The world of Japanese Animation is a scary one, and may feel at times like an untended middle-school locker room. Yet into it we are driven, by the deadening stench of otherwise popular culture. The dangers of Anime are many, and its allure treacherous. Yet from this weird ore may be mined nuggets to delight those raised on bland Puritan fare.

What if I’m a lake?

Anime excels at addressing, in meticulous and torrid detail, those questions which interest youths the world over, but are quashed in most societies as unnecessary, unhealthy, taboo. The dominant theme, it must be admitted, is the horrible drama of puberty. But more nuanced themes, including explorations of technology, spirituality, and the nature of consciousness also arise, with far more frequency and in far greater detail than in any accessible Western arena.

On the whole it is a parallel universe dominated by adolescents. We can’t really blame the Japanese. With the monolith of Mother China on the one hand and the patriarchal goad of Douglas MacArthur on the other, any one of us would surely be driven to the same ends, though probably with fewer tentacles. That comes from an historically sea-based economy.

Regardless - its brave leap into the abyss is a refreshing foil to a world dominated by the temerity and theodicy of Calvinists. And some of us have never stopped wondering: what happens when my gender suddenly changes?

Prepare to learn, brave reader, and enjoy.

- P. Richardson, Bruxelles, 1972

Contents:

• Standout Series
• Other Series
• Features Directed by Miyazaki
• Other Notable Features
• Related / Referenced