001 non-fiction books
2007 non-fiction books
Books about anime
21st-century encyclopedias
Stone Bridge Press books