From Impressionism to Anime: Japan as Fantasy and Fan Cult in the Mind of the West

by Susan J. Napier

What is it about anime that is so appealing to a transnational fan base? Is the American attraction to anime similar to the popularity of previous fads of Japanese culture, like the Japonisants of fin-de-siecle France enamored of Japanese art and architecture, or the American poets in the fifties and sixties who latched onto haiku? Or is this something new, a product of global culture in which ethnic identities carry less weight? This book explores these issues by taking a look at anime fans and the place they occupy, both in terms of subculture in Japan and America, and in relation to Western perceptions of Japan since the late 1800s.

Genres: Nonfiction, Japan, Art, Art History, Japanese Literature, Cultural, Academia

272 pages, Hardcover

First published November 27, 2007

About the author

Susan Jolliffe Napier is a Professor of the Japanese Program at Tufts University.