Finding the highest quality manga and anime books

With the increasing popularity of anime and manga, a large number of new books are written and published on these topics every day. Regardless of whether your interest in these topics is purely hobby oriented or you are researching for an essay or article, having several different books at your disposal can be extremely beneficial. Unfortunately, not all books meet the same standards. Some are written solely for entertainment purposes rather than to inform or educate. Because of this, you may come across books that have too much padding to be useful research tools. The following suggestions will help you learn to identify the best school books on these topics.

Research the author

As with all other types of books, the quality of the content depends on the experience of the author. By learning more about the author, you can determine if the content of the book will be of any use to you without even having to read it. A good place to start is to look at what makes the author an expert. Have you worked extensively in the field of manga or anime in the past? Do they give lectures or teach classes on the topics? This background information should help you identify whether the subject of the book will be strong enough to base your research. Likewise, it will also help you avoid fluffy pieces that were written by hobbyists or other casual enthusiasts.

Look for books that have more text than pictures

While anime and manga rely heavily on images, a book that only contains images will not be very helpful in terms of research. Instead, you should look for books that are entirely text-based or that are a good mix of text and images. These books tend to have more valuable and useful content than those that are filled with images.

However, you can ignore the above rule if you are looking at encyclopedias. Some specialized encyclopedias are aimed at anime and manga fans. These guides often provide in-depth analysis along with beautiful images. Although these books do not usually go into great detail about one particular topic or another, they do help to give a broad overview of interesting subtopics within the broader genres. You can always refer to the citations of any reference that interests you to find out where to learn more about those particular topics. this will allow you to continue your investigation if you wish. Just be sure to search for encyclopedias that specifically target manga, otaku, and anime.

Read Japanese books on the subject

Depending on how good you are at reading and understanding Japanese, you may find it beneficial to look at anime and manga books written in Japanese. Because these books are usually written by people who are very familiar with anime and manga trends in Japan, it’s a great way to get a deeper insight into the culture. Not only that, but adding these Japanese books to your references can make your work seem much more credible and well-researched than just using Western books.

In closing, if you are looking for well-written anime and manga books to use in academic research, it is important to choose books that were not only written by respected authors, but also use liberal quotes from other sources. Whether you opt for anime and manga-based encyclopedias for an overview of the topic, or for books that examine these topics more in depth, as long as you choose your research material wisely, you should be able to write a compelling essay.