Table of Contents
What These Otaku Are Saying about
Popular Culture and Philosophy Series Editor: George A. Reisch
Title Page
Previews and Coming Attractions
Accidental Anime
Body
Chapter 1 - Take a Ride on the Catbus
Becoming Bodies
The Posthuman
The Ghost in the Machine
Morphing Bodies
Wave Goodbye from the Catbus
Chapter 2 - The Making of Killer Cuties
Gunslinger Girl
Repressing the Self
Fearful Technologies
Reinforcing Boundaries
Looking Inwards
Chapter 3 - Just a Ghost in a Shell?
Meet Motoko
Informational Bodies and Distributed Cognition
Boundary Beings
Motoko in Crisis
Transcendence or Expansion
The Transforming Body
Mind
Chapter 4 - I Am Tetsuo
Who Is “I”?
How Does “I” Know? Or Why Does “I” Think So?
Cogito Ergo Tetsuo?
What Is the Thing that Does the Thinking?
So, Is Tetsuo Human? Are We? Is Anyone or Anything?
The Posthuman Condition via the Problem of Representation
Is Everybody Disembodied? (or, Have We Always Been Posthuman Beings?)
Chapter 5 - The CPU Has Its Reasons
The Genuine Article
Martians Believing Badly
You Bet Your Life
Mars Needs Women
Questioning the Question
Spirit
Chapter 7 - Nothing that Happens Is Ever Forgotten
Fiction and Contradiction
If You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, Any Road Will Get You There
It Is Only with the Heart that One Can See Rightly; What Is Essential Is ...
In the Palm of Your Hand
Chapter 8 - Did Santa Die on the Cross?
Do Angels Practice Voodoo?
Angel Invasion
Introducing the End of the World
Why Catholicism Is Better than Protestantism . . . for Anime
Gay Angels, Female Cardinals, and Bishōnen Popes
Chapter 9 - Why Nice Princesses Don’t Always Finish Last
Soon This Place Too Will Be Consumed by the Toxic Jungle
We’re Doing This for the Good of the Planet. You’ve Got to Understand That
You’re Not Saving the Planet! You’re Killing My People
Too Much Fire Gives Birth to Nothing
What a Mysterious Power She Has
You’re Nothing Like Our Princess
The Legend Has Come True. The Wind Has Come Back
Conflict
Chapter 10 - Just War Is No Gouf
There’s More to War than Big Metal Robots
Jus ad Londo Bellum
Etiquette in War: RSVPs for Bombing?
Have Colony, Will Drop
Freeing Clausewitz’s Soul from Gravity
Chapter 11 - The Search for Vengeance
Courageous Crusader or Avenging Coward?
War and the Pursuit of Vengeance
Death, Pain, Rage, and Loss
Redemption and Hope for the Future
Chapter 12 - The Possibility of Perfection
And the Winner Is . . . the Best?
Tsuyoku Naritai (I Want to Become Stronger)
Rock Lee and the Limits of Specialization
Cell’s Game and the Darwinian Model
Transcending One’s Limits: The Super Saiyan
Whatever It Takes? Soul Reapers, Hollows, and Buu
Don’t Be a Vegeta
Heroes
Chapter 13 - Alchemic Heroes
The Dual-Hero
Student Heroes
Wandering Redemption Seekers
Al-Chemy
Alchemic Heroism
Chapter 14 - Astro Boy and the Atomic Age
From Horsepower to the Power of a Thousand Suns
The Death of Tobio—The Birth of Atomu
Imitating the Power of the Universe
Existing Otherwise
The Sacrificial Lamb
Chapter 15 - Grave of the Child Hero
Natural States
Like Adults, Only Smaller
The Ability to Reason
Defying Conventions
The Offer of Help
The Aftermath of Tragedy
Devils
Chapter 16 - Human Alchemy and the Deadly Sins of Capitalism
It’s Not a Miracle, It’s Science
Turning Lead into Gold
Gold and the Philosopher’s Stone
Money, Power, Corruption
Deadly Sins and Capital Vices
Human Alchemy
Usury and Human Ingredients
Homunculi and the Deadly Sins
Equivalent Exchange
Chapter 17 - Everything You Never Wanted to Know about Sex and Were Afraid to Watch
Abnormal Conception
Bi-Cultural Attraction
Hate Fuck
How Dirty Boys Get Clean?
Textually Transmitted Disease
Chapter 18 - The Devil Within Sara Livingston
Future Perfect
Chapter 19 - Cyborg Songs for an Existential Crisis
What Is a Human, Anyway?
A Musical Interlude
Building a Cyborg Kenji Kawai-style
Dolls with Ghosts and What’s Really Going on in Innocence
Giving Voice to the Voiceless
Who Wants to Be Human Anyway?
Chapter 20 - Cyborg Goddess
The Age of Spiritual Machines
A Manifesto for Cyborgs
Radical Feminist Cyborg
Break Through a Glass, Darkly
The Soul of a New Machine
Obsolete Humanity
A New Branch on the Evolutionary Tree
Techno-Transcendence
Cyborg Goddess
Chapter 21 - It’s the End of the Species as We Know It, and I Feel Anxious
What Will Become of Us?
Future Shock
Manufacturing Evolution
I Feel Sick
Men, We’re Going to the Apocalypse
A Grotesque Kindergarten
One Last Anguished Existential Scream
ALTERNATE ENDING:
Credits
Subtitles
Making Of . . .
Easter Eggs
Deleted Scenes
Scene Selections
Copyright Page
What These Otaku Are Saying about
Anime and Philosophy
“Anime is easily the most complex and interesting animation genre. The only rival to watching anime is thinking about it, and Steiff and Tamplin have assembled a smorgasbord of thought. Combining scholarly erudition with fan-boy passion, this collection is as rich, deep, and fun as anime itself. It sure beats talking to yourself.”
—ANDREW HUEBNER, Animation Producer
“A brilliant combination of pop culture investigation and philosophical thinking, Anime and Philosophy is a startlingly impressive collection of chapters by writers who use their great love for, and knowledge of, anime for serious probing and accessible philosophical questioning.”
—MATTHEW PATEMAN, Director of Film and Media,
University of Hull
“As befits a genre that came of age in the wake of the Hiroshima bombing and the humiliating surrender of Japan to the Allies in 1945, anime asks difficult questions about war and violence, the limits of human lif
e and the self, and the frontiers of experience (space travel, apocalyptic scenarios, cyborgs and androids). This timely volume shows us scholarly dissections—don’t fret, Shaorin—of anime from the wildly popular to the bizarre and obscure. The result is stimulating and enlightening in equal measure.”
—CAROLE M. CUSACK, editor, Journal of Religious History
“In the unique cultural sub-verse worlds of anime, manga, animanga, and on and on, anything is possible. Our imagination determines the boundaries, and we approach each new world with a slightly different philosophical slant. Anime and Philosophy is an enlightening read and a brilliant addition to any anime lover’s bookshelf. It’s also an atlas of the anime universe, a welcome guide for anyone intrigued by anime but unsure of just where to start their journey.”
—DEL HARVEY, publisher, FilmMonthly.com
“Perhaps the only thing more fascinating than great anime is what goes on inside the heads of those who really get it. Here at last is a fascinating explanation of an art form that is re-defining pop culture all over the globe, told by those who have dipped deep into the psyche behind Japanese animation.”
—DOUG RICE, Emmy Award-winning Animation Artist
“This book is a launching point for fans who recognize that anime don’t only make us laugh and cheer and cry but also think. Anime and Philosophy surveys the anime that have made the biggest splash among Western audiences, helping fans connect their best-loved shows with the deeper questions behind them, bringing out the larger philosophical themes that make anime so powerful for Western viewers.”
—ADA PALMER, founder, TezukaInEnglish.com
“Anime makes your average American or British Saturday morning cartoon look slow and shallow. Why does anime—a medium primarily but not exclusively aimed towards young children in its native country—tackle “deep” themes such as identity and the self, sacrifice and self-awareness, while Sponge Bob scratches around looking for another shrimp? This book helps us understand that there’s a lot more to anime than just pretty girls with big eyes and giant robots smashing up Neo-Tokyo—again! To truly appreciate films like Akira, Ghost In The Shell and even My Neighbor Totoro, you just have to read this book.”
—JEROME MAZANDARANI, Acquisitions and Marketing
Manager, Manga Entertainment Ltd
“Thought-provoking and mind-blowing! Anime fans will gain new insight into their film favorites through readable commentary and analysis of animation classics.”
—JOHANNA DRAPER CARLSON, founder,
Popular Culture and Philosophy ® Series Editor: George A. Reisch
VOLUME 1
Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book
about Everything and Nothing
(2000)
VOLUME 2
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The
D’oh! of Homer (2001)
VOLUME 3
The Matrix and Philosophy:
Welcome to the Desert of the Real
(2002)
VOLUME 4
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and
Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in
Sunnydale (2003)
VOLUME 5
The Lord of the Rings and
Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them
All (2003)
VOLUME 6
Baseball and Philosophy:
Thinking Outside the Batter’s Box
(2004)
VOLUME 9
Harry Potter and Philosophy:
If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts (2004)
VOLUME 12
Star Wars and Philosophy:
More Powerful than You Can
Possibly Imagine (2005)
VOLUME 13
Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth,
Justice, and the Socratic Way (2005)
VOLUME 17
Bob Dylan and Philosophy: It’s
Alright Ma (I’m Only Thinking)
(2006)
VOLUME 18
Harley-Davidson and Philosophy:
Full-Throttle Aristotle (2006)
VOLUME 19
Monty Python and Philosophy:
Nudge Nudge, Think Think! (2006)
VOLUME 23
James Bond and Philosophy:
Questions Are Forever (2006)
VOLUME 24
Bullshit and Philosophy:
Guaranteed to Get Perfect Results
Every Time (2006)
VOLUME 25
The Beatles and Philosophy:
Nothing You Can Think that
Can’t Be Thunk (2006)
VOLUME 26
South Park and Philosophy:
Bigger, Longer, and More
Penetrating (2007) Edited by
Richard Hanley
VOLUME 28
The Grateful Dead and Philosophy:
Getting High Minded about Love
and Haight (2007) Edited by Steven
Gimbel
VOLUME 29
Quentin Tarantino and Philosophy:
How to Philosophize with a Pair of
Pliers and a Blowtorch (2007)
Edited by Richard Greene and K.
Silem Mohammad
VOLUME 30
Pink Floyd and Philosophy: Careful
with that Axiom, Eugene! (2007)
Edited by George A. Reisch
VOLUME 31
Johnny Cash and Philosophy:
The Burning Ring of Truth (2008)
Edited by John Huss and David
Werther
VOLUME 32
Bruce Springsteen and Philosophy:
Darkness on the Edge of Truth
(2008) Edited by Randall E. Auxier
and Doug Anderson
VOLUME 33
Battlestar Galactica and
Philosophy: Mission Accomplished
or Mission Frakked Up? (2008)
Edited by Josef Steiff and Tristan D.
Tamplin
VOLUME 34
iPod and Philosophy: iCon of an
ePoch (2008) Edited by D.E.
Wittkower
VOLUME 35
Star Trek and Philosophy: The
Wrath of Kant (2008) Edited by
Jason T. Eberl and Kevin S.
Decker
VOLUME 36
The Legend of Zelda and
Philosophy: I Link Therefore I Am
(2008) Edited by Luke Cuddy
VOLUME 37
The Wizard of Oz and Philosophy:
Wicked Wisdom of the West (2008)
Edited by Randall E. Auxier and
Phillip S. Seng
VOLUME 38
Radiohead and Philosophy: Fitter
Happier More Deductive (2009)
Edited by Brandon W. Forbes and
George A. Reisch
VOLUME 39
Jimmy Buffett and Philosophy: The
Porpoise Driven Life (2009) Edited
by Erin McKenna and Scott L.
Pratt
VOLUME 40
Transformers and Philosophy (2009)
Edited by John Shook and Liz
Stillwaggon Swan
VOLUME 41
Stephen Colbert and Philosophy: I
Am Philosophy (And So Can You!)
(2009) Edited by Aaron Allen Schiller
VOLUME 42
Supervillains and Philosophy:
Sometimes, Evil Is Its Own Reward
(2009) Edited by Ben Dyer
VOLUME 43
The Golden Compass and Philosophy:
God Bites the Dust (2009) Edited by
Richard Greene and Rachel Robison
VOLUME 44
Led Zeppelin and Philosophy: All
Will Be Revealed (2009) Edited by
Scott Calef
VOLUME 45
World of Warcraft and Philosophy:
Wrath of the Philosopher King
(2009) Edited by Luke Cuddy and
John Nordlinger
Volume 46
Mr. Monk and Philosophy: The
Curious Case of the Defective
Detective (2010) Edited by D.E.
Wittkower
Volume 47
Anime and Philosophy: Wide Eyed
Wonder (2010) Edited by Josef
Steiff and Tristan Tamplin
VOLUME 48
The Red Sox and Philosophy: Green
Monster Meditations (2010) Edited
by Michael Macomber
VOLUME 49
Zombies, Vampires, and Philosophy
(2010) Edited by Richard Greene
and K. Silem Mohammad
IN PREPARATION:
Facebook and Philosophy: What’s on Your Mind? (2010) Edited by D.E. Wittkower
Soccer and Philosophy (2010) Edited by Ted Richards
Manga and Philosophy (2010) Edited by Josef Steiff and Adam Barkman
The Onion and Philosophy (2010) Edited by Sharon M. Kaye
Martial Arts and Philosophy: Beating and Nothingness (2010) Edited by Graham Priest and Damon Young
Dune and Philosophy (2010) Edited by Jeffrey Nicholas
Doctor Who and Philosophy (2010) Edited by Paula J. Smithka and Court Lewis
Breaking Bad and Philosophy (2011) Edited by David R. Koepsell
For full details of all Popular Culture and Philosophy® books, visit www.opencourtbooks.com.