Author Erik Angus MacRae endeavors to explain the phenomenon of Anime/Japanese Animation from the perspective of a Canadian male who was born in the Nineties and grew up immersed in its culture.
Two key points are important to grasp in approaching the book.
1) Familiarity of the reader with the subject matter (various Anime series) is often assumed
2) The book is not friendly to the "Woke concepts"/"Cancel-Culture" ; in fact that is reckoned as incompatible with Anime and consequential discussions of it.
He highlights numerous objectives and concepts he wished to explain and demonstrate with this book:
•During the Nineties an unprecedented cultural attack on classical concepts of the "male image" and "male role model" had been suffered which caused many young men to search out for male role models/archetypes in the world of Anime
•Cultural Marxists interfere with human discussion in agenda-based attempts to limit discussions of a variety of topics, including Anime in such a way as to preclude conversations of eternal truth, morality, religion and universal human ethics which is degrading and damaging for the "Anime community", and they carry a viewpoint that is simply incompatible with Anime tropes
•Common themes exist in Anime which act as forces of attraction for the viewers which are observable, real and predictable. It is beneficial for the viewer to understand these forces of attraction
•Use of musical notes adds a powerful force of attraction to Anime series
•Common themes in Anime include a concept of moral absolutes: A clear differentiation of good and evil with an active battle between the two forces and universal concepts of mercy, forgiveness and redemption are present in various Anime
•Common themes with attractive power include the portrayal of idealized male archetypes/characterizations: "The Knightly male" which I view as one of the most powerful, particularly with regards to the opposite gender
•The "Knightly characterization" is actually worthwhile to consider applying in real life
•Common themes with attractive power in Anime also include male to female dynamics particularly with a view to romance and romantic tropes and idealism
•Certain male archetypes wield more attractive power than others on account of a universal system of morality and expectations for general human ethics and conduct
•There are benefits to Anime that can be derived from them and applied: Positive characterization elements and meaningful concepts of ethics and morality
•There are also incredible dangers and a "dark side" to Anime: Certain themes promoted, distractive power, and the habit of addiction, risks of overconsumption and a major risk is incurred with the application of new technological developments: Virtual Reality, A.I., robots, etc.
•Expose the reader to concerns from his personal spiritual world view and unique individual perspective
