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Being a Chinese Otaku Ain't Easy →
If you’re a Chinese otaku that has relatives who have suffered at the hands of the Japanese in the past, you’re not the only one. This is my experience dealing with family members who have told me stories about how bad Japan was back in the early 20th century.
You can also apply this to Koreans as well.
At least we have the common sense to realize that not every Japanese person is bad, right?
Though you have to remember that everyone has skeletons in their closet.
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The Lovely Yu Asakawa at New York Comic-Con 2012
Hey, I snagged myself a famous bimajo. Bimajos are pretty hot these days, right?
It’s interesting to see Japan finally find older women attractive when the rest of the world saw the light a long while ago. Yu Asakawa looks AMAZING for her age.
Getting past the looks, I think we need more people like Yu Asakawa to help build strong anime/manga communities outside of Japan. She is very passionate about otaku culture. Her continued desire to speak English says a lot about her commitment to the fans.
You can follow Yu Asakawa on Twitter at @Julia320.
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Japanophiles - Can You Blame Them?
With the rise of anime/manga culture on the Internet over the past decade, who here thinks Japanophiles are all over the place? One person on Quora posed the question that seems to boggle people’s minds: “Why are so many people Japanophiles?”. I once responded to it and later found out answers were still trickling in by other Quora users. Regarding Japanophiles in general, can we really blame them for being a bit too obsessed with Japan?
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Otaku Vampires? Vampire/Ghost Love? Here Comes BLOOD LAD!
An otaku vampire helping a ghost girl come back to life? Where do I sign up for Yuki Kodama’s BLOOD LAD?
I know Yen Press is hyping up their upcoming Twilight: The Graphic Novel releases, but we need more “realistic” vampires (i.e. don’t sparkle) and Statz (the otaku vampire) looks to be one of them. Blood Lad will hit stateside in the future courtesy of Yen Press.
I don’t know about you guys, but I got a Durarara!!! meets Blue Exorcist feel just from looking at this cover. Though the series is a dark comedy for the most part.
This title also makes me think about Vampire Knight. Female human and male vampire relations are quite the evolution of the “good girl loves bad boy” trope. A worthy topic to explore for the blog, perhaps?
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Toonami Rap, Chi at Toronto, Unforgivable Characters, And More - Fun Link Roundup
Nope, you can’t have my soul. Here are some fun links to read for the weekend.
BRING BACK TOONAMI!! - For those who were watching Cartoon Network on April 1, Toonami, the famous animation block that brought a whole slew of anime, replaced the Saturday block of Adult Swim. “Otaku King” Richie Branson enlightens us with his wonderful rhymes on why Toonami should come back. Man, we need more afterschool moments with Toonami cuz anime ain’t dying yet, yo.
Kanata Konami Visits The Toronto Comics Arts Festival - Most of you have heard that the mangaka of Chi’s Sweet Home, Kanata Konami, was at Toronto this past Saturday for TCAF 2012. Enjoy this brief recap of her event hosted by Vertical, Inc along with a couple of photos taken there.
Should You Read The Sailor Moon Manga? - Yes, for the most part. Otaku no Video reviews Volume 1 and recommends it to those who are fans of shoujo manga. Though I believe it can be a tough sell to fans of the Sailor Moon anime.
Japanese Fans Name Anime’s Most Unforgivable Characters - The number 1 choice totally deserved the top spot, wouldn’t you say? I’m interested to see who else you guys think should have also been on Biglobe’s fan poll on unforgivable characters.
Geek to Geek: Utopias and Dystopias - An interesting discussion about what would happen if utopias and dystopias existed in reality. Those two themes have been subjects of anime and manga series. Reminds me of Crocodile’s “Operation Utopia” plan from One Piece.
Girls with Fangs Take A Bite Out of Japan - Does anyone understand why Japanese men find “yaeba” (crooked teeth) to be attractive? I hear it’s mostly because fanged teeth makes women look young. Maybe perhaps they’re into vampires and don’t mind getting bit by cute looking ones. Still, it’s a trend that seems to be extending (and growing) beyond anime/manga into reality and another unique quirk to add onto Japan’s pop culture resume.
If anyone loves that Kyubey design, you can purchase SuperOrange’s t-shirt (ladies only) featuring the design at their store website. Ladies, you know you want to run back to him.
May Kyubey make your weekend full of troll-rific awesomeness.
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Otaku Culture Taking Over Mother Nature - Sakura Matsuri BBG 2012 Report
This past weekend, I got a chance to visit the Brooklyn Botanical Garden for its annual Sakura Matsuri.
All I can say is that the Sakura Matsuri was really filled with cosplayers (the number has been growing over the years) and there were some interesting events catered to them and other otaku.
As you can see, there was a Cosplay Fashion Show which had some REALLY good outfits. One girl had an awesome Monster Hunter outfit.
Unfortunately, many of the cherry blossoms in New York bloomed early this year because of a huge warm front. I did manage to find a few trees that were still good.
An interesting concern regarding the event is the over-saturation of otaku culture to the point that it overshadows the traditional aspects of Japan. So far, regular folks are ok with the cosplayers and even taking pictures with them.
It does make you think about the view of Japanese culture through the eyes of Western anime/manga fans though.
How do you guys feel about the view of Japanese culture west of the land of the rising sun?
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Finally, A “Sh*t Otaku Say” Video
As a manga reader, I almost always argue that the manga version of series is superior to the anime version.
Hope this video brightens up your kawaii morning! Also, what took so long for an well-produced and high-quality parody to show up?
Seeing this video makes me think about the future of the otaku going forward.
Source: Crunchyroll and Tofugu
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My Little Sister Can’t Be This Popular! The Love for “Imoutos”
I present to you: Cafe Bar NAGOMI! Yes, this is an actual “imouto” cafe in Japan.
Ever had or wished you had a little sister that made you go D’AWWWW every time she tried to make you smile? Do you get giddy (or wish to gleefully experience the moments) when your little sister acts pretty mean towards you and later apologizes for her behavior with a sad, puppy face? If so, you might be having a case of “imouto love”.
A subject that continues to fascinate me is the otaku’s love for “imoutos” (Japanese for “little sisters”). Imouto characters are prevalent in Japanese pop culture and it makes you wonder why male otaku are quite drawn to them in droves. Do most of them wish they had a little sister that relied on them?
If you’re curious about how much “imouto love” there is out there, here are some examples. Besides the most prominent series that features an imouto lead, Ore no Imouto Konna ni Kawaii Wake Ga Nai (“My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute”, also known as Oreimo), other titles include Imouto wa Shishunki (“Younger Sister Is In Puberty”), Koi Kaze, and Boku wa Imouto ni Koiwosuru (“I Love My Little Sister”). Imouto love is also implied in certain anime/manga series. There is currently a wide variety of adult-oriented material (a majority in the form of PC games) focusing on little sisters loving their precious oni-chan (“big brother” in Japanese) and/or vice versa. Japan sure has quite the sister complex, doesn’t it?
An article on Senile_Seinen talked about “imouto love” in a review for Oreimo and the author stated that the subject is becoming popular because of Japan’s low birth rate. He goes on to say that few Japanese people below the age of 30 have a sibling. They don’t know what it’s like to have one, so seeing media featuring siblings in wacky moments together fascinates them.
I’m curious about the mindset of creators behind imouto material: is there anything super-special about having a little sister rather than a little brother and/or older sibling? Well, besides the fact that the little sister has tendencies to look up to the older brother and can be extremely adorable as hell. There have been studies floating around about how having a sister can be beneficial in one’s life. Having a sister (younger or older) can make you a kinder person. Sibling conflict provides great education as well. Fights between siblings usually teach them how to control their emotions in heated moments. Siblings will also stick by you even after when parents pass away. Some important factors to note are that girls like to listen and they are often more talkative than boys. This gives female siblings an edge, compared to male siblings, as you can confide in them emotionally. Older sisters can be bossy and start ranting about life though, which seems like something the otaku don’t like.
Regardless, if you have a female sibling, you’re in luck and have a good chance to turn out to be a emotionally healthy individual. I do believe that Japanese otaku (who may not have had experienced the joys of having a younger sibling) honestly want a real young, cute girl who looks up to them in all aspects of life and/or is willing to listen to them (like an imouto would). It seems that otaku want a sense of control over someone to give themselves a shot of confidence. Does anyone really give otaku a sense of hope at all? Perhaps the structure of Japanese society should be blamed for how their parents turned out, since their behavior does have huge effects on the children they raise.
A couple of final questions I would like to pose to everyone: how would you believe the otaku will react if they actually had a real little sister that matched their expectations? Will they believe that reality (in their eyes) isn’t as deceiving as they think it is? Let’s just hope that otaku don’t want too many little sisters. Then again, Japanese men haven’t had the greatest reputation as of late.
Now, if you excuse me, I must rescue my precious Nanako-chan from the evil Shadows.
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Akihabara - A Model of Development In Japan?
This could be the start of something or just another attempt to market Cool Japan. The Economy Minister of Japan, Motohisa Furusawa, believes that the Akihabara business model can be used in other areas.
Does this mean we’ll see idol groups singing to motivate factory workers? A big question is how will the otaku react to their way of life being used for the sake of the economy. Japan does have race cars decorated with famous anime characters and they seem to be fine with that.
What’s unique about Akihabara is its emphasis on expression. I do wonder how Japan plans to market that expression as they don’t seem to be a country that thinks heavily about promoting the intangible benefits of products.
How would you suggest Japan use the cultural power of Akihabara to their advantage?
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Je Dois Avoir Mes Manga! Otaku Madness
For you manga fanatics out there, here’s a very funny and charming video from France, appropriately titled “Otaku Madness”, about one such individual (which I found via AnimeNation). FalCrow Production did a pretty good job of capturing the sorrows of a huge manga/comics fan when his reading material doesn’t arrive. In some ways, we’re somewhat similar to this fan. The moral of this story: The Death Note does make you feel regret! Also, manga is PRETTY popular in Europe. :)
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