Three new academic books on anime, manga, and otaku culture were recently announced for release. The descriptions for the new books are as follows:

Otaku: Japan's Database Animals

Originally titled Dobutsuka Suru Posutomodan: Otaku Kara Mita Nihonshakai (Animalizing Postmodernity: Otaku and Postmodern Japanese Society), Otaku: Japan's Database Animals is scholar and media critic Hiroki Azuma's 2001 study of otaku and otaku culture in Japan, looking to its emergence and linking it to Japan's World War II defeat. Azuma argues that otaku represent an extreme case of cultural and media consumption - one of many examples.

Reading Japan Cool: Patterns of Manga Literacy and Discourse

Written by Meisei and Meiji University teachers John Ingulsrud and Kate Allen, the book covers different types of manga, the history of the medium, and its differences from western comics. The book also discusses how Japanese and western audiences read and understand manga.

The Japanification of Children's Popular Culture: From Godzilla to Miyazaki

Written by English professor Mark I. West of UNC-Charlotte, the book is a collection of essays on various topics, including the censorship of anime for American television, the initial reception of the Pokemon TV series, and reasons for the impact Japanese video game companies have made on the US market. A chapter focusing on an important scene in the Cardcaptor Sakura manga can be viewed online.