Not a lot of time for a full blog entry but needed to get down some late thoughts:I was looking through a book called "1000 Years of Manga" by Brigitte Koyama-Richard.
I noticed the lack of the individual in historic Japanese art.
I considered the prevalence of the individual in historic European art.
I considered the teams of The Super Sentai, Sailor Moon, Saint Seiya.
I pondered the singular efficiency of Superman, Spiderman, and the Batman.
It has been proposed by some that the New worldwide obsession with animé is the second coming of Japonismé. I'll agree, but why?
I think it has to do with the treatment of the identity. Oh yes- some american comics have teams (hello X-Men?) and loads of manga are singular-hero based (Ashita no Joe!)- but to what expent does the art history of a nation affect the identity of its fictional heroes?
Painting Above: 20th Century Otaku?
