Susan Napier presents excellent insight into some of the important issues of Japanese Animation. While some [opinions] bemoan the academic tone, such a scolarly approach is necessary for the presentation of her arguments.For anyone creating a university-level course on anime, Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke is a must-assign book, encompassing issues from technology to history to bodies. Almost all of the anime series and films used as case studies are well-known, popular, and important works in the anime canon - from Ranma 1/2 to Ghost in the Shell to Princess Mononoke to Grave of the Fireflies - which should also be included in a critical studies course on Japanese animation. The appendix focuses on Western audiences' reception of anime, which helps anime initiates to understand the appeal of anime outside Japan (specifically, in the States).This is by far one of the best books written on anime, ranking with Helen McCarthy's Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation and Frederik L. Schodt's Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics. In fact, Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke is a great compliment to these two other books in a critical studies course on Japanese animation.