Stone Bridge Press has announced the fall publication of a revised edition of The Anime Encyclopedia by Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy.  Whereas the original 2001 edition of the Encyclopedia, which covered anime releases from 1917 through 2000, was 592 pages, the new edition, which covers anime releases through the end of 2005, will be at least 850 pages in length.  Stone Bridge has not yet set a cover price for The Anime Encyclopedia 2 (the original volume was priced at $24.95, and is now selling used on Amazon for double that).

While anime afficionados may quibble with some of the descriptions in The Anime Encyclopedia, there is no denying that the cataloging of more than 2000 anime movies, OAVs, and TV series was a substantial achievement.  Since the release of The Anime Encyclopedia Jonathan Clements has authored the highly readable (and informative) Dorama Encylopedia (about Japanese live action TV dramas) and Helen McCarthy has produced an excellent monograph on the work of anime director Hayao Miyazaki (Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation).  Thank goodness they have also found the time to update The Anime Encyclopedia and restore relevance to this indispensable reference work.