Review: Schoolgirl Milky Crisis
The cover of the book itself, just in case you can't spot it in a book shop...
Catching up on my backlog of blog pieces on the way back from the Czech Republic, I actually read Schoolgirl Milky Crisis on the way to Japan for the Tokyo Anime Fair. Sufficed to say short of having the man himself with you on the flight, the book is the best piece of writing on the Japanese Animation industry as well as the people who work in it that you’ll ever find. It was also a surprisingly good primer/reminder for the what the goings-on at TAF would be like as well!
The book contains a collection of articles that forms a snapshot of the past 20 years of Mr Clements work in the industry. If you read magazines like Manga Max and Newtype USA before their demise as well as Neo today then some of these articles will be familiar to you, but saves you sifting through a stack of magazines in the loft to read them again!
Having worked in the industry now for five years, I can safely say that the observations made in the book are very much spot-on (unfortunately at times)! They’re told in an entertaining fashion and should leave you with a greater knowledge of facets of the anime industry (and Japan) that you never thought of before. Everything from the dedication of the Japanese sound effects teams who make every imaginable sound for anime down to the power of a famous director or artist’s name being attached (or not) to a property.
This should form a key piece of reading for any fan who wants to understand what working in this profession is like. Personally, I hope that we get to see a follow-up collection of works from Mr Clement’s repertoire in the near future!
PS You know it’s a good title when the publishers ask the industry figures for quotes and then checks for any legal problems after reading the aforementioned quotes!
Available on Amazon and in all self-respecting book stores now.
