Jaqueline Berndt is Full Professor in Comics Theory at the Graduate School of Manga Studies, Kyoto Seika University, Japan.Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer is Professor in the German Department at the University of Tübingen, Germany.

'This is a timely collection that explores a burgeoning area of enquiry in an interesting and original manner. The chapters address a range of relevant topics for anyone interested in the study and history of manga, as well as addressing the adaptation of manga in different media.' - Matthew Green, Associate Professor, University of Nottingham'Focusing on intercultural and transcultural issues, this collection presents a relatively unified picture despite the varying complexity of the essays. The second half of the volume is particularly cohesive: it offers analyses of the popular manga and anime Naruto. Though most of the contributions offer at least some literary or media theory suitable only for specialists, a few of the essays are approachable by nonspecialists: these include the preeminent Frederik Schodt's contribution on North America, Yamanaka Chie's discussion of Korea, and essays that offer novel but basic treatments of a variety of issues. And Bettina Kummerling-Meibauer contributes an intriguing chapter on the influence of comics and manga on picture books. The contributors are faculty or hold postdoctoral positions in academic or cultural institutions throughout the world. Overall the collection makes a great argument for further studies of manga. Those interested in Asian studies, media studies, and advanced literary studies will benefit most from this book. Summing Up: Recommended.' J.J. Meier, CHOICE

• Introduction Jaqueline Berndt and Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer Part 1: Crosscultural Perspectives on Manga Studies 1. Localizations of Manga in the U.S. Frederik L. Schodt 2. "Manga" as a form of "Western" resistance against traditional Japanese expression: Kitazawa Rakuten and the early discourse on "manga" Ronald Stewart 3. The mischief gag comic, a constitutive and enduring international phenomenon: Yohokama Ryūichi’s "Fuku-chan" and its friends in Europe and the Americas Pascal Lefèvre 4. Tentacles, Superheroes, Pencil Strokes: The parodic body in European and Japanese erotic comics and manga Elisabeth Klar 5. Translating the visual languages of Japanese fan comics and North American and European fan art Nele Noppe 6. Mainstream manga as a challenge to transcultural Comics Studies Jaqueline Berndt 7. Manga/comic hybrid forms in picturebooks: Emergence of a transcultural art form Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer Part 2: NARUTO as cultural crossroad 8. NARUTO as a typical weekly-magazine manga Tomoyuki Omote 9. The traditional Naruto (maelstrom) motif in Japanese culture Franziska Ehmcke 10. (NARUTO as a manhwa: On the reception of Japanese popular culture in the Republic of Korea Chie Yamanaka 11. Women in NARUTO, women reading NARUTO Yukari Fujimoto 12. Fanboys and NARUTO epics: Exploring new ground in fanfiction studies Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto and Nora Renka 13. auteur and Anime as Seen in the NARUTO TV Series: An Intercultural Dialogue between Film Studies and Anime Research Sheuo Hui Gan 14. Playing NARUTO: Between meta-narrative characters, unit operations and objects Martin Roth