Medium: Book of Collected Essays
Writer: Jonathan Clements
Publisher: Tor Books

Don't judge a book by its cover. Or by its title for that matter. Almost everyone who saw me reading Schoolgirl Milky Crisis gave me a weird look or asked me a hesitant question. Who wouldn't? With a name and a cover like this, the book positively demands an explanation.

But perhaps that is what Jonathan Clements (translator, voice actor, columnist, and co-author of the Anime Encyclopedia) is actually getting at in his book, a series of collected essays (published and unpublished) detailing the behind-the-scenes world of anime, manga, and Asian pop culture. It's a world that doesn't quite operate like any other entertainment industry, with its multiple levels of licenses and its cross-cultural sensibility. Schoolgirl Milky Crisis is striking at first glance, in part because it mirrors the striking, question-filled world from which it draws. Appropriate, since the book's contents provide some fascinating answers.

Answers about the grueling work of a weekly manga artist. Answers about the origins of Chinese animation, and its connections with Japanese anime. And even answers about the importance of erotica in the anime world. Conversely, Clements often provides questions of his own, asking the reader to contemplate the idea of an anime industry where "No Format" is the new media format, where digital distribution takes over our viewing habits. He asks us if placing animation in its own category in the Oscars is an honor, or equivalent to a creative ghetto.

Throughout it all, Clements' writing remains crisp, snappy, and funny, and his essays are made especially entertaining because most of them are short magazine articles, each of which can be read in a mere five minutes tops. His observations about the companies he worked for, the shows he worked on, and the people he met are often surprisingly insightful, with a tone that alternates between bemused cynicism and honest passion.

Unfortunately, much of the book is comprised of articles that Clements has already published in magazines such as Newtype USA or NEO. As such, many former Newtype or NEO readers will find that they have already read a good portion of the book. Luckily, there are a fair number of articles included that have never been published, such as unpublished sleeve notes from DVDs, and two lectures given by Clements at British Universities. These lectures are undoubtedly among the highlights of the book. One describes erotica, and it's place in anime, with an eye to the historical developments of hentai/ecchi and the reasons for said developments. (He also has the best description of moe ever.) The second essay describes the behind-the-scenes work of anime translators and subtitlers, and is a must-read for anybody who has ever tried to debate subs-versus-dubs or fansubs-versus-official subs.

But of course, there's still the question of why the hell Clements would name a book "Schoolgirl Milky Crisis."

The reason is, of course, that he uses that name as a catchall for anime series that he does not want to name, for fear of incriminating staff or companies involved in some of his anecdotes. This practice is used throughout his essays, and while I understand the necessity of it, this constant use of replacement names can occasionally make his stories very confusing.

Schoolgirl Milky Crisis is more than worth its $15 price, especially for anybody who hasn't read very much of Newtype USA or NEO. (Otherwise, it might feel a little redundant) Either way, I encourage any fan with even an inkling of interest in the industry to go ahead and give it a try. The confused stares and awkward questions are well worth it for a book so packed with insightful answers.

[Disclaimer: This review was written based on a free review copy, kindly provided by Titan Books. We would like to remind our readers that Ani-Gamers reviewers do their very best to provide unbiased reviews of all titles.]

great.

Well, we've certainly had a lot of fun judging the Schoolgirl Milky Crisis giveaway here at Ani-Gamers. (For those who are just cluing in now, the blog contest required readers to create a crazy, fictional anime title in the spirit of Jonathan Clements' new book, Schoolgirl Milky Crisis.) But, since we had no entries in our podcast contest, I've decided to give away a copy of Clements' book to the top three entries in the blog contest. Those three are:

1. Homicidal Group Therapist Kayla (Brian)
2. Vampire Moon Priestesses' Mecha Kombat: The Miniseries (Kevin)
3. Kinky Hamster Demon Fujala (Peter)

While a homicidal group therapist is pretty unheard-of, I'm gonna venture a guess that vampire moon priestesses have already participated in mecha combat in some anime or another, and a kinky hamster demon sounds like a Go Nagai anime just WAITING to happen. But damn, did those names make us laugh! Some of the runners-up evoked quite a chuckle as well, such as "The Tale of Confusion Over Navy Seal Special Operations Sniper Soldier" (arguably based on a true story) from Dorian and "Super Pretty Kitty Theif Club" from Matt, who needs to learn how to spell "thief" before he can start winning contests around here.

Thank you so much to everybody who entered the contest – I'll be contacting the winners and shipping out the prizes as soon as possible. Meanwhile, make sure to look out for my upcoming Ani-Gamers review of Schoolgirl Milky Crisis.

[Schoolgirl Milky Crisis is now available in stores from Titan Books. Visit the official blog, run by Clements himself.]

You thought that Science Ninja Team Gachaman was a crazy name for an anime? Jonathan Clements has been using a far crazier one for years in his writings about the anime industry for publications like Newtype USA. Now his various essays about anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture have been collected into a single book: Schoolgirl Milky Crisis (the name comes from a generic name for any given anime series – a name that Clements has often used to protect the identities of anonymous studios and staff members).

Clements is, of course, the co-author of the Anime Encyclopedia, one of the most comprehensive volumes of information about the medium ever published. Before he worked as a writer, however, he also wore pretty much every hat in the anime industry: translator, voice director, voice actor, etc. And even before that, he was the on-staff translator for one of the earliest and most prominent anime fanzines, Anime UK.

If you're interested in reading all about Clement's crazy adventures in the industry (the book's not lying, they're some pretty crazy adventures), then drop a comment here in this post (or email me at contest [at] anigamers [dot] com) with the following: Your name/email address and your own crazy name for an anime, in the vein of Schoolgirl Milky Crisis. Y'know, "Gogo Dragon Monkeyfist." Whatever the hell you want. We'll pick our two favorites from the entries, and send each winner a free copy of Schoolgirl Milky Crisis. It's really too good a deal for you to pass up.

And hey, if you want another chance to win a copy, enter the podcast contest – the rules are at the end of episode #013. You can enter both contests, but remember, you can only win one or the other. (So you can't win on both the blog and podcast)

[Schoolgirl Milky Crisis is now available in stores from Titan Books. Visit the official blog, run by Clements himself.]