takes us back to WWII
As in Super Atragon
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Many conventions in anime and manga are common to all storytelling, and the most popular science fiction motifs are based on familiar technologies. The fast food jokes in "Only You" are as universal as, well, fast food joints. When Lady Elle descends in her spaceship, spitting rose petals and hauling her Refrigerator of Love, it's easy to see such inventiveness can have its own gentle charm.
Some loyal viewers want to decode every joke and aside, no matter how curiously Japanese, and some would rather let the "ethnic stuff" go. There is something to be said for the proverbial happy medium, however.
There can be more to cross-cultural exploration than recognizing how the cartoon "Beautiful Dreamer" starts out like Harold Ramis' Groundhog Day and ends up like Terry Gilliam's Brazil, even though it predates both these other films. Rumiko Takahashi's and Oshii Mamoru's works in particular offer clever twists on the most ancient fantasies.
Familiarity with Japanese stories can increase your appreciation and enjoyment:
Children's fiction:
Start with the Dover edition of "Japanese Fairy Tales" - five stories for a dollar! Whatta bargain!
Mrs. T. H. James put out two compilations in the late 1800s, called "The Broken Images" and "The Wonderful Tea-kettle," published in Tokyo by T. Hasegawa.
"My Lord Bag-o-Rice" as told by B. H. Chamberlain was published in 1888 by Tokyo's Kobunsha.
Akinari Ueda's Ugetsu Monogatari:
Hamada, K. (trans.) - Tales of moonlight and rain: Japanese gothic tales... - NY, Columbia U. Press 1972.
Sieffert, R. (trans.) - Contes de pluie et de lune - Paris, Gallimard 1956.
Also:
Also:
Kabuki and Kaidan (in Japanese):
Hirosue, Tamotsu - Yotsue Kaidan: akui to warai - Tokyo, Iwanami Shoten 1984.
Tsurumi, Shunsuke - Chusingura to Yotsuda kaidan - Tokyo, Asahi Shinbunsha 1983.
Shinto:
Kevin Grays' introductory article in the 1990 premier issue of Markalite magazine separates traditional Shinto myths from State Shinto, as adopted in Japan prior to World War II - a point well taken. The official policy regarding the emperor was an extreme. The closest Western approximation would be if President Clinton were to demand all US citizens worship Paul Bunyan as his divine ancestor. Saburo Ienaga's study
The Pacific War, 1931-1945 reports how State Shinto was taught in schools, with a few harrowing stories on p. 107 of the Pantheon softcover edition.
Surveys:
Figal, G. A. - The Folk and the Fantastic in Japanese Modernity
Morse, Ronald A. - The Search for Japan's National Character and Distinctiveness
Kiej'e, Nikolas - Japanese Grotesqueries (artwork)
Other stories:
Edogawa, Ranpo - Kawade Shobo Shinsha (shin bungei-dokuhon) Tokyo, 1992.
Izumi, Kyoka - The Saint of Mt. Koya, and, The Song of the Troubador (Koyahijiri/Utaandon in English, translated by Stephen W. Kohl) - Kanazawa, Japan: Committee for the translation of the works of IK 1990.
Naoya, Shiga - Morning Glories (translated by Allen Say & David Meltzer) Berkeley, Oyez 1976.
Naoya, Shiga - The Paper Door and other stories (translated by Lane Dunlop) San Francisco, North Point Press, 1987.
Saikaku, Ihara - Tales of Samurai Honor (buke giri monogatari by IS, translated by Caryl Ann Callahan) Tokyo, Monumenta Nipponica/Sophia U. 1981.
Shimazaki, Toson - The Broken Commandment (Hakai in English, translated by Kenneth Strong) - Tokyo, U. of Tokyo Press 1974.
Shimazaki, Toson - Before the Dawn (Yoakemae, translator W. E. Naff) - Honolulu, U. of Miami Press 1987.
Ueda, Akinari - Tales of Spring Rain (Harusama monogatari translated by Barry Jackman) Tokyo, U. of Tokyo Press 1975.
