Animania Classroom

Take your seats ladies and gents, boys and girls! Leave your snoring hats at home and bring your eagerness to learn - Animania Festival presents a new seminar series in the Animania Classroom!!

Are you...

• a parent who wants to know more about what your kids are watching?
• or, a teacher who is seeing an increase in students using anime in their artwork, their essays, patterning their folders, and are a bit stumped when they want to talk about it in class?
• maybe even a regular 'joe' or student who knows that anime and manga are different... but don't really get why?

With the aid of university academics, industry professionals as well as some anime addicts, Animania Festival will aim to answer these questions and more! These introductory seminars will hopefully help you to find your feet in the vast seas of Japanese pop culture and leave you with a greater understanding of anime and manga.

And if you're keen for more? Some of the seminars will dive a little deeper into the educational themes that can be found within anime and manga, including language in manga, manga as a learning tool, and cultural themes in anime. In particular, some presenters will take a closer look at Miyazaki's Spirited Away, which may be relevant to those teaching or studying the HSC Japanese Extension course.

A few of these seminars will also come with specifically designed handouts that you can keep for handy reference later and to let you take notes.

And of course, we'll try to keep it light! Though with a topic so unique, varied and quirky and Japanese pop culture, how can it be anything but fun??? Audience participation will definitely be welcome!

2008 Seminars

All Animania Classroom seminars will be held on the Gaku Stage. Please browse the topics for this year's seminars below.

For details on the presenters for these seminars, click here.

• Anime 101
• Anime & Manga for Beginners
• From the Castle of Cagliostro to Howl's Moving Castle: Miyazaki's World
• Japanese Language Seminar
• The Language of Anime & Manga
• Spirited Away Workshop

BOTH SATURDAY & SUNDAY

11am - ANIME 101
with Amanda Setiadi (Animania)

So, the kids are calling each other ‘baka’ while talking about how bishie Roy Mustang is and Chii is so kawaii. Some like meccha, others like FMA, and what is this about tentacles and hentai? If this made no sense to you, then this is the panel for you, be you a parent, teacher, or a new fan who’s just really lost out there on the internet.

3pm - SPIRITED AWAY WORKSHOP
with Dr Michael Hill on Saturday, and,
Dr Mio Bryce, James Kelly and Christie Barber (MacQ) on Sunday

You know that Spirited Away is one of the most acclaimed films, animated or otherwise ever made. You know it won the Oscar for Best Animated Film in 2005. You know it was directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and for some, you especially know you have to teach it. But when students put their hand up to ask about its similarity to Kiki’s Delivery Service… what do you do? That’s where this workshop comes in. We’ll introduce you to Miyazaki’s body of work, take you through some of the unique Japanese cultural aspects and analyse the relevant excerpts for those teaching the HSC Japanese Extension course (students welcome too of course!).

SATURDAY ONLY

12pm - ANIME & MANGA FOR BEGINNERS
with Hillery Pastovich (Madman) and others TBA

You’re new to anime and manga, and would like to know more. Where should you start? All the way back with Astro Boy or something more recent like Naruto? What series have been the most the most popular in recent years? This panel will give you guidance to what sort of anime and manga might appeal to you, from Science Fiction dramas to slapstick comedy, and where best to access it.

1:30pm - JAPANESE LANGUAGE SEMINAR
with Dr Mio Bryce (MacQ), Dr William Armour (UNSW) and others.

Do you learn Japanese to increase your appreciation of anime and manga? Or do you watch anime and manga to improve your Japanese? Our guest academics from Sydney’s top universities will explore why millions are learning the language and also discuss what their Japanese programs have to offer potential students.

SUNDAY ONLY

12pm - THE LANGUAGE OF ANIME & MANGA
12pm, Sunday
with Dr Mio Bryce (MacQ) and Dr Michael Hill

The art styles of anime and manga may look simplistic or highly decorative, but are you learning from it? Many fans will have developed an ability to ‘read’ cues not easily noticeable to others. This panel will navigate through the visual, verbal, and ‘sound effect’ cues commonly found and how these can reveal some of the inner workings of Japanese society.

1:30pm - FROM THE CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO TO HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE: MIYAZAKI'S WORLD
with Jacqui Brocker (Animania)

Hayao Miyazaki is considered to be one of the modern day masters of the animated form. Highly popular amongst both children and adults, his films explore a broad range of themes including spirituality and coming-of-age. His most noted works include the action-packed Castle of Cagliostro, the award-winning children’s adventure Spirited Away, and most recently, his feature based on Dianne Wynne-Jones’ novel, Howl’s Moving Castle. This seminar will explore Miyazaki’s works, common themes, and his influence across the world.

2008 Classroom Presenters

Dr Mio Bryce
Head of Asian Studies & Head of Japanese Studies, Macquarie University

Mio has a wide range of interests in Japanese language (classical and modern), literature, history and manga/anime and has developed and taught four manga related units: “JPN123: Japan‘s Contemporary Culture through Manga”, “JPN223: Manga and Representation of Identity”, “JPN323: Manga: Global Imagery” and “JPN815:
Manga and Anime”.

Her particular interest is in historical, socio-cultural and psychological issues depicted in fiction. She is involved in interdisciplinary research into youth cultures and has established a manga/anime research group, in conjunction with the English Department at Macquarie University. As a part of the group, she and her colleagues and students have formed a small research manga/anime group and currently, supported by MJS Centre, working on Manga/Anime Research Resource Website (to be established later this year). If you are interested in the group and/or the website, please feel free to email her.

Dr Michael Hill a.k.a. 'Dr Comics'

Animania Festival welcomes back Dr Michael Hill to its stages! Formerly Director of the Master of Animation course at UTS, Dr Hill is member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Comic Art. He has a Master's degree in animation and a PhD in comics, prompting his introduction on the ABC as 'Doctor Comics'. He has lectured on Anime at the Art Gallery of NSW, Electrofringe, DiGiT Expo and the Powerhouse Museum and has been interviewed many times in the media. His reviews of Steamboy, Ghost in the Shell 2 and The Incredibles were published in Digital Media World.

As an artist and cartoonist he has exhibited at the Silicon Pulp Animation Gallery and the Bunker Cartoon Gallery. Generally in good health he occasionally succumbs to an affliction known as animatophilia

...More details of our speakers coming soon!