JAPAN 75
Anime
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Discussion and analysis of seminal works of Japanese animation, or anime, created from 1980s to present. Engagement with works in variety of styles, and that deal with broad range of themes. Reading and discussion of recent scholarship on anime produced by scholars working in diverse modes, from philosophical to anthropological. Letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2017 - This class is a pretty easy GE and it's actually really interesting. You have two films to watch every week, but if you already watch anime, you've probably already watched the film. For example, some films that you watch are Princess Mononoke, Tokyo Godfather, and Kimi no na wa. There's a short paragraph due every week about the film where you can talk about what you observed, but only the top five paragraphs are actually counted into your grade, so it's easy. There's a couple of short readings, mostly in the beginning of the quarter, and sometimes he has pop quizzes so you have to read them. There's no midterm or final, just two papers. Overall, this class is super relaxed and brings a new light to anime. Also, the professor is really fun and enthusiastic about what he teaches.
Fall 2017 - This class is a pretty easy GE and it's actually really interesting. You have two films to watch every week, but if you already watch anime, you've probably already watched the film. For example, some films that you watch are Princess Mononoke, Tokyo Godfather, and Kimi no na wa. There's a short paragraph due every week about the film where you can talk about what you observed, but only the top five paragraphs are actually counted into your grade, so it's easy. There's a couple of short readings, mostly in the beginning of the quarter, and sometimes he has pop quizzes so you have to read them. There's no midterm or final, just two papers. Overall, this class is super relaxed and brings a new light to anime. Also, the professor is really fun and enthusiastic about what he teaches.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - I took this class in Spring 2020, the first quarter offered completely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall this wasn't a difficult GE, though the workload (mainly the amount of writing) was disproportionately high. As a result of the quarantine/new online format, lecture times were modified to be once a week, and what were originally meant to be in-class screenings were now the responsibility of the students to watch in their own time. Despite the lectures being online, they were never recorded and attendance was taken for part of a participation grade. Grading was 10% participation, 10% weekly quizzes, 30% online assignments (mostly posting responses on the forum), 20% research project proposal, 30% final research paper. Every week we were required to watch an assigned anime movie, with the lecture later that week discussing the movie, its context and impact, and possible interpretations. Additionally, we needed to submit 1) a written response to the movie and 2) a response to another student's response. I don't know if it was the quarantine draining my motivation or just my inability to write, but I personally found coming up with these weekly responses the most difficult part of the class. Most, if not all, of the grading is done by your TA, so if you end up with a chill TA the class should be a breeze. In addition to the screening and responses, there was also weekly reading, with anywhere from 1 - 5 articles/excerpts from books assigned. Quizzes, taken on CCLE, were not terribly difficult, but there would be an occasional hyper-specific question on either the week's anime or readings. Professor Kanesaka himself was extremely accommodating during this time, and made the final paper completely optional (and guaranteed those who submitted would get at least an A- on the assignment). His lectures, though a little dry at times, were informative, and I feel I really learned a lot in this class.
Spring 2020 - I took this class in Spring 2020, the first quarter offered completely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall this wasn't a difficult GE, though the workload (mainly the amount of writing) was disproportionately high. As a result of the quarantine/new online format, lecture times were modified to be once a week, and what were originally meant to be in-class screenings were now the responsibility of the students to watch in their own time. Despite the lectures being online, they were never recorded and attendance was taken for part of a participation grade. Grading was 10% participation, 10% weekly quizzes, 30% online assignments (mostly posting responses on the forum), 20% research project proposal, 30% final research paper. Every week we were required to watch an assigned anime movie, with the lecture later that week discussing the movie, its context and impact, and possible interpretations. Additionally, we needed to submit 1) a written response to the movie and 2) a response to another student's response. I don't know if it was the quarantine draining my motivation or just my inability to write, but I personally found coming up with these weekly responses the most difficult part of the class. Most, if not all, of the grading is done by your TA, so if you end up with a chill TA the class should be a breeze. In addition to the screening and responses, there was also weekly reading, with anywhere from 1 - 5 articles/excerpts from books assigned. Quizzes, taken on CCLE, were not terribly difficult, but there would be an occasional hyper-specific question on either the week's anime or readings. Professor Kanesaka himself was extremely accommodating during this time, and made the final paper completely optional (and guaranteed those who submitted would get at least an A- on the assignment). His lectures, though a little dry at times, were informative, and I feel I really learned a lot in this class.
AD
Most Helpful Review
Summer 2021 - This class was a complete breeze. A couple readings and viewings per week, and then two papers and a midterm was all that the course required. I will give this warning, however: don't expect to be watching great anime all the time. This course is focused as much on Japanese history as it is on anime itself, and some films/episodes that we watched were either painful to get through or just plain weird. Some really good anime are still watched however, including 'In This Corner of the World' and 'Akira'.
Summer 2021 - This class was a complete breeze. A couple readings and viewings per week, and then two papers and a midterm was all that the course required. I will give this warning, however: don't expect to be watching great anime all the time. This course is focused as much on Japanese history as it is on anime itself, and some films/episodes that we watched were either painful to get through or just plain weird. Some really good anime are still watched however, including 'In This Corner of the World' and 'Akira'.
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