Anime Essentials: Every Thing a Fan Needs to Know

What makes Japanese animation Japanese? What are the top, not-to-be-missed films? Who’s got the anime goods? What’s it all mean anyway? Answering just about every question a fan (or curious parent) has, Anime Essentials is an easy-to-read and fun-to-look-at overview of the pop culture phenomenon sweeping America. It discusses the major players, where to get your anime fix, otaku (devoted fan) etiquette, how to run an anime club (and get pre-release screenings!), how to "talk" anime to outsiders, and lots more of interest both to veterans and newcomers.

One of the New York Public Libary's 2001 Books for the the Teen Age List.

"Overall, this book opens its welcoming arms wide to newcomers, so that more people can enjoy anime's story qualities, human element and cinematic, artistic effects. A valuable book!" -- Protocultue Addicts

"For the anime beginner, this is a great place to start." -- Dreamwatch

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Book for Initiates AND Otaku!

By James M. Stafford III - July 30, 2001

I already owned Poitras' The Anime Companion and regularly visit his Web site, so I knew Anime Essentials would be a great book. Anime Essentials has A LOT of great, useful information for those just beginning to learn about anime beyond the Sailor Moon and Pokémon crazes, covering many facets from history to distribution to making connections to merchandise. Also included are 41 recommended anime titles (films, series, and OAVs), as well as various anime resources. As an otaku, I still found plenty of new information in this book, as well as a fresh new perspective on several anime titles. Of the 41 recommended titles, I have seen all but five, which I suppose marks my "status" as an otaku. Poitras' insights into the famous Otaku no video were especially interesting, and can teach even diehard anime otaku more about this great series. This is a great book for parents, teachers, and anyone else who deals with children who regularly watch CardCaptors, Sailor Moon,... read more

Nothing new for me, but valuable for some

By Brian Ruh - February 5, 2001

I was sincerely looking forward to this book, as any new addition to the body of literature on anime is a good one. However, the first thing I noticed is how small the book is; it barely squeaks over 125 pages. At the same time, the font used for the main text seems excessively large. What this means is that there was far less actual reading material in this book than I had originally hoped for?And the content? I didn't find much new in this book, which was another disappointment; I was hoping to discover some great insider information and maybe a few fan secrets. Admittedly, this book isn't written for fans like me. Rather, this is a fairly painless entry into the world of Japanese animation, and with that in mind it serves its purpose very well. Still, it should have been titled "A Basic Primer" rather than "Every Thing a Fan Needs to Know."

An excellent starting place

By Michael K. Smith - March 14, 2005

I'm too old to have discovered Japanese manga and anime in my youth, but I've made up for that the past few years. Being interested in Japanese culture and literature generally, I had some understanding of why anime is the way it is, and why it's so much different from American or European graphic art, but reading this well-written book, I found there was a great deal I had missed. Poitras writes from the fan's point of view, so he knows what questions he should be addressing -- everything from the "big eye" mania, to the difference between hentai and mainstream manga, to the nervousness among the U.S. morals police about "foreign" art, to actually setting up and publicizing a fan group, plus the ins and outs of model kits, imported publications, and so on. There's also an excellent rundown of recommended anime titles and series, which I've photocopied as a checklist. This book doesn't tell you everything you need to know, but it's a good place to start.