Holy Anime! - by Patrick Drazen (Paperback)

About the Book

Drazen samples depictions of Christianity in the popular Japanese media of comics and cartoons. The book begins with the work of postwar comics master Tezuka Osamu, with results that range from the comic to the revisionist to the blasphemous and obscene.

Book Synopsis

Drazen samples depictions of Christianity in the popular Japanese media of comics and cartoons. The book begins with the work of postwar comics master Tezuka Osamu, with results that range from the comic to the revisionist to the blasphemous and obscene.

Review Quotes

For a writer from a nominally Christian country to evaluate the influence of religion in an alien country is fraught with complexities to the extent where oversimplifying is not simply a temptation, but for some a survival tactic. Thank goodness Patrick Drazen is immune to this temptation. Basing his method on Edward Said's 1978 text Orientalism, Drazen works with meticulous care to avoid unjustified assumptions and explain honestly and clearly how, and why, religion and religious symbology are used in anime. That he also makes the explanation so enjoyable is a bonus.

Given that only about one percent of Japanese are said to be Christian, the idea of an entire book on Christianity in Japan's popular culture is not only novel, but provocative. Yet in exploring pop culture perceptions of what is to Japanese a very minority and sometimes mysterious religion, Patrick Drazen sheds new light on much larger issues of cultural adoption, adaptation, and coexistence. Kudos for a fascinating book!

About the Author

Born in Chicago, Patrick Drazen was taught to read before going to kindergarten. Writing took longer to master; his first book, Anime Explosion!, was published in 2002 when he was fifty; A Gathering of Spirits: Japan's Ghost Story Tradition followed in 2011. In between he was, among other careers, a chauffeur, a legal secretary, and an announcer at Public Radio station WSIU in Carbondale, Illinois.