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Features & Reviews

07.02.2010 · Features

Temple University Japan offers program in popular culture

Roland Kelts teaching anime, Patrick W. Galbraith manga. Read on...

28.01.2010 · Features

Otaku2 Interview: Kageyama Hironobu

The God of Anisongs speaks! Read on...

19.01.2010 · Features

Women's magazine An-an features moe

Detailed descriptions for the ladies. Read on...

12.01.2010 · Reviews

Doujinshi: Makufuro

Macross' Ranka Lee as mecha shojo. Read on...

10.12.2009 · Features

The Heart of Thomas event at boys cafe Edelstein

Shonen ai lovers unite in Harajuku. Read on...

Article Archive

04.12. - Eden of the East movie is a shojo...

28.11. - Macross Frontier movie is pop gone flat

24.11. - Macross Frontier The Movie: The False...

31.10. - 'Otacool' in Akihabara

26.10. - Otaku2 Interview: Tokito Ami

25.10. - CharaPa!: Akihabara comes to Roppongi...

18.10. - Hello Kitty is moe... Really

14.10. - Kaiyodo Figure Museum

01.10. - Tamashii Nation Autumn 2009

23.09. - Tezuka Osamu Memorial Museum

11.09. - Mizuki Shigeru Memorial Museum

30.08. - Super Cosplay Fest at Bellbara...

17.08. - Comike 76 coverage

15.08. - Kannagi exhibition in Aoyama

14.08. - 'Summer Wars' review

11.08. - Mospeada Complete Art Works Book Review

02.08. - Wonder Festival 2009 Event Report ...

16.07. - Otaku2 Interview: Gabriel Niemietz Braz

05.07. - Evangelion 2.0 Second Opinion Review

28.06. - SIF EX Odin Sphere Mercedes & Velvet...

27.06. - Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance

25.06. - Transformers Revenge Of The Fallen...

16.06. - Giant 1:1 Gundam Statue in Odaiba

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08.02.2010 · by Patrick W. Galbraith

Miku cosplay, kigurumer and balloons

All three of these were one the first floor of Don Quixote in Akihabara while I was doing the tour on Sunday. I have no idea why there was so much Hatsune Miku goodness to be found there that day, but I at least one of the people came from out of town. The balloon Miku was done by Jonny, a Japanese man from Shikoku. Apparently he is also a stilt performer. Maybe promoting goods from a rural prefecture? At any rate, it was most certainly a festival of Miku befitting of Akiba.

Tags: Akihabara 0 Comments

05.02.2010 · by Patrick W. Galbraith

Idol Bombaie, whatever that means

So Adrian and I were invited to Idol Bombaie (アイドルボンパイエ) in Shinjuku in January by the folks who do the signage for Yodobashi Akiba. The idols who appear on the time announcement on Yodobi (the big TV out the central exit of Akihabara station) come from this event, I guess, so that is the connection. It was a little weird to be sitting with the Yodobashi guys at the VIP table to begin with, but then the new character, Yodobi-chan, was projected on stage and started talking. The seiyuu who does her voice was at our table. They were playing the Yodobashi theme as filler music before the event, and even sometimes when idols were on stage, which was also strange.

It'd been a while since I attended one of these things, and I was looking forward to busting out some otagei. The venue was the Big Pink Pig, providing generous floor space. Unfortunately, everyone sat down and crowded up to the stage, which eliminated all chance of movement. Worse, they had otagei dancers on stage to back up the idols, so everyone just watched them instead of joining in. I was seriously bummed... On the bright side, some of the "otagei dancers" (trying to make this sound official cracks me up) were familiar faces from the now defunct Akihabara street culture. Roberta, one of the men who enjoyed wearing maid and goth-loli costumes, was among them.

Anyway, so we ended up just standing there and watching the show, but the MC was none other than Inagaki Saki, the female comedian who dresses up like Asuka from "Eva." My love for Asuka is known, and this girl is just damn cute to begin with, so I was happy. The other MC was Space Pirate Gorgeous, who was a colorful character to say the least. Inagaki and Gorgeous weren't the only comedians around. R Fujimoto (I think that was his name) did a freaking hilarious interpretation of Yamcha from "Dragon Ball Z."

The basic premise of the show was that idols in groups or solo would perform a song, then would be judged as true or fake idols. The true ones got an otagei dance in their honor. The fake ones got roughed up by a guy who appeared to be Raoh from "Fist of the North Star." The first time he appeared, he ripped a manga magazine - as thick as a phonebook - in half. Every time his theme, "Tough Boy," played, the girls knew they were in trouble. He basically just picked them up, flashed their underwear to the audience and dragged them off stage. Yeah, these events can get a little weird... Of course this was all staged; everyone knew who was going to lose and those girls wore swimsuits or bloomers under their skirts.

The losers actually were some of the best idols, I think. They were also mostly talents pretending to be idols as a joke, and playing the part of ugly, mean-spirited girls. Metropoli-chan V and Yamashita Wakana fit into this category. Number one idol of the night had to be Hikita Saya, who sang "Cruel Angel's Thesis," or tried to! The wrong version came up, she didn't know the intro and ended up doing it over. Holy cuteness. Juri Juri was a close second, and Adrian's first, because she is a "tokusatsu idol" and wore a retro costume that resembled Minmay's. Overall sexiness, though, had to be Hisanaga Ayana. She wore an Ayanami Rei schoolgirl uniform in ways I didn't think possible.

Overall the event is fun and worth checking out. The official blog is here. The girls apparently also appear on this site.

Tags: Idols 0 Comments

30.01.2010 · by Patrick W. Galbraith

Akibaland Tours?

I just thought this was a funny sign. "Akibaland" Tours? And with a castle in the background?! Seems like someone is taking the analogy that Akihabara is an otaku themepark very seriously indeed. It's easy to do - a survey by the government says more foreigners want to visit Akihabara than Tokyo Disneyland. And then there is the "Moe USA" representation of otaku paradise... Ultimately I think it's a good thing that Akiba is opening up and spreading a positive image, though there is a lot of misunderstanding wrapped up in it's somewhat misappropriated position as the face of all otaku in Japan. I hope this tour puts the area in perspective. It runs for 2.5 hours, just like ours. Might be worth checking out!

Tags: Akihabara Cool Japan 0 Comments

25.01.2010 · by Patrick W. Galbraith

John Hathway in collection of great illustrators!

The man behind the art of Otaku2, John Hathway (JH Kagaku), has appeared in two published collections of great character illustrators. One is "Eshi Hyakunin: 100 masters of bishojo painting," where he stands shoulder to shoulder with Ito Noizi (Haruhi), Kei (Hatsune Miku) and Nishimata ("Shuffle")!

The second book is "Girls Graph."

Way to go, man!

Tags: Otaku 0 Comments

22.01.2010 · by Patrick W. Galbraith

Intriguing transformable interior object

I am super impressed with this design, which I just received from Yamaji Tomo. He is an independent creator, and this is all made in Japan, an increasingly rare combination that I'd like to support. It is called the HENGE h010101, and it sells for around US$1,100, but it has been discounted to US$577. Check out the demo.

Tags: Figures Otaku Doujin 0 Comments

18.01.2010 · by Patrick W. Galbraith

In pursuit of Cowboy Bebop, or drunken rambling

I have done many a strange thing in my day, but as far as dining goes I think last night surely ranks up there. I was watching "Cowboy Bebop" for the one millionth time, and came across the scene where Spike and Jet drink some vile booze with a lizard in it. I decided that I wanted to drink that, too. A quick Internet search turned up a place called Asadachi (朝起) in Shinjuku, so I went down there. They did, in fact, have a bottle of booze with a lizard stewing in the bottom, a concoction they called Tokage-zake. What's more, they were grilling whole salamanders! After a couple salamander skewers and shots of lizard booze, which tasted something like Aomori nihonshu, I also ordered some kintama, which turned out to be pig nuts. By this point I had a pretty good buzz going and everything tasted like chicken anyway, so I ordered some whale. Yes, I regret it now, but I did it. Turned out to be blubber, which was chewy for a few bites then melted for an all together unpleasant taste sensation. I hear they also have raw frog meat, served with the head, and "beating frog heart," but apparently they were out (maybe I should be happy). That is the last time I drink before I order, or get lonely watching anime and go out looking for trouble! It would have been a lot more fun if Spike had been there...