Acknowledgments

Writing this book was a bit like being a manga artist: just me, my thoughts, and my pen (my word processor, actually). But, just as it takes lots of people to turn manga into anime, it took a lot of people to bring this book into being.

First credit has to go to my wife, Carlos (yes, that’s her name; long story . . .), for her patience, persistence, and encouragement that kept things moving. She passed away in 2011, and I still miss her.

Many thanks also to my brother Dan, who mailed me a few random pages of Weekly Shonen King manga magazine back in the ’80s, giving me a hint of the depth and breadth of Japanese popular culture.

I owe a debt beyond words to the folks at Stone Bridge Press, who decided to take a chance on a novice’s manuscript. All credit is due to publisher Peter Goodman, assistant Alden Harbour Keith, publicists Miki Terasawa and Dulcey Antonucci, and especially editor David Noble. It’s tough enough to get a manuscript from the inbox to the bookstore; it gets harder when the author lives 2,000 miles away, and business has to be conducted by e-mail, FedEx, fax, and occasional phone calls. My hat is off to the whole crew.

My editor’s job was simplified by having a few friends beta-read the manuscript chapters for mistakes of fact or grammar, or just bad writing that needed to be improved. Thanks go to Daniel Drazen, Donald Dortmund, Anjum Razaq, Jennifer Gedonius, Chris Barr, Lynda Feng, and Claire Peterik.

There are also many, many anime industry reps I have dealt with while getting permission to use images to illustrate the first edition of this book, on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. Whether these dealings bore fruit or not, it was a valuable lesson, and I got to deal with a lot of very nice people. So, in no particular order, I’d like to thank: Julie Ninomiya of Kodansha Publishing; Kazuko Shiraishi of Gainax; Rena Ikeda and Shigehiko Sato of Fuji Creative Corp.; Ryan Gagerman of D.I.C.; Dallas Middaugh, David Newman, Rika Inouye, and Koichi Sekizaki of Viz Communications; Kenichiro Zaizen of Amuse Pictures; Junko Kusunoki of AIC; John O’Donnell, Luis Perez, and Mike Lackey of Central Park Media; Minoru Kotoku of Tezuka Productions; Chieko Matsumoto of Mushi Production Co.; Stephen M. Alpert of Studio Ghibli; Scott Carlson and Anita Thomas of AnimEigo, Inc.; Kris Kleckner of The Right Stuf, Inc.; Bruce Loeb and David Weinstock of Pokémon USA; Tak Onishi at Japan Video and Media; Fred Patten; Jerry Chu and Jason Alnas from Bandai; Matt Perrier at Manga Entertainment: Anna Bechtol, Corey Henson, and Ken Wiatrek of ADV Films; Meredith Mulroney of Media Blasters; Sara Bush of Nintendo of America; Maki Terashima of Production IG; Danielle Garnier and Matt Perrier of Manga Entertainment; Libby Chase of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.; and Tom Devine of NuTech Digital, Inc. Also thanks to Elizabeth Kirkindall of Big-Big-Truck.com for the great cover.

This book is dedicated to my nieces—Mica J Powers and Nana Asantewaa Armah—and the upcoming generation of anime fans:

“It’s gonna be your world!”

(from the theme to Cardcaptor Sakura)

P.D.