Stray Dog of Anime: The Films of Mamoru Oshii

by Brian Ruh

Upon its U.S. release in the mid 1990s Ghost in the Shell , directed by Mamoru Oshii, quickly became one of the most popular Japanese animated films, or anime, in the country. Despite these accolades, Oshii is known as a contrarian within anime, a self-proclaimed 'stray dog', avoiding the limelight in favour of his own personal cinematic vision. He cannot be pigeon-holed, working in both live-action film and animation, directing everything from absurdist comedy to thrillers to meditations on the nature of reality. Stray Dog of Anime is the first book to take an in-depth look at Oshii's major films, form his early days working on Urusei Yatsura to Avalon , his most recent feature. Ruh details Oshii's evolution as a director, paying special attention to his personal style and symbolism, resulting in a unique guide that will appeal to anime fans and cinestes of all kinds.

Genres: Film, Japan, Nonfiction, Art, Anime, Biography

240 pages, Paperback

First published June 12, 2004

Reviews

[Jlawrence · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointingly superficial look at this anime and live-action film director. A lot of it devolves into just plot summaries of his films.

[Anonymous4999 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The books ie exactly what is says on the tin: an introduction to the films of Mamoru Oshii (up to 2004).
Stray Dog of Anime gives readers essays discussing the plot, characters and themes of Mamoru Oshii's films, one of the most respected and critically acclaimed directors in anime working today.
Obviously the book is a bit dated since it only covers Oshii's output up to 2004 but it's a pretty good introduction to his oeuvre.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing monumental or intricate about the analysis of Oshii's career in here for me. There were moments of interesting concepts that were mentioned but never fully discussed in depth making this more an exercise in frustrated what ifs than anything else.

Also, the author used "said whoever," instead of "whoever said," all the time and I wanted to throw myself off a cliff each time I read it.

[Lawrence Yaghmour]

Good overview of Oshii's work.