Stray Dog of Anime The Films of Mamoru Oshii [Paperback]

Upon its US release in the mid 1990s, Ghost in the Shell , directed by Mamoru Oshii, quickly became one of the most popular Japanese animated films in the country. Despite this, Oshii is known as a maverick within anime: a self-proclaimed 'stray dog'. This is the first book to take an in-depth look at his major films, from Urusei Yatsura to Avalon .1. An Introduction to Oshii 2. Urusei Yatsura (1981-84) 3. Angel's Egg (1985) 4. Twilight Q 2: Labyrinth Objects File 538 (1987) 5. Mobile Police Patlabor (1988-93) 6. Ghost in the Shell (1995) 7. Jin-Roh (2000) and Blood the Last Vampire (2000) 8. Avalon (2000) 9. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004) 10. The Sky Crawlers (2008) 11. Assault Girls (2009) 12. Conclusion

A fascinating look at a filmmaker who exemplifies the breadth and complexities of modern Japanese cinema. - The Japan Times

Stray Dog of Anime: The Films of Mamoru Oshii is a solid and wide-ranging look at a director who deserves to be recognized for more than just scantily-clad cyborg women. - Cartoon Brew

[A] thoughtful, well-researched analysis of what makes Oshii such a fascinating creator. - Otaku USA

A fine introduction to one of Japanese animation's few true auteurs, Stray Dog of Anime examines Oshii's films from both sides of the camera. Brian Ruh's work is scholarly but readable, and affirmative but critical - an education for academics and fans alike. Welcome to Class Real. - Jonathan Clements, co-author of The Anime Encyclopedia

Brian Ruh's Stray Dog of Anime: The Films of Mamoru Oshii is the first comprehensive treatment in English on a Japanese director who is by turns familiar, alien, grim, funny, evasive, brutal, ethereal, and deeply human. Readers will begin to understand why the imagination of Mamoru Oshii inspires The Matrix's Wachowski brothers and Titanic's James Cameron. The book will be of interest not only to those who want to get to know Mamoru lƒm