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Mechademia 3 Limits of the Human Frenchy Lunning, editor Table of Contents PRESS OtakuGeneration Podcast review		$19.95 paper ISBN: 978-0-8166-5482-6
Exploring the possibilities and perils of a posthuman future through visionary works of Japanese anime and manga. Dramatic advances in genetics, cloning, robotics, and nanotechnology have given rise to both hopes and fears about how technology might transform humanity. As the possibility of a posthuman future becomes increasingly likely, debates about how to interpret or shape this future abound. In Japan, anime and manga artists have for decades been imagining the contours of posthumanity, creating dazzling and sometimes disturbing works of art that envision a variety of human/nonhuman hybrids: biological/mechanical, human/animal, and human/monster. Anime and manga offer a constellation of posthuman prototypes whose hybrid natures require a shift in our perception of what it means to be human. Limits of the Human—the third volume in the Mechademia series—maps the terrain of posthumanity using manga and anime as guides and signposts to understand how to think about humanity’s new potentialities and limits. Through a wide range of texts—the folklore-inspired monsters that populate Mizuki Shigeru’s manga; Japan’s Gothic Lolita subculture; Tezuka Osamu’s original cyborg hero, Atom, and his manga version of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (along with Ôtomo Katsuhiro’s 2001 anime film adaptation); the robot anime, Gundam; and the notion of the uncanny in Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, among others—the essays in this volume reject simple human/nonhuman dichotomies and instead encourage a provocative rethinking of the definitions of humanity along entirely unexpected frontiers. “Mechademia 3 is a fascinating read into the many different aspects of history and culture of Japan and how it has affected the world. It’s a smart read, but never so smart that it gets ahead of itself or that it isn’t understandable. It has a really great balance, and could easily be recommended to any anime fan with a thirst for insight beyond just watching a show, or being a fan.” —Activeanime.com “With volume three, Mechademia has finally hit its stride. . . . Mechademia has achieved a new level of excellence. If you love anime and manga and want to go beyond just the entertainment value of these art forms, then you must get a subscription to Mechademia. It will help you better understand the Japanese culture, history, religion, and philosophy behind these works.” —Comics Worth Reading “Mechademia’s accessible format and topics, especially for fanboys and fangirls, encourages a broad look that mostly rewards.” —M/C Reviews Contributors: William L. Benzon, Lawrence Bird, Christopher Bolton, Steven T. Brown, Joshua Paul Dale, Michael Dylan Foster, Crispin Freeman, Marc Hairston, Paul Jackson, Thomas LaMarre, Antonia Levi, Margherita Long, Laura Miller, Hajime Nakatani, Susan Napier, Natsume Fusanosuke, Sharalyn Orbaugh, Ôtsuka Eiji, Adèle-Elise Prévost and MUSEbasement; Teri Silvio, Takayuki Tatsumi, Mark C. Taylor, Theresa Winge, Cary Wolfe, Wendy Siuyi Wong, and Yomota Inuhiko. Frenchy Lunning is professor of liberal arts at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the editor of the two previous Mechademia volumes. 296 pages | 83 b&w photos | 7 x 10 | 2008 Mechademia Series, volume 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface: The Limits of the Human             Frenchy Lunning Introduction: The Limits of “The Limits of the Human”             Christopher Bolton Contours—Around the Human Refiguring the Human             Mark C. Taylor The Otherworlds of Mizuki Shigeru             Michael Dylan Foster Extreme Makeover for a Heian-Era Wizard             Laura Miller Undressing and Dressing Loli: A Search for the Identity of the Japanese Lolita             Theresa Winge Manga: Komatopia             Natsume Fusanosuke             Translated by Margherita Long, with an introduction by Hajime Nakatani Companions—With the Human Speciesism, Part One: Translating Races into Animals in Wartime Animation             Thomas LaMarre Stigmata in Tezuka Osamu’s Works             Yomota Inuhiko             Translated and introduced by Hajime Nakatani Disarming Atom: Tezuka Osamu’s Manga at War and Peace             Ôtsuka Eiji             Translated by Thomas LaMarre States of Emergency: Urban Space and the Robotic Body in the Metropolis Tales             Lawrence Bird Emotional Infectivity: Cyborg Affect and the Limits of the Human             Sharalyn Orbaugh Manga: The Signal of Noise             Written and adapted by Adèle-Elise Prévost             Illustrated by MUSEbasement Compossibles—Of the Human Gundam and the Future of Japanoid Art             Takayuki Tatsumi             Translated and with a response by Christopher Bolton Pop Culture Icons: Religious Inflections of the Character Toy in Taiwan             Teri Silvio Machinic Desires: Hans Bellmer’s Dolls and the Technological Uncanny in Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence             Steven T. Brown Postscript: On “The Living”             Cary Wolfe Review and Commentary A Healing, Gentle Apocalyse: Yokohama kaidashi kiko             Marc Hairston Commentary. Lost in Transition: Train Men and Dolls in Millennial Japan             Susan Napier Howl’s Moving Castle             Antonia Levi Playing Outside the Box with Mind Game             Paul Jackson From Transnationalization to Globalization: The Experience of Hong Kong             Wendy Siuyi Wong “Always Exoticize!” Cyborg Identities and the Challenge of the Nonhuman in Full Metal Apache             Joshua Paul Dale Postmodern Is Old Hat: Samurai Champloo             William L. Benzon Torendo Giant Robots and Superheroes: Manifestations of Divine Power, East and West, An Interview with Crispin Freeman             Frenchy Lunning Contributors Call for Papers

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