Unusual Article on Spirited Away Online

The American Prospect Magazine has published an odd article ostensibly about the international accessibility of Spirited Away. Astute readers may notice that like many “mainstream” discussions of anime, the article immediately focuses on and emphasizes the violent, sexual and adult aspects of anime, going so far as to suggest that Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away is not actually anime at all because it’s so different from typical “eroguro (erotic-grotesque)” anime. The article then provides an interesting critical examination of the Japanese cultural symbols and context of the film in an effort to explain why such a distinctively Japanese film “plays well anywhere.”

Article provided by Saiyanz Rage