I used to think the anime section at my library was just for kids

I was at the Springfield Public Library on Tuesday, picking up a book for a client, and I walked past their anime display. They had a whole shelf for 'Anime Analysis and Fandom Studies' books. I picked one up called 'The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki' and just started flipping through it. It was full of essays about themes like environmentalism and growing up, with pictures from the movies. I sat there for like twenty minutes reading. It totally changed my view. I always thought anime was just cartoons with big eyes and fighting, but this showed me there's real art and big ideas behind it. I ended up checking out 'My Neighbor Totoro' to watch with my niece this weekend. Has anyone else found a book or a place that made them see anime in a whole new way?

3 comments

3 Comments

alexw751mo ago

Wow, talk about judging a book by its cover! I did the same thing until I stumbled on a documentary about how they make anime. It's way more work and thought than people give it credit for. Glad you found the good stuff.

vera30824d ago

My buddy laughed at anime until he spent a weekend binging Cowboy Bebop and apologized to everyone.

patricia6851mo ago

Oh, that's awesome! Just a tiny thing, but Totoro is actually a movie, not a book you read.