Helen McCarthy (born 27 February 1951) is a British author known for writing reference works on anime and manga, including 500 Manga Heroes and Villains, Anime!, The Anime Movie Guide, and Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation. She is the co-author, with Jonathan Clements, of The Erotic Anime Movie Guide and the The Anime Encyclopedia. McCarthy is also a designer of needlework and textile art.
McCarthy was among the earliest English-language authors to publish a book on anime, and has been credited with early involvement in the promotion of anime in the United Kingdom, including organising anime programming at conventions and contributing to early specialist publications.[1]
In 1991, she founded Anime UK magazine. In 1992, she became a principal contributor to Super Play, a magazine focused on Super Nintendo Entertainment System titles with a strong emphasis on anime and manga.[2]Anime UK later became Anime FX following a change in backing and ceased publication in 1996. During its publication, the magazine was involved in disputes with Manga Entertainment over editorial policy and its opposition to the trademarking of the term "manga". McCarthy also contributed to Manga Mania magazine and served as its editor from 1997 to 1998 after Anime UK closed. In addition, she has written about anime and manga for British newspapers and magazines, including the Daily Telegraph, NEO, SFX, and ImagineFX.
McCarthy was able to apply her convention-running knowledge gained in SF and media fandom when Anime UK ran the successful one-day convention AUKcon, which attracted attendees from all over Europe in 1994. She has written numerous articles and essays and is a frequent convention guest, as well as speaking at film festivals and academic gatherings in Europe, America and Japan. She has curated and delivered four successful seasons of lectures and screenings at the Barbican Cinema in London. In September 2008 she curated and presented a week-long film season and exhibition to mark the 80th anniversary of the birth of Osamu Tezuka, also at the Barbican. The season featured London's first professional Japanese kamishibai performance.[3][4][5] Her relationship with the Barbican continues with a further anime film season, Anime's Human Machines, to be presented in September 2019 as part of the Life Rewired project.[6]
She has also been a guest speaker at the University of Maryland,[7] and at Akita International University. She is a founder member of the Fandom and NeoMedia Studies Association (FANS), gave the keynote address at their inaugural conference, and spoke at their first Japanese symposium at Yamanashi Gakuin in 2017.[8]
McCarthy is interested in the many crossing points and influences between anime, manga and other arts. Manga Cross-Stitch, a guide to using the visual grammar of anime and manga to create original needlework designs, appeared in 2009.[9] Artist Steve Kyte provided many of the designs in the book, the rest being created by McCarthy. She has since expanded her needlework activities with workshops for the Japan Foundation[10] and at conventions. Her interest in the history and artistic potential of textiles led to contributions to the Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion exhibition at the Barbican, including a catalogue essay,[11] and to presentations on the history of cosplay. She worked with choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and his team on TeZuKa at Sadler's Wells in 2011, and on Pluto at the Barbican in 2017 and in European City of CultureLeeuwarden in 2018.[12] Also in 2018, she presented on 2.5D Theatre at the Daiwa Japan Foundation alongside Alexandra Rutter of Whole Hog Theatre.[13]
A firm believer that artistic and creative talent can be developed and enjoyed by everyone, she has edited two how-to-draw manuals for Flame Tree Press.
Provoked by copyright infringement of her work in 2010, she has spoken and blogged about the impact of intellectual property theft on authors, and on creators' rights to decide how, when and where their work will be published. She supports legitimate sharing through Creative Commons.[citation needed]
Awards
2010: winner of a Harvey Award for The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga.[14]
2010: nominated for an Eisner Award for The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga.
2008: Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation/Authors' Foundation award for research into Japanese animation and comics.
2006: IMAF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Anime and Manga, sponsored by the International Manga and Anime Foundation.
1997: Japan Festival Award for work in promoting understanding of Japanese culture in Britain, from the Japan Foundation.
Publications
Manga Manga Manga, A Celebration of Japanese Animation at the ICA pub Island World Communications (London) 1992. ISBN0-9520434-0-8
Anime! A Beginners Guide To Japanese Animation pub. Titan (London) 1993. ISBN1-85286-492-3
The Anime Movie Guide: Japanese Animation since 1983 pub. Titan (London) 1996 ISBN1-85286-631-4
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