Akadot - Article: A review of "Anime Essentials: Everything A Fan Needs To Know" page 1

Every anime fan remembers that first event...when they gazed up at that TV screen showing whatever-that-cartoon-is for the first time. There was that sense of overwhelming awe that would haunt them forever. Maybe you didn't know what you were watching, maybe you did. All you knew is that you wanted to find more of it, and would go to far reaching lengths to get it. As we pursued that awe we unknowingly took our first steps towards anime fandom. Sometimes we gaze back at the embarrassing mistakes and the silly squabbles on our way and wished weÕd known better. If we had only had a guide...

Anime Essentials: Everything A Fan Needs To Know lives up to its title. It is a much-needed primer for the "at first glance" complex labyrinth of anime subculture. Gilles Poitras is one of us; he knows of what he speaks from experience a fellow anime fan and is yet able to explain it to those just starting out from a beginner's viewpoint. With his background in library science and religious studies he is able to convey to the reader enough information to get a general grasp of a subject without overloading with not-as-yet needed details. Mr. Poitras also follows in the Stone Bridge Press reputation of quality, covering controversial topics in a responsible, nonjudgmental and educated manner.

Mr. Poitras starts with a few history lessons on how anime is released and a section on the history of english-language fandom, such as the rise of anime in the United States and listing the era in which each new group of fans were brought into the fold. The history chapters are almost 1/3 of the book but they give younger fans an appreciation for all of the things that are taken for granted today. He starts from the 60's onward, telling the reader of times gone by when almost all anime available was dubbed and cut for television and the only fresh anime available was from raw import, often at extraordinary effort. As each era passed marked by series (Astro Boy, Star Blazers, Robotech), new advances were made; one such advancement was the concept of fan subbing and distribution in order to avoid the practice of reading timing scripts in darkened theaters. The last part of the history ends with the present day, where the concept of one show bringing in a wave of anime fans is now replaced with anime being a mainstream on television and newer fans coming in an ever-present stream.

After the section on history the chapters are divided into short articles on a variety of subjects such as different genres like shoujo and shonen, what makes anime so unique in style, starting your own anime club and tips for its success, attending conventions in an enjoyable fashion and getting the best price for anime goods outside of Japan. The sections on activities such as starting an anime club and attending convention are compiled only of the most needed pieces of advice, such as rotating officers in an anime club to prevent burnout and the reminder to prevent dehydration and sleep loss in order to fully enjoy a convention. The well-worn common arguments of nudity and violence in anime are also addressed in this fashion along with non-fan objections to anime to calm uneducated parental and teacher fears.

While Mr. Poitras separate articles are organized well, a few chapters seem to appear out of sequence. However, due to the massive jumps from subject to subject into touching on everything, it is immensely forgivable. Trying to organize topics from doujinshi, toy collecting, controversies and titles into a coherent flow is incredibly difficult and Mr. Poitras does it amazingly well.

While Anime Essentials is concise and covers only the most essential items, this is also one of its pitfalls: someone who has been in fandom for a while may already know the contents within already, only finding a few pieces of information they did not know. Also, the book is short, ranging only 127 pages making it an incredibly light read with its larger font and small paragraphs. However, such a criticism is mainly irrelevant, since this books main audience is for those who are just starting out and do not know all of the things most older fans have learned by trial and error or casual research.

Anime Essentials is an excellent book for younger fans finding out what anime is all about and for parents who wish to get a better grasp on their child's hobby and school libraries to stack for research purposes. If we had only had it sooner....