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Dorama Encyclopedia

posted on by Christopher Macdonald
Jonathan Clements works with Motoko Tamamuro on a follow-up to the Anime Encyclopedia

Stone Bridge has announced that it plans to publish the Dorama Encyclopedia by Jonathan Clements and Motoko Tamamuro. Jonathan Clements was co-author of the Anime Encyclopedia along with Helen McCarthy.

Dorama are Japanese TV dramas (the word is derived from the Japanese pronounciation of Drama), and many Dorama are based on Anime or Manga series. In response to our question about this, Stonebridge rep Miki Terasawa wrote us back with some details about the specific Anime/Manga relations in this book, excerpts from her e-mail are included after the press release.

Excerpts from Press Release:

Stone Bridge plans to publish another book by ANIME ENCYCLOPEDIA co-author Jonathan Clements and Motoko Tamamuro in Fall 2003. This new book is tentatively titled THE DORAMA ENCYCLOPEDIA: A GUIDE TO JAPANESE TV DRAMA SINCE 1953. A bit more about it:

ABOUT THE BOOK
Japanese TV drama covers every conceivable genre, from hard-boiled cop shows to school romances, and yet it is rarely discussed in the West. This book redresses the balance, with in-depth looks at this important medium, whose innovations often go unnoticed. True, Japanese TV has its clone-shows that attempt to duplicate Western successes--the book scrutinizes Japanese takes on FRIENDS (FRIENDS), THE PRACTICE (HERO), ER (24-HOUR ER), YOU'VE GOT MAIL (WITH LOVE), and GROUNDHOG DAY (BACK TO OUR FUTURE). But it also profiles true originals such as ROSINANTE, for which the crew had to wrestle with the concept of filming an entire series from the point of view of a golden retriever. And how can you resist such oddities as BEAUTY (plastic surgeon gives woman-on-the-run the face of his dead wife), LIPSTICK (man finds love in women's juvie hall) or the self-explanatory (but still incredible) GEISHA DETECTIVE?

CONTENTS
--An introductory essay on the development of Japanese drama
--Over 800 entries with brief synopses and critical commentary, as well as year, Japanese title, key creatives, cast, channel
--Indices by title and name for shows and cast/crew
--Where to Find Out More, including internet links and TV channel details

COVERAGE
The book will include all dramas known to have been broadcast on U.S. TV with English subtitles and a reasonable selection of untranslated evening dramas from the 1990s, jidaigeki samurai dramas, NHK women's dramas and SF shows. Since many are also broadcast in other countries, it also includes Mandarin AKAs common in Taiwan and Singapore. It does not aim to be comprehensive, but functions as an in-depth beginner's guide.




Excerpts from follow-up e-mail

THE DORAMA ENCYCLOPEDIA has quite a few shows that were based on manga. Among them are:

Abare Haccaku, After Class, Age 35, Antique, Astro Boy, Beach Wars Mix, Big Wing, Bride-to-Be, The Chef, Come Live With Me, Comet-san, The Curse, Gigantor, Good Person, GTO, Happy, Happy Mania, Lady of the Manor, Luckily I Wasn't So In Love, Mask of Glass, Midnight Purple Eye, Minami's Sweetheart, Phantom Agents, Salaryman Kintaro, Sister Stories, The Stand-In (aka Private Actress), Tennen Shojo Mann, They Were Eleven, Tokyo Love Story, Young Kindaichi Files (i.e. "Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo") and Unmarried Family.

The book also include the live-action versions of such titles of fan interest as Steel Angel Kurumi, Hypnosis, and Spider-Man, as well as TV drama *about* manga, including An Adult's Choice, King of Editors, and Dangerous Job for a Schoolgirl. There will be more, but I don't have all the titles at this time.

There are also many other shows that are adapted *into* manga, such as Masked Rider, Power Rangers and Ring.

This book is best thought of as a companion volume to the Anime Encyclopedia, about a whole new area of Japanese media.




editor's note: Mask of Glass refers to Glass Mask.

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