Mechademia

Mechademia: Second Arc is a biannual (formerly annual) peer-reviewed academic journal in English about Japanese popular culture products and fan practices. It is published by the University of Minnesota Press and the editor-in-chief is Frenchy Lunning.[1] Mechademia has also held an annual conference since 2001.[2]

Mechademia: Second Arc
SubjectAnime and manga studies, Japanese studies, Asian studies, Media studies
LanguageEnglish
Edited byFrenchy Lunning, Sandra Annett
Publication details
Former name(s)
Mechademia: An Annual Forum for Anime, Manga, and the Fan Arts
History2006–present
Publisher
FrequencyBiannually
Standard abbreviations
ISO 4Mechademia
Indexing
ISSN1934-2489 (print)
2152-6648 (web)
LCCN2006215646
OCLC no.72523390
Links

Volumes

Since 2006, ten volumes have been published.[3] Each volume is dedicated to a collection of articles themed around a specific topic, such as shojo manga or anime and manga fandom. It is indexed in Project MUSE[4] and JSTOR.[5] After a break of three years, a new series of Mechademia volumes (Second Arc) was launched beginning in 2018, the first being themed around childhood. The scope of Mechademia will be broadened to include all of Asia in its remit.[6]

No. Title Release date ISBN
1Mechademia 1: Emerging Worlds of Anime and MangaDecember 22, 2006[7]978-0-8166-4945-7
2Mechademia 2: Networks of DesireDecember 26, 2007[8]978-0-8166-5266-2
3Mechademia 3: Limits of the HumanNovember 5, 2008[9]978-0-8166-5482-6
4Mechademia 4: War/TimeNovember 11, 2009[10]978-0-8166-6749-9
5Mechademia 5: FanthropologiesNovember 9, 2010[11]978-0-8166-7387-2
6Mechademia 6: User EnhancedNovember 3, 2011[12]978-0-8166-7734-4
7Mechademia 7: Lines of SightNovember 7, 2012[13]978-0-8166-8049-8
8Mechademia 8: Tezuka's Manga LifeJanuary 21, 2014[14]978-0-8166-8955-2
9Mechademia 9: OriginsDecember 10, 2014[15]978-0-8166-9535-5
10Mechademia 10: World RenewalNovember 2015[16]978-0-8166-9915-5

Reception

Steve Raiteri from Library Journal commends Mechademia as a "great first effort [...] bridg[ing] the gap between academics and fans."[17] Christophe Thouny, writing for Animation also thought the writing and tone was accessible by both academics and fans.[18] Ed Sizemore from Comics Worth Reading criticizes the journal for its review and commentary section because they "read like summaries of the works (films and books) discussed with no actual critique of the work". However, Sizemore commends the journal's academic essay section.[19]

By contrast, Raiteri in Library Journal states that fans will find the Review and Commentary section "the most accessible" section of the journal.[17] Kevin Gifford contrasts Mechademia with shallower works on anime, praising its "insightful essays and reviews" and detail, calling it "worthwhile reading for anyone hungry for intelligent writing" about anime.[20] Tomo Hirai of the Nichi Bei Times described the first volume as "an informative and inspiring read for those curious beyond the skin of anime".[21]

A review of the second volume of Mechademia by Comics Worth Reading's Johanna Draper Carlson criticises the journal for its dry tone and "flat statements following after each other separated only by footnote numbers".[22] A later review by Ed Sizemore recommends that Mechademia "should stop trying to develop a theme for each issue".[23] Active Anime's Holly Ellingwood comments that the journal's "strong academic bent may put off some potential readers but give it a chance and peruse through the many varied topics".[24] A later review by Scott Campbell commends the third volume of Mechademia as being "extremely insightful and thought provoking ... [about] anime, manga, and even the future of mankind".[25] D. Harlan Wilson found the third volume to be "as accessible as it was provocative and enlightening".[26]

William McClain criticises the fourth volume for having articles that are "too restrictive" in focus, calling attention to the lack of discussion, in this volume, of how anime and manga culture has spread internationally. McClain also criticises the volume for not including enough visual aids for the general reader, but praises the Mechademia journal as a whole for its experimental approach.[27] Ellen Grabiner feels that War/Time takes the approach that war has become a part of everyday life in post-war Japanese society, and praises the broad range of essays.[28] Timothy Iles feels that the strength of Mechademia is that it provides "theoretically informed, historically grounded, jargon-free research that highlights first and foremost, not the self-serving virtuosity of the researcher, but the interpretive depth of the material under analysis."[29]

Abstracting and indexing

According to Ulrichsweb, Mechademia is abstracted and indexed in EBSCOhost, Gale, OCLC, and ProQuest.[30]

Most cited articles

According to Google Scholar, the three most-cited papers in Mechademia are:[31]

References
  1. Koulikov, Mikhail (January 26, 2005). "2004 Year in Review Anime/Manga Academic Highlights". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
  2. "Mechademia | Minneapolis College of Art and Design". mcad.edu.
  3. "Mechademia". Minnesota Press. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  4. "Mechademia Vol. 1 (2006) through current issue". Project Muse. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  5. "Mechademia". Jstor. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  6. "Call for Papers - Mechademia". www.mechademia.net. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  7. Frenchy Lunning, ed. (2006). Mechademia 1: Emerging Worlds of Anime and Manga. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0816649457. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  8. Frenchy Lunning, ed. (2007). Mechademia 2: Networks of Desire. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0816652662. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  9. Frenchy Lunning, ed. (2008). Mechademia 3: Limits of the Human. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0816654826. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  10. Frenchy Lunning, ed. (2009). Mechademia 4: War/Time. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0816667499. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  11. Frenchy Lunning, ed. (2010). Mechademia 5: Fanthropologies. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0816673872. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  12. Frenchy Lunning, ed. (2011). Mechademia 6: User Enhanced. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0816677344. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  13. Frenchy Lunning, ed. (2012). Mechademia 7: Lines of Sight. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-8049-8. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  14. Frenchy Lunning, ed. (2013). Mechademia 8: Tezuka's Manga Life. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0816689552. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  15. Frenchy Lunning, ed. (2014). Mechademia 9: Origins. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0816695355. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  16. Frenchy Lunning (ed.). Mechademia 10: World Renewal. University of Minnesota Press. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  17. Raiteri, Steve (January 15, 2007). "Graphic Novels: Religion and Comics". Library Journal. Archived from the original on June 25, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
  18. Thouny, Christophe (2008). "Untitled Review". Animation. 3 (2): 212–217. doi:10.1177/17468477080030020703. S2CID 194074954.
  19. Sizemore, Ed (June 25, 2007). "Mechademia 1". Comics Worth Reading. Archived from the original on November 25, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
  20. Gifford, Kevin (February 2007). "Mechademia Volume 1". Newtype USA. Vol. 6, no. 2. Houston, Texas, United States: A.D. Vision. p. 139. ISSN 1541-4817.
  21. Hirai, Tomo. "Book Review: Academia and Fandom Meet In New Study of Anime and Manga". Nichi Bei Times. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
  22. Draper Carlson, Johanna (September 14, 2008). "Mechademia 2: Networks of Desire". Comics Worth Reading. Archived from the original on November 25, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
  23. Sizemore, Ed (February 24, 2009). "Mechademia 3: Limits of the Human". Comics Worth Reading. Archived from the original on May 19, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
  24. Ellingwood, Holly (January 18, 2007). "Mechademia: Emerging Worlds of Anime and Manga". Active Anime. Archived from the original on December 28, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
  25. Campbell, Scott (January 4, 2009). "Mechademia Vol 3: Limits of the Human". Active Anime. Archived from the original on December 28, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
  26. Wilson, D. Harlan (July 2010). "Lunning's Mechademia 3: Limits of the Human". Science Fiction Studies.
  27. McClain, William (2010). "Mechademia Volume 4: War/Time". International Journal of Communication. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 31, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  28. Grabiner, Ellen (2011). "Review of Mechademia 4: War/Time". ImageTexT: Interdisciplinary Comics Studies. University of Florida. 5 (4). Archived from the original on December 28, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  29. Iles, Timothy (May 31, 2011). "Mechanical, Academic, Anime: Mechademia 4 and Mechademia 5". Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  30. "Title Details: Mechademia". Ulrichsweb. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  31. "Mechademia - Google Scholar". scholar.google.com. Retrieved December 5, 2022.

Further reading
  • Boulter, Jonathan (2011). "Mechademia 4: War/Time (review)". Science Fiction Film and Television. 4 (2): 287–291.
  • Ratelle, Amy (2011). "Mechademia 3: Limits of the Human. Edited by Frenchy Lunning. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008. 287 pp. $19.95 (paper)". The Journal of Asian Studies. 70 (2): 574–575. doi:10.1017/S0021911811000507. S2CID 164063570.
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