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Warriors of Legend: Reflections of Japan in Sailor Moon
written by Jay Navok, Sushil K. Rudranath
Studio : BookSurge Publishing
by BookSurge Publishing
Release Date : 2005-05-16
Publisher : BookSurge Publishing
Released : 2005-07-17
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours and eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.
EAN : 9781419608148
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 35 reviews)
Our Price : $12.99
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Product Description |
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The book Warriors of Legend is one of the first of its kind, using a specific Japanese anime/manga series- the megahit Sailor Moon- to teach about Japan. Neophytes to Japan studies will find Warriors of Legend an accessible way to learn about this fascinating country. Those who know quite a lot about Japan already will find their understanding enhanced by the way the book analyzes the nuances of Tokyo's history and Japanese society. The book also argues that Sailor Moon is a unique series in that it was both internationally popular and strongly structured by the culture of the city of Tokyo and post-Economic Bubble Japan. |
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Learn where Sailor Moon came from! |
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Warriors of Legend is a great book for Sailor Moon fans, and even for people who are curious about the series but never really wanted to get too deep in the manga or the anime. I never knew the scenes were based in real life Japan like Crown arcade and it even explains stuff like why Tuxedo mask drives an expensive sports car. If you read all the manga, anime and visited a bunch of websites to satisfy your knowledge of Sailor Moon but need more. This book will fill that void *LOL* |
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Very interesting |
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I've been a fan of the Japanese version of Sailormoon since I was a little girl, so when I saw this book I wanted to buy it. It goes into detail about specific places used in the series that actually exist (or are based on) in Japan! It also goes in depth on characters and their backgrounds of Japanese mythology, religion, etc. An example: the three talismans that belong to Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are based on the talismans related to the myth pertaining to the birth of the first Japanese emperor. It all ties in together and shows you how much Naoko Takeuchi put into her story. |
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Allow me to disagree with the majority of reviewers |
"Warriors of Legend" is an unbalanced, incoherent attempt to describe how Sailor Moon comments on Japanese society. Space is wasted, there is little organization, and the conclusion does not naturally follow from the information presented. Though it is a valiant analytical attempt (from what I understand, the first of its kind regarding this particular series), it falls short in many places. One hopes that future analysis will use a more balanced, organized, intellectual approach.
According to the back flap, "Warriors of Legend" purports to be an intellectual view of "Japanese society through the lens of Sailor Moon." Authored by a masters degree holder in Regional Eastern Asian studies, as well as a doctor in political science, the reader is given the impression that there is a good deal of analysis of the societal impact of Sailor Moon.
Unfortunately, there is very little actual analysis in this book. Following a 20 page summary of the characters and story (completely irrelevant to fans of the series), 42 pages are devoted to "exploring the Sailor Moon Universe." We are given a tour, essentially, of all the sites in the Minato district of Tokyo where this series is based. Time and time again, the authors make the point that Naoko Takeuchi set the story in the world she lived in. Young Japanese fans of the show could identify directly with the background they saw, "building the notion that the sailor soldiers could have easily walked alongside them in their travels through Tokyo." This is an interesting and valid point, but is made tediously, time and time again, for a third of the book. This book, at times, reads more like a tour guide for fans of the series than an actual scientific analysis.
The rest of the book is a potpourri of underdeveloped analytical points, none of which flow well together. The structure of Sailor Moon families is addressed briefly, after which the text rushes immediately into the cultural aspects of the show. There is a section on the poetics employed by Sailor Moon before fighting takes place, one on how expensive Mamoru Chiba's lifestyle (in the anime) is in Japan, one on education, religion and so on. All of this is interspersed with seemingly random specific commentary on each of the Sailor Senshi. None of these points is adequately developed (the longest being the section on poetics, which doesn't run 10 pages), and there seems to be no cohesion at all, no gradual progressing toward a broad, general point.
The conclusion is equally flawed. A good deal of the conclusion describes how Japanese children were shocked to see their characters die at the end of the first anime season of Sailor Moon. This is an interesting point, but probably would have fit the introduction better than the conclusion, and is entirely undeveloped besides the "Japanese children viewed the characters as their friends" idea. Nothing, not even a reference, is made to the underdeveloped ideas presented earlier in the book. The reader is left wondering what the preceding 130 pages were all about.
Any future authors of an analysis of Sailor Moon would do well to focus their claims on a single argument, make sure that the argument is generalizable (i.e. can be applied to other shows, or elements of pop culture) and at least include some comparison with other elements of pop culture to give the reader proper context. Additionally, many elements of this book were utterly fantastic. Whatever relationship Sailor Venus has with the Babylonian Goddess Ishtar is still lost on me, and comparisons between Sailor Moon's jikoshoukai and those in Japanese history seem awkward, especially without mention of other anime.
Only a hardcore fan could appreciate this book, but an intellectual hardcore fan would find little more than what can already be found online. |
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A cool book to cool off over the summer!!! |
This book is an interesting read... it show the emotion and pain into working on sailor moon. If Sailor Moon is your favorite anime like me and if you enjoy to learn about more, new, and crazy stuff about sailor moon then here you go a perfect example of pure sailor moon. THIS IS A MUST HAVE FOR ALL SAILOR MOON FANS, ITS KINDA LIKE A BIBLE FOR SAILOR MOON FANS EVEN THOUGH THERE IS NO BIBLE FOR SAILOR MOON FANS. So ya this is a very good book it goes through the places and themes of sailor moon and like I said before THIS IS A MUST HAVE FOR ALL SAILOR MOON FANS!!!!!
Thank You. |
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Warriors of Legend: Reflections of Japan in Sailor Moon |
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Extremely pleased with the book and it arrived earlier than expected |
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