The New Anime Companion

Date: 2005 August 08 17:50

Posted by Jeremy

Anime fans wanting to know more about all the various cultural references that pop up in their favorite anime can now rejoice. Anime News Network has announced that Stone Bridge Press, publisher of books about Japan, is releasing The Anime Companion 2: More... What's Japanese in Japanese Animation?, the follow-up to the popular book written by Gilles Poitras, who also writes the new volume.

Like its predecessor, The Anime Companion 2 contains glossary-style entries to help readers decipher anime's distinctive content, images and cultural motifs. Everything from city landmarks to food to clothing to historical figures is covered in fascinating detail, using illustrations anime images, film citations and numerous references to the related art of manga. With entries in both kanji (Japanese characters) and English, the book also contains maps of old provinces and current prefectures (and the 23 wards of Tokyo), making it an absolute must-have for those wanting to learn about Japan, whether they're otaku or not.