It's hard to discern exactly what Carey's purpose was in writing this book. On the one hand, he wants to share in his son's interest. On the other, he claims to be writing a book about the origins of the art form < perhaps sort of a guide or cross-cultural bridge for Westerners interested in manga. Unfortunately, he discovers, quite hilariously really, that every single theory he has on the subject is wrong
Interview subject after interview subject politely and bemusedly shake their heads at Carey's attempts to understand the subtleties of the process of making samurai swords, or of the word otaku, which means something in between aficionado and geek. Every time he thinks he has achieved an understanding and articulates it to the experts, his new meaning is rejected.
He suggests, for instance, that the omnipresence of robots, battles and children battling with the help of robots in the genre is rooted in the devastation of World War II firebombing and atomic devastation, which left helpless and orphaned victim children wandering the streets of post-war rubble. That theory is shot down pretty fast.
Yoshiyuki Tomino, one of the more famous anime directors, matter-of-factly admits he never had much interest in his classic masterpiece Gundam Wing. When Carey quizzes him on the war's influence on his art, Tomino casually explains his animation was just made to sell toy robots.
The Guardian's Peter Conrad (that's not the Peter Conrad is it?) didn't enjoy the author's new outing quite so much:
At a pinch, there's enough material here for a magazine article. Carey takes a brazen pride in being 'a terrible reporter'. He forgets the names of the people he is interviewing, and doesn't especially mind when they politely wave aside his inept or incoherent questions.
The reviewer finishes by wondering if Carey has become tainted by too-close contact with comic books: "Perhaps Charley's preference for graphic novels has demoralised the double Booker Prize-winner, making him doubt the value of all writerly endeavours."
Stop blaming it on the comic-books, that's all I've got to say.
