Author: Gilles Poitras
Stonebridge Press
164 pages
ISBN 1-880656-32-9
$16.95
Where to buy

So you think you know a lot about Japanese culture, do you? If you can tell a zori from a geta and know the instant you see a teruterubozu, then just maybe there's nothing in here for you. However, I suspect that most anime fans will find something of at least passing interest in this book.
Compiled by a die-hard (and very thorough) anime fan, this book is an alphabetical list of entries for people, places, and things that one might expect to encounter in Japanese culture. The reason for this is that of course a great deal of anime is set in Japan, and since it plays for a primarily Japanese audience, cultural references abound.
Entries range from pop culture (idol singers and UCC Coffee) to historical (shinju and the Man'yoshu) to the very commonplace. The goal of this book is to give anime fans a greater understanding of some of the cultural references of Japanese life, and to help them understand their anime a little more. After all, some things just don't make sense without an explanation.
And the author does a good job explaining everything from the bizarre to the mundane in a straightforward, easy-to-understand fashion. Entries are divided into a number of categories, including history, nature, people, clothing, food and drink, just to name a few. In addition, appearances of the items in various anime and manga are given for each entry, making it very easy for the reader to find examples of the entries in anime. Each entry is concise and yet long enough to get the point across. These are not ten-word definitions. Some entries are accompanied by illustrations as well, so you can see exactly what a zori looks like. There are a wide variety of entries, too, so even the most knowledgeable and jaded fans can expect to learn something.
There are also some very entertaining sidebars. Take the Mecha challenge and see if you can match the mecha, designer, and the show. Or read the author's tirade on the connotations of using the word "adult" to describe anime or changing the names of Japanese foods. Some information is also given in these sidebars that would be useful for newer fans, such as where to go for additional resources and how to start a club.
In fact, the only problem one will have with using this book is not knowing what something is called. If you're looking for "hitodama," you'll find it with no problem, but if you're looking for "those little balls of flame that appear in the air," you're going to have a lot of reading to do. Still, this is hardly the fault of the author.
Well thought out with a good number of entries, this book will certainly help anime fans in understanding some of the more subtle references in the world of anime and comics. Fans will find this book a delight, and will undoubtedly learn something about Japanese history and culture the next time they watch anime if they have this book.