Free feature from latest SFX special

Get complete downloadable four-page feature! "I've Never Seen Princess Mononoke" from the current SFX special

There are three SFX -related magazines on sale right now and you should get them before you miss them. Click one of the links below to buy now. In the meantime, though, we'd like to show you what you're missing by give you a free sample from the latest SFX Collection , issue 50 devoted to anime.

"I've never seen Princess Mononoke" by Rob Power

Like kiwi fruit or interpretive dance, anime is something I have little experience of. I wish I knew why. I’ve been trying – and largely failing, it must be said – to nail down the reasoning behind this bizarre cultural gap. I’ve no aversion to animated features, no crippling fear of girls with big eyes, nothing; there’s just no rhyme or reason to it. As a life-long science fiction and fantasy fan, I’ve got no excuses. I’ve regularly encountered anime fans willing to point me in the right direction. I know what the classics are and where to find them. And yet, every time my hand hovered over Akira or Spirited Away , I ended up gravitating towards something else, usually involving aliens, ninjas, or aliens killing ninjas. The longer I left it, the more distracted I became. Anime had been crowded off of my radar by louder, brasher beasts that grabbed my attention with action sequences and explosions, until eventually any curiosity I had withered away. Thankfully, Princess Mononoke was sent to save me from myself...

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