Arts and Entertainment

New exhibit celebrates anime in University Libraries’ collection

A 3-D representation of Totoro anchors the Pattee Library central entrance display cases for the “Japanimation: Exploring Anime” exhibit, which is open through Dec. 16. Credit: Penn State University Libraries / Penn State. Creative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State University Libraries’ 2016-17 exhibit season begins with “Japanimation: Exploring Anime," on display today (Aug. 25) through Friday, Dec. 16, in the Pattee Library central entrance exhibit cases and adjacent Sidewater Commons, located on the first floor of Pattee Library on Penn State’s University Park campus. The exhibit, which highlights perspectives ranging from anime’s historical origins to scholarly analysis and pop culture impact, is free and open to the public and available for viewing during regular fall semester Pattee Library operating hours.

The exhibit, curated by Penn State Information Literacy Librarian and anime expert Glenn Masuchika, samples the library’s comprehensive collection of books and documentary films about anime. Anime, or the style of Japanese animated film and television, has become one of the most universally recognized forms of multimedia entertainment during the last 15 years, accounting for half of the total animated films shown worldwide.

Anime is likely most familiar to American audiences through such beloved films as “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Cowboy Beebop,” and through the overwhelmingly popular 1990s film and subsequent summer 2016 game and mobile app Pokémon Go. As varied in type and genre as any art form on the market, the brilliance of anime — its variety, its rich, compelling narratives and dazzling art — reflects an increasing market share of international entertainment, or the “Japanimation” of global visual culture.

Masuchika will present a talk on anime from 2 to 3 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 29, in the Mann Assembly Room, 104 Paterno Library, University Park. Attendees should note that some content for the talk includes adult themes and grotesque imagery.

The exhibit in Sidewater Commons, a public computer lab and gallery space on the first floor of Pattee Library, showcases reproductions of rare, original film posters, some of which are in Japanese, from Masuchika’s personal collection. Each poster corresponds to films held in the University Libraries’ anime film collection, including well-known staples such as “Spirited Away” and “Princess Mononoke,” as well as lesser known comedies like “Tekkon Kinkreet” and “Tokyo Godfathers,” and the darkly dystopian classics “Akira” and “Grave of the Fireflies.”

One of the library’s related titles on exhibit, “The Roots of Japanese Anime Until the End of WWII,” offers scholarly analysis of eight early Japanese sound anime from the 1930s and early ’40s. Other titles on exhibit, also available for borrowing, include encyclopedias, scholarly explorations, and in-depth biographies of some of anime’s most notable directors, as well as "Anime Mania," a hands-on manual on how to draw anime characters.

For more information about the exhibit or inquiries about special accommodations, contact Masuchika at gnm1@psu.edu or 814-867-2229.

Last Updated August 30, 2016

Contact