This book brings together scholars to unpack the religious ideas, themes, motifs, texts, traditions, and practices that suffuse anime. Immensely popular with Western audiences since the 1980s, anime continues to be a prominent medium through which contemporary people, especially younger generations, are engaging ideas about God or ultimate reality, the world, and the self. This volume brings an academic lens to anime and shows the central role that religion plays in the intellectual and visual architecture of many popular shows, including Dragon Ball, Madoka Magica, Gurren Lagann, Sword Art Online, and more.

Contributions by: David Armstrong, Meghan Bishop, Kegan A. Chandler, Casey L. Covel, Aaron Brian Davis, Roberto J. De La Noval, Jack Dudley, Elizabeth Fredericks, Nathan Garcia, Ryan Haecker, Kaz Hayashi, Andrew Kuiper, Christiania Mullis, Benjamin N. Parks, Giorgio Scalici