Books and Periodicals on Anime and Manga.

This page is intended to supplement my Librarian's Guide to Anime and Manga and Teacher's Companion to the Anime Companion.

 

For items about anime and manga. I am listing all titles in English for fans and researchers, a listing for one of these titles does not mean a recommendation. Some of these works are out of stock or out of print, others may be available only in import editions. When The Right stuf carries the item I will link to their entry for it.

 

For books I have found useful about Japan see the bibliography in the Anime Companion Supplement web pages.

Note on buying items:

If you are interested in buying items I strongly urge you to check local dealers first. This supports your local source and encourages them to stock more books on anime and manga.

 

If you are unable to get items from a local dealer you can use the links on this page. I have become a Right Stuf Anime Associate and have linked to appropriate title locations on the Right Stuf site if a title is available from them. Please enable cookies if you have turned them off before clicking the Right Stuf link.

Books on Anime in General	Anthology Art Books	Books on Drawing Techniques
Books on Specific Series	Fiction Related to Anime & Manga	Periodicals
Books of Art by Specific Artists	Books on Manga

Books on Anime in General:

Allison, Anne
Millennial Monsters : Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination
Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006
ISBN: 0-520-24565-2; ISBN-13: 9780-520-24565-5

Anime Poster Art
Images for over 160 different anime related movie and advertising posters.

Baricordi, Andrea; Massimiliano De Giovanni, Andrea Pietroni,Barbara Rossi, and Sabrina Tunesi
Anime a Guide to Japanese Animation
Montreal, Protoculture 2000
ISBN: 2-9805759-0-9
A detailed guide to 30 years of anime covering 1958 - 1988. Much of the information in this book is not readily available elsewhere.

Brophy, Philip
100 Anime (BFI Screen Guides)
London: British Film Institute, 2005
ISBN: 1-84457-084-3

Brown, Steven T. editor
Cinema Anime
New York, Palgrave MacMillan 2006
ISBN: 1-4039-7060-2

Clements, Jonathan and Helen McCarthy
The Anime Encyclopedia
Berkeley, Stone Bridge Press 2001
ISBN: 1-880656-64-7
Listings for over 2000 anime listing key creators and a short description.

Clements, Jonathan and Helen McCarthy
The Anime Encyclopedia: Expanded and Revised Edition
Berkeley, Stone Bridge Press 2006
ISBN: 1933330104
Listings for over 2000 anime listing key creators and a short description.

Drazen, Patrick
Anime Explosion
Berkeley, Stone Bridge Press 2002
ISBN: 1-880656-72-8

DuFault, Bobbie
Anime and Manga! The Best Websites and Factoids
Port Orchard: Lightning Rod Publishers, 2005
ISBN: 1590920406

Gresh, Lois H. and Robert Weinberg
The Science of Anime : Mecha-Noids and AI-Super-Bots
New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2005
ISBN: 1560257687

Ledoux, Trish editor
Anime Interviews: The First Five Years of Animerica Anime and Manga Monthly (1992-97)
San Francisco, Cadence Books 1997
ISBN: 1-56931-220-6
I am one of those people who always says that the best part of Animerica was their interviews.

Ledoux, Trish and Doug Ranney
The Complete Anime Guide
2nd edition Issaquah, WA Tiger Mountain Press 1997
ISBN: 0-9649542-5-7
This work begins with a few short essays on anime and is mostly just a catalog of U.S.A released anime up to the date of the book's publication.

Lent, John A. editor
Animation in Asia and the Pacific
Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001
ISBN: 0253340357

Levi, Antonia
Samurai From Outer Space
Chicago, Open Court 1996
ISBN: 0-8126-9332-9
Antonia Levi is both an anime fan and a professor of Japanese history. This general introduction to anime places much of what one sees in anime in its cultural context.

Macias, Patrick
Cruising the Anime City: An Otaku Guide to Neo Tokyo
Berkeley, Stone Bridge Press 1999
ISBN: 1880656884

McCarthy, Helen
Anime Movie Guide
London, Titan Books 1996
ISBN: 1852866314
Overlook Press 1997
ISBN: 0879517816
A guide to anime movies and OVAs since 1983. Not covered are TV series that are often re-released on video. This book contains excellent short articles on many aspects of anime along with descriptions of the anime covered, including anime not yet released in English. The work is largely supersceded by the newer Anime Encyclopedia.

McCarthy, Helen and Jonathan Clements
Erotic Anime Movie Guide
London, Titan Books 1998
ISBN: 1852869461
Overlook Press 1999
ISBN: 0879517050
An excellent study of eroticism in anime. The authors felt there was a need to cover one of the more controversial aspects of anime and have produced a balanced and interesting study of the topic. The filmography section is so small and includes many anime that are not explicitly sexual that we realize that this branch of anime is really quite small.

Napier, Susan
Anime: From Akira to Princess Mononoke
New York, Palgrave 2001
ISBN: 0-312-23863-0

Napier, Susan
Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle, Updated Edition
New York, Palgrave MacMillan 2005
ISBN: 1-4039-7052-1
Professor Napier is a noted scholar of modern Japanese literature and has taught classes on anime at the University of Texas Austin and Harvard University.

Napier, Susan
From Impressionism to Anime: Japan as Fantasy and Fan Culture in the Mind of the West
New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007
ISBN 1-4039-6214-6

Omega, Ryan
Anime Trivia Quizbook 1
Berkeley, Stone Bridge Press 2000
ISBN: 1880656442

Omega, Ryan
Anime Trivia Quizbook 2
Berkeley, Stone Bridge Press 2000
ISBN: 1880656558

Fred Patten
Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews
Berkeley, Stone Bridge Press 2004
ISBN: 1880656922
Fred's writing has for decades been a major source of information for anime fans. In many ways this is a glimpse into the history of anime fandom. They even left the errors in the text and noted when there are mistakes. Many of the titles written about here are little known to todays fans. a must for any serious fan wanting to know more about anime and manga.

Poitras, Gilles
Anime Companion
Berkeley, Stone Bridge Press 1998
ISBN: 1880656329
My own book focusing on anime as a window to learn about Japanese culture. Most of the book is a dictionary of 'stuff' seen in anime. These include furniture, historical personages, organizations, corporations, etiquette, gestures and any other detail I could locate information on.

Poitras, Gilles
Anime Companion Volume 2
Berkeley, Stone Bridge Press 2005
ISBN:
This volume is very different from the first one. All new entries with many more dealing with Japanese history, geography, literature, landmarks and plenty on modern day Japanese culture information. As usual I have attempted to identify as many Japanese foods as I could. This time we are also including the kanji and kana for each entry as well as maps.

Poitras, Gilles
Anime Essentials
Berkeley, Stone Bridge Press 2000
ISBN: 1880656531
My second book, this work is a short introduction for newer fans.

Books on Specific Series - Organized by series name

Akira Club Artbook (104 pgs)
2007 Milwaukie OR, Dark Horse

Art of Armitage III (96 pgs)
2002, IDW
ISBN: 0971228280

Art of Cardcaptor Sakura v.1 (120 pgs)
2002 Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP
ISBN: 1591820006

Art of Cardcaptor Sakura v.2 (120 pgs)
2002 Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP
ISBN: 1591820138

Art of Cardcaptor Sakura v.3 (128 pgs)
Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP

Art of Ceres, Celestial Legend (120 pgs)
2002 San Francisco, VIZ Media
ISBN: 1569317224

Cowboy Bebop Anime Guide v.1 (184 pgs)
2002 Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP
ISBN: 1931514917

Cowboy Bebop Anime Guide v.2 (100 pgs)
2002 Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP
ISBN: 1931514852

Cowboy Bebop Anime Guide v.3 (100 pgs)
2002 Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP
ISBN: 1931514860

Cowboy Bebop Anime Guide v.4 (100 pgs)
2002 Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP
ISBN: 1931514089

Cowboy Bebop Anime Guide v.5 (100 pgs)
2002 Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP
ISBN: 1591820227;

Cowboy Bebop Anime Guide v.6 (100 pgs)
2002 Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP
ISBN: 1591820235

Dragon Ball Z Legend: The Quest Continues
Cocoro Books

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Unofficial Guide
Cocoro Books

The Art of Fullmetal Alchemist
2005 San Francisco, Viz

Full Metal Panic
AD VISION

Gundam Explorer: Wing, First, G, Seed, and More! by Kazuhisa Fujie & Martin Foster
Cocoro Books

Gundam Official Guide (128 pgs)
2002 San Francisco, VIZ Media
ISBN: 1-56931-739-9

Gundam The 08th MS Team Technical Manual (100 pgs)
2002 Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP
ISBN: 1931514453

Gundam 0083: Stardust Memories Technical Manual (100 pgs)
2002 Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP
ISBN:1931514062

Gundam Char's Counter Attack (100 pgs)
2002 Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP
ISBN:1591820502

Gundam G-Gundam (92 pgs)
2002 Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP
ISBN:

Art of Gundam Wing (96 pgs)
2001 San Francisco, VIZ Media
ISBN: 1569315736
Dimensions (in inches): 0.39 x 10.90 x 8.55

Gundam Wing Technical Manual (100 pgs)
2002 Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP
ISBN: 1931514992

Art of Howl's Moving Castle
2005 San Francisco, Viz

Art of Inu-Yasha (80 pgs)
2002 San Francisco, VIZ Media
ISBN: 1569316562

Art of Inu-Yasha 2nd Edition
2005 San Francisco, VIZ Media
ISBN: 1569316562

Art of Magic Knight Rayearth v.1
2002 Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP

Art of Magic Knight Rayearth v.2 (100 pgs)
2002 Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP

Art of My Neighbor Totoro
2005 San Francisco, Viz

One Piece Color Walk 1
2005 San Francisco, Viz

Peach Girl: Miwa Ueda Illustrations (100 pgs)
2003 Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP

Please (Onegai) Teacher Official Fan Book (180)
by Studio Orphee
2003 Fremont,, Comics One

Art of Porco Rosso
2005 San Francisco, Viz

Princess Mononoke The Art and Making of Japan's Most Popular Film of All Time
1999 Hyperion
ISBN: 0-7868-6609-8

RahXephon Bible Film Book (100 pgs)
2003 Houston AD Vision

Art of Ranma 1/2 (128 pgs)
2001 San Francisco, VIZ Media
ISBN: 1569315795
Dimensions (in inches): 0.36 x 10.86 x 8.55

Rurouni Kenshin Profiles (200 pgs)
2006 San Francisco, VIZ Media

Samurai Champloo Roman Album (104 pgs)
2006 Milwaukie OR, Dark Horse

Yoshitoshi Abe Lain Illustrations Book (144 pgs)
2006 Gardenia CA, DMD

Serial Experiments Lain: Ultimate Fan Guide (128 pgs)
2002 Guelph, Guardians Of Order
ISBN: 1894525353

Navok, Jay and Sushil K. Rudranath
Warriors of Legend: Reflections of Japan in Sailor Moon
North Charleston, South Carolina: BookSurge Publishing, 2005
ISBN 1419608142. http://www.warriorsoflegend.com/

Art of Miyazaki's Spirited Away
2002 San Francisco, Viz
ISBN: 1-56931-777-1

Yu Yu Hakusho: The Complete Guide
Cocoro Books

Books of Art by Specific Artists
- See also Books on Specific Series for books on single series by specific artists.

CLAMP North Side Artbook (176 pgs)
Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP

CLAMP South Side Artbook (208 pgs)
Los Angeles, TOKYOPOP

Der Mond - Sadamoto Yoshiyuki (120 pgs)
2000 Tokyo, Kadokawa Shoten
4-04-853031-3
2001 San Francisco, VIZ Media
ISBN: 1569315469
Dimensions (in inches): 0.46 x 13.00 x 10.15

Intron Depot v. 1 - Shirow Masamune
1992 Milwaukie, OR Dark Horse Comics
ISBN 1569710856

Intron Depot v. 2: Blades - Shirow Masamune
1998 Milwaukie, OR Dark Horse Comics
ISBN 1569713820

Intron Depot v. 3: Ballistics - Shirow Masamune
2003 Milwaukie, OR Dark Horse Comics
ISBN 1-59307-007-1

Intron Depot v. 4: Bullets - Shirow Masamune
2004 Milwaukie, OR Dark Horse Comics
ISBN 1-59307-282-1

Books on Specific Persons, arraigned by their name.

Cavallaro, Dani
The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki
Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2006 0-7864-2369-2

McCarthy, Helen
Hayao Miyazaki Master of Japanese Animation
Berkeley, Stone Bridge Press 1999
ISBN: 1880656418
The definitive English language work on one of Japan's greatest directors.

Cavallaro, Dani
Cinema of Mamoru Oshii: Fantasy, Technology and Politics
Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2006 0-7864-2764-7

Ruh, Brian
Stray Dog of Anime: The films of Mamoru Oshii
New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004
1-4039-6334-7

Takeda Yasuhiro
Notenki Memoirs: Studio Gainax and the Men Who Created Evangelion
2005 Huston ADV Manga
ISBN 1-4139-0234-0

Anthology Art Books: Books with art from more than one artist and not related to a single series.

Robot Book 1
DMD

Fiction Related to Anime & Manga: See my Titles Available in More Than One Format in the United States page.

Books on Manga:

Allison, Anne
Permitted and Prohibited Desires
Berkelet: University of California Press, 2006
ISBN: 0-520-24565-2; ISBN-13: 978-0-520-24565-5

Gravett, Paul
Manga : 60 Years of Japanese Comics
New York: Harper Design International, 2005
ISBN: 1-85669-391-0

Japanese Comickers: Draw Anime and Manga Like Japan's Hottest Artists
New York: Collins Design, 2003
ISBN: 0060513551

Japanese Comickers 2: Draw Anime and Manga Like Japan's Hottest Artists
New York: Collins Design, 2006
ISBN: 0060833300

Kinsella, Sharon
Adult Manga
University of Hawaii Press

Lehmann, Timothy
Manga: Masters of the Art
New York: Collins Design, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-083331-9; ISBN-13: 978-0-06-083331-2

Lent, John A. editor
Themes and Issues in Asian Cartooning : Cute, Cheap, Mad, and Sexy
Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1999
ISBN: 0-87972-780-2

McCarthy, Helen
500 Manga Heroes & Villains
Hauppauge, NY: Barron''s Educational Series 2006
ISBN: 0-7641-3201-6; ISBN-13: 978-0-7641-3201-8

Poitras, Gilles
Anime Companion
Berkeley, Stone Bridge Press 1998
ISBN: 1880656329
My own book focusing not only on anime but also on manga as a window to learn about Japanese culture. Most of the book is a dictionary of 'stuff' seen in manga and anime. These include furniture, historical personages, organizations, corporations, etiquette, gestures and any other detail I could locate information on.

Poitras, Gilles
Anime Companion Volume 2
Berkeley, Stone Bridge Press 2005
ISBN:
This volume is very different from the first one. All new entries with many more dealing with Japanese history, geography, literature, landmarks and plenty on modern day Japanese culture information. As usual I have attempted to identify as many Japanese foods as I could. This time we are also including the kanji and kana for each entry as well as maps.

Schodt, Frederik L
Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga
1996 Berkeley, Stone Bridge Press
A collection of essays on the manga phenomenon in Japan.
Includes chapters on the history of manga, its most common genres, the artists and writers, and some of the magazines devoted to manga.

Schodt, Frederik L
Manga! Manga!: The World of Japanese Comics
1983 Tokyo, New York, London Kodansha International
The first, and still very useful, English language book about Manga.
Includes a section of translations from several manga.

Tomo Masami - editor
Shojo Manga! Girl Power!
Chico: Flume Press, 2005
ISBN: 1-886226-10-5

Periodicals:

Magazines about anime and manga
Over the years many anime magazines have come and gone. Such magazines are often a useful source of information for those wanting to stay on tyope of new developments not only in the English speaking world but also in Japan.

Anime Insider
http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/anime/
I have to be honest on this one. In spite of occassionally excellent artricles I am not too impressed with Anime Insider. While their quality has risen over time it still tends to read as if it was written by 16 year olds for 13 year olds.

Mechademia
http://www.mechademia.org/
The first English language scholoarly journal devoted to anime, manga and fan culture.
DISCLAIMER: I am on the advisory board and one of their 'otaku editors' who check articles for factual errors.

Protoculture Addicts
P.O. Box 1433
Station "B"
Montreal, Qc. CANADA H3B 3L2
http://www.protoculture.ca/
Each issue spotlights one anime, often titles that have yet to be released in the U.S, also there is coverage of various anime, books, manga, soundtracks and general news. An excellent resource for librarians are very short descriptions of new releases.

Manga anthologies.
These are regular magazines devoted to serializing several stories each month. At times the publishers remove titles from the magazines in order to publish them in book form at a faster pace.

Shojo Beat.
Published by Viz, this is a regular anthology of tales aimed at girls.

Shonen Jump.
Viz's other manga magazine. A monthly dedicarted to boy's manga.

Periodicals no longer published:

Animeco
Limelight Publishing
1513 Young St. Suite 202
Honolulu, HI 96826
http://www.limepub.com/
In my opinion this was one of the best anime magazines in English. Alas no longer publishing in printed form. Articles covered a wide range of topics related to anime and Japanese popular culture. Each issue includes a large selection of short reviews.

Animerica: Anime and Manga Monthly
VIZ Media
P.O. Box 77010
San Francisco, CA 94107
http://www.viz.com/
Ceased publication as a magazine in 2005 to become a free advertising pamphlet. Each issue usually contained an interview with a major figure in anime and articles focusing on particular anime related to the person interviewed. Short reviews were in each issue for anime, manga, games, and music CDs.

LO Magazine
http://www.lomagazine.co.za/
LO Magazine was an impressive electronic magazine distributed in PDF format. A full run of back issues are available. I urge folks to download the back file while they are still available and for libraries to add them to their collections.

NewType USA
P.O. Box 631607
Houston, TX 77263
info@newtype-usa.com
http://www.newtype-usa.com/
The English Version of the famous Japanese animation and movie magazine. Ceased publication in 2008.
NewType USA was a mixture of articles by U.S. writers and translations from the Japanese version of the magazine. The fact that they are translating information concerning shows just starting in Japan makes this an important source of information for non-Japanese fans of anime.
DISCLAIMER: I had a monthly column entitled Below the Surface in each issue of Newtype USA.