Episode # 109 – Interview with Helen McCarthy and Darren-Jon Ashmore on Leiji Matsumoto and Anime/Manga Scholarship

The second installment of our special interview series revolving around the newly released essay collection on Leji Matsumoto, co-edited by past (and current!) guest Helen McCarthy (Listen to the first interview with Tim Eldred and Ed Hoff here).

Helen returns with her co-editor, Darren-Jon Ashemore, to discuss assembling the team of contributors for their new book, Leiji Matsumoto: Essays on the Manga and Anime Legend, and discuss what it took to bring so many perspectives on Matsumoto’s legacy to print.

Helen has been a pioneer in the English-speaking anime community for almost 40 years, having brought anime programming to UK sci-fi conventions, founding and editing Anime UK, and authoring over a dozen books on anime fandom and research (Listen to our first interview with Helen here).

Darren-Jon Ashmore holds a PhD in cultural anthropology with a focus on Japanese performing arts, and has written and published numerous articles and books on Japanese culture and media. He is the author of Funeral For a Friend: Heroism in the Manga of Chiba Tetsuya, Men Under Pressure: Manga and the Japanese Salaryman, The Authenticity of the Other: The Kuiraishi-no-ki and Japanese Ritual Puppet Theatre, and Matsumoto Leiji: A Life in Art. Darren has also had the opportunity to interview Matstumoto in-person, which is included in this book.

Purchase Leiji Matsumoto: Essays on the Manga and Anime Legend from McFarland Books.

Helen’s blog – Helen McCarthy: A Face Made for Radio
Follow Helen on Twitter
Purchase Helen’s other books here!

Darren-Jon Ashmore
Watch Age of Samurai on Netflix

Purchase Matt Alt’s Book, Pure Invention: How Japan’s Pop Culture Conquered the World from Penguin Random House.

Purchase Leji Matsumoto’s manga from Rightstuf!

From Seven Seas Manga.
Captain Harlock
Space Battleship Yamato

From Kodansha Comics
Queen Emeraldas

Purchase Matsumoto anime from Rightstuf
Published by Discotek Media
Galaxy Express 999
Galaxy Express 999: The Movie

Watch Leiji Matusmoto anime free (with ads) via Tubi TV!
Galaxy Express 999
Arcadia of my Youth