| The Otaku Encyclopedia | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Patrick Galbraith |
| Language | English |
| Subject(s) | otaku |
| Genre(s) | Encyclopedia |
| Publisher | Kodansha |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 248 |
| ISBN | 9784770031013 |
The Otaku Encyclopedia is a 2009 encyclopedia written by Patrick Galbraith and published by Kodansha which provides an overview of anime and manga fandom topics,[1] and interviews and profiles of important people in Japanese fandom.[2]
Contents |
The Otaku Encyclopedia consists of some 600 entries on the subculture concerned with anime, manga and video games, with 124 colour pages and 150 photographs. Frederik L. Schodt provides a foreword to the book.[3] A maid character called Moe-chan accompanies the reader through the book.
Galbraith regards the book as being needed due to media coverage of Tsutomu Miyazaki informing people about Japanese fandom.[4]
Scott Green regards The Otaku Encyclopedia as not being "disposable criticism".[5] Mark Schilling, writing for The Japan Times, regards the encyclopedia's goal as being to "supply facts about the objects of obsession, while opening windows into the mysterious culture that produced them.", saying that the book does not have enough "critical distance or analysis".[6] Brian Ruh feels that although the book tries to be broad in its scope, it is written from a fan perspective and shows that Galbraith is primarily a "moe otaku".[7]