Anime Archaeology

Table of Contents

1. What we are
2. Where we are
3. Panels
4. Contact
5. Resources
1. An Anime Canon
2. Bibliography
3. Records

What we are

We are long-time otaku who analyze anime (mostly classics).

We believe a few things:

1. In-depth analysis and discussion of anime is worthwhile and fun.
2. Different people like different things. There's no such thing as a universally "good" or "bad" anime.
3. Anime is more fun and less confusing if you understand what it's referencing.
4. Most anime are based on the classics of the medium, so it's beneficial to know the classics, even if you don't love them.
5. Old anime can be just as entertaining as modern anime.
6. Old anime covers genres you might enjoy that are less common today (like mecha).
7. Watching old anime can improve your understanding of modern anime. It's helpful to see how anime has evolved, in terms of animation styles, genres, and how anime has affected or been affected by other media over time.
8. Specialization is for insects. Appreciation of one aspect of anime improves with knowledge of the rest of the medium and its context.
9. Build your opinion of a work based on watching it rather than relying on someone else's tweet or headline.
10. Reviews improve as their objectivity increases. Tell me about the anime's genres, its use of color, the pace of the editing, and how the background music complements the visuals. No review can be completely objective, but it's better to avoid subectivity as much as possible, and admit to it when it's unavoidable. Subjective reviews—talking about what the reviewer liked or didn't like—only help the audience if the tastes of both the reviewer and the audience match. This is unlikely.
11. Talking about anime that you find problematic or that you otherwise wouldn't recommend does not endorse that anime. Indeed, it's important to talk about these works so others know what they're getting into.

Where we are

We upload video essays and reviews on YouTube.

We used to livestream on Twitch Sunday nights starting at 7:00pm Eastern, though we're on a hiatus at the moment.

Panels

Download the slides for Anime Archaeology's convention panels below:

• Anazingly Obscure Anime (That Are Still Awesome)
• Anime as Religion
• A Brief History of Anime
• Genshin Impact as Norse Tragedy
• The Hard-Nosed Business: Why Anime is Made
• Ink and Paint Come Alive: How Anime is Made
• Mecha as Modern Mythology

Contact us

Join us on Discord or email Brent. We don't use social media. We're old-school that way.

Resources

The Anime Canon

To help people identify classics that are relevant for point #4 above in our beliefs, here are some classic anime that are helpful to watch:

Bibliography

Here are various non-fiction books about anime, manga, and their industries:

Anime and Philosophy edited by Josef Steiff and Tristan D. Tamplin (2010)

A collection of thoughtful essays on philosophical themes in anime. It's not a scholarly collection—the essays don't have bibliographies—but essays are more reflections on a particular anime's approach to a philosophical topic.

The Anime Companion by Gilles Poitras (1999)

This book is a pre-Wikipedia attempt at a sort of dictionary of anime tropes, as well as Japanese culture that often pops up in anime. These days, if you want to know what hitodama means, you can just Google it, though this book is useful as a consistent set of definitions, plus references to anime where they appear.

Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke by Susan J. Napier (2000)

As far as I know, this was the first scholarly book about anime written in the US, at least following the 1990s anime boom. Napier looks at a variety of themes in anime, from body transformation to magical girls to confronting history. Her conclusions are somewhat limited by the limited number of anime available at the time, which sometimes leads to over-reaching analysis, though she's since released a revised book (Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle) that may have addressed this.

Anime Supremacy by Mizuki Tsujimura (2014)

A fictionalized account of various women working in the anime industry, an excellent encapsulation of the state of the industry in the mid-2010s.

The Astro Boy Essays by Frederik L. Schodt (2007)

As a close friend of Osamu Tezuka and translator of the Astro Boy manga, Schodt is uniquely qualified to write a book about the history and influences of Astro Boy both in Japan and America.

Drawing on Tradition: Manga, Anime, and Religion in Contemporary Japan by Jolyon Baraka Thomas (2012)

In this short book (about 150 pages, plus about 50 pages of bibliography and index), the author muses about various aspects of religious representation in anime. Interesting!

Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga by Frederik L. Schodt (1996)

Frederik L. Schodt's books somehow manage to cover a large range of territory while providing just enough detail to be useful. This is his followup to Manga! Manga!, which was an introduction to the medium for Western audiences, and here he expands to cover the magazine scene (with statistics!), major creators and franchises, a separate tribute to Osamu Tezuka, manga's influence on other mediums, and the state of manga in English at the time.

The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture by Mark Schilling (1997)

More useful when it was published, this book nevertheless is a handy summary of many aspects of Japanese pop culture, including popular bands, personalities, and works relevant to anime.

Manga: The Complete Guide by Jason Thompson (2007)

This is a stunningly comprehensive listing of what appears to be every manga published in English up to the point of publication. Each manga is accompanied by a one-paragraph summary and brief review, plus a star rating. While there are plenty of manga reviews online now, what's really useful about this book is having a set of consistent summaries that go beyond the one-sentence plot summaries you'll often find online.

Manga High by Michael Bitz (2009)

This book documents an after-school program that prompted students in a large New York City high school to draw their own manga. It's interesting to see the results, though there's no naturally impact on the manga industry.

Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics by Frederik L. Schodt (1983)

Despite its age, this is an excellent introduction to manga as a whole, from its (arguable) origins in the Chōjū-giga to major themes beyond typical shonen fare, like workplace manga and female mangaka. It's also lavishly illustrated; literally every page contains at least one manga sample, and the book ends with several manga excerpts.

Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics by Paul Gravett (2004)

This full color coffee table book provides a summary of manga's history and showcases various major demographics, like shonen and shoujo manga. The text takes a background to the visuals, though; it's a gorgeous book. If you want history more than imagery, check out Schodt's Manga! Manga!.

Robot Ghosts and Wired Dreams edited by Christopher Bolton, Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr., and Takayuki Tatsumi (2007)

A look at Japanese science fiction specifically, which is useful for understanding patterns that occur often in anime (like the ubiquity of mystery plots; one of the first Japanese science fiction stories was a mystery).

Records

The following is an archive of references to actual interviews and other information corroborating our viewpoints on anime.

Anime market

The global anime market is forecasted to reach USD $60 billion by 2030

Anime Market To Reach $60,272.2 Million By 2030 (Grand View Research)

Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll had 17 million paid members in 2025

"Crunchyroll's user base, which has now grown to over 17 million paid members as of March 31, 2025." -- Sony's 2025 Corporate Strategy & Earnings Announcement Presentation 2025

Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance

The series was made in Unreal Engine 5

The official Gundam.info website: "Production has begun on Gundam Requiem for Vengeance, a new anime made for global release using Unreal Engine 5"

Manga

As of 1982, manga made up about 28% of the Japanese publishing industry. 47.5 million copies of manga were published every month.

Manga: The Cartoon in Contemporary Japanese Life

Manga Entertainment

Manga Entertainment's early anime dubs had so much swearing because video titles that were rated 18+ sold better in the UK, and those titles didn't have quite enough "mature" content in themselves to qualify.

The Anime Business - Andy Frain and the story of Manga Video

Neon Genesis Evangelion

The ending of the TV series was hard work and intentional

EvaWiki, Eva Special Talk with Anno Hideaki and Toshiya Ueno (Newtype 11/1996)

Art by r/Sukiyw.