Anime Classics Zettai! 100 Must-See Japanese Animation Masterpieces

by Brian Camp, Julie Davis

From Stone Bridge Press, award-winning publishers of The Anime Encyclopedia, Hayao Miyazaki, and The Astro Boy Essays, comes a must-have guide to 100 essential Japanese animation films, TV series, and made-for-video series, from 1950s classics to the latest Cartoon Network hits.

Looking for something specific? Eight unique icons make reviews easy to browse. From  Akira to Naruto, Pokemon to Sailor Moon, anime veterans Brian Camp and Julie Davis present over 100 black & white images alongside summaries, style notes, rare facts, viewer-discretion guides, and critical comments on films that fans absolutely—zettai!—must see.

Julie Davis is the former editor-in-chief of Animerica: Anime & Manga Monthly. A writer and editor in San Francisco, Davis has translated manga for Viz (now Viz Media) and has contributed to Otaku USA and Manga: The Complete Guide.

Brian Camp, program manager at CUNY-TV in New York, was a regular contributor to Animerica: Anime & Manga Monthly, and has taught a course on anime at New York's School of Visual Arts. Camp has also contributed to Animation World, Film Library Quarterly, the Motion Picture Guide, and the New York Daily News.

Genres: Nonfiction

408 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2007

Reviews

[CountZeroOr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book's main problems, and they're minor ones, are twofold. The book features anime that weren't available in the US as of the date the book was released, and the book features anime which have since gone out of print. The latter problem isn't the author's fault in the slightest - they can't have predicted what would or would not still be in print years down the road.

On the other hand, the shows that aren't available are a bit more of a nuisance, as in order for prospective fans of anime to check out those works, they would have, at the time, needed to rely on fansubs, which is a bit much to ask of new fans. That said, some of the offending works have since been licensed for release via streaming (particularly the Captain Harlock TV series). However, other works aren't as accessible, like Mazinger Z and Cyborg 009.

I still think the book holds up well as a good piece of reference material though. I'd say that it doesn't work as well as a reference material for new fans who are looking for material to find on their own, as much as it works as a gift to a new fan from a long time fan, who wants to give the new fan an idea of what's out there, wants to help the new fan figure out what he might like, and who knows how to get ahold of some of the harder to find works, in case those catch the new fan's attention.

[Nakkinak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Invaluable book for every anime and manga connaisseur. It gives a brief insight into the history of anime (that really could have been longer) and a short profile of 14 influential directors. The 100 reviews are insightful and objectively written with careful analysis of plot, design, context and more. I woeuld consider myslf an advanced anime watcher (I already have watched more than 100 anime myself) but there are still great works of the past to discover and I got a new perspective on the works I have already watched.

The reviews include spoilers. I recommend to only read the review after watching the series or film.

I personally missed classics like The Rose of Versailles, Kanashimi no Belladonna or Cat Soup, but I think you could ask one million anime connaisseurs, and no two people would agree on a Top 100.

The book ends after approx. 2006. This is inconventient since this is arguably the time during which a guide would be most needed to have anything to navigate through the flood of increasingly indistinguishable artwork and concepts.

The surprisingly extensive coverage of Satoshi Kon might be interesting to every fan of his. The only work of his that is not covered is Paprika and the introduction states that this is only because the book was nearly finished before the film had been released.

7.5/10

[Clodjee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have often a hard time answering when people ask me to recommend them titles to watch. I’ve seen so many anime that it’s difficult to say which one I like best. This book offers an easy solution: here’s 100 titles that I can easily suggest. The book’s selection probably includes most people’s Top 10 (it’s the case for the staff Top 10 published in PA #84, or mine [minus Megazone 23], and you’ll find almost all Satoshi Kon [save Paprika] and Miyazaki [without Castle Of Cagliostro] titles). Of course, you cannot always agree with their selection (Chobits? Demon City Shinjuku? Harmagedon? Pokemon? Wicked City?!), but it certainly reviews most classic, popular and significant (historically or artistically) anime titles.

All in all, this is a very nice coffee table reading as it offers a ready-made list of viewing as well as lots of interesting information about the reviewed titles. Recommended for anime fans of all levels, zettai! (Absolutely!)

See my complete comment on : http://clodjee.blogspot.ca/2014/07/an...