30.06.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Kashihonya still exist!
And here I thought these were all gone! This one is in Kunitachi way out on the Chuo Line. Still in business, even with all the online works, manga kissa and tachiyomi in convenience stores. Thanks to J Mark Lytle Hiratsuka for the picture.
25.06.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Moe pub in Saitama
I was visiting an otaku friend way out in Oume Kaido down Saitama way, and just happened to see this pub. Nice name, and the perfect place for our chat!
Tags: Moe 0 Comments
22.06.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Maid Detective... Japanese TV at its best
Saw this passing through Shibuya. Maid Deka will clean up the dirty streets!l Seriously, who the the hell watches this? It starts June 26, courtesy of Asahi TV. Thanks for Andrew Lee for the image.
Tags: TV Weird 2 Comments
21.06.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Eva 3D shirt
Just in time for the new Eva movie, what was sold to me as a "3D shirt" and is surely the most obnoxious thing I have ever seen. Unit 01 is busting out of the wearer's chest like a fraggin' alien spawn. I was actually considering wearing this to the opening, but think it might be too much of a nuisance...
Tags: Anime Otaku Weird Gainax 0 Comments
16.06.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Tokyo CGM Night becomes cosplay party!
The fifth installment of Danny Choo's bloggers meetup, Tokyo CGM Night, was held Monday night and populated by some faces very familiar in Akihabara. Akiba TV and Asahina Marin (dressed as Ayanami Rei) were there, and they brought a group of otagei dancers to promote a new DVD. Also in attendance was Chazuke from Newtype and one of Akiba's leading joso cosplayers. Cutie Pai, including Akiba subculture photographer , were also there. To top it off, two girls were cosplaying as characters from "Valkyrie Complex" to promote the game. Otaku2 attended for the first time, and it was surely the right time to do it!
Tags: Otaku 0 Comments
15.06.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
NFS Live in Shibuya
The Nakano Fujoshi Sisters (pronounced "Fujosisters") had a great concert at Shibuya O-East on Sunday night. Thanks to Mr. Ohata for inviting us, and Androniki Christodoulou for the picture.
Tags: Idols Nakano Fujoshi Sisters Nakano Otaku 0 Comments
14.06.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Game Bar A-Button has anniversary
The game bar we all have come to know and love had its anniversary party on June 7. I neglected to visit until today after the weekly Akiba Tour, but offer my belated congratulations!
Tags: Games Bar Akihabara Otaku 0 Comments
11.06.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
The Otaku Encyclopedia released in Japan
Taken at Kinokuniya in Shinjuku this week. The release is weeks early! Guess Kodansha International couldn't hold their horses. Here's hoping the book is useful for people! Thanks to Andrew Lee for the photo.
Tags: Otaku 4 Comments
10.06.2009 · by Adrian A. Lozano
Lucky Star X Macross Frontier X Macross Frontier Ichiban Kuji Prize Figures
Tomorrow Branpresto's official Ichiban Kuji site is going to release details on the Lucky Star prize series but yesterday it appears the information has leaked. My worse nightmare come true Lucky Star X Macross Frontier, NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Must not collect, must resist!!!!!!!!!!!! I got to have that Klan, no I don't!!!! Patrick I know you're enjoying my pain!!!!
Tags: Figures Macross 3 Comments
08.06.2009 · by Adrian A. Lozano
Akihabara Incident one-year anniversary
Today marked the first year anniversary of the Akihabara stabbing incident leaving the intersection where everything happened flooded with news casters and cameramen. If it had not been for the events that happened a year ago, Sunday would have been a perfect day to have enjoyed the walkers paradise. Unfortunately that era of Akihabara's innocence has long since ended.
Camera crews were set up on all four corners of the intersection since Sunday, taking footage for Monday night news casts.
By early Monday morning the news media had taken over the Sofmap corner of the intersection where the memorial service would take place later in the afternoon.
Prior to the memorial service another location was set up across the way where local and government officials took part in additional services.
Photos by Adrian A. Lozano.
Tags: Akihabara Massacre 0 Comments
07.06.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Akiba Memory photo exhibit
The week before the one-year anniversary of the Akihabara Incident, Art Jeuness unveiled a photo exhibition of the Pedestrian Paradise heyday from 2005 to 2008. The shots are by an Osakan man who is regularly seen on the street. They are all black and white, and range from performers to images of buildings long gone. There is one image of The Liberate Akihabara Demonstration that includes several members of Otaku2, and Danny Choo. The single best image is taken over the shoulder of a man reading a newspaper article about the stabbings last year, even as people in front of him huddling taking pictures of the sleeping cat outside the Electric Town Exit. Another image shows a mother and father posing with their cosplaying daughter, and the next image is a young man being escorting to the police station under the scrutiny of numerous cameras. The exhibit is a fitting tribute to a surreal time.
An interesting addition to the photos is a survey of support for reviving the Pedestrian Paradise. On Sunday, the day before the anniversary of the incident, it was 720 for, 961 and 172 undecided. That is a pretty bad score given that the exhibit was in Akiba and targeting those who love the area. I don't think anti-otaku residents came out just to skew these numbers. Indeed, a look at the wall of comments from exhibit visitors shows that stalwart Akiba goers worry that the use of the Pedestrian Paradise as seen in these photos was a nuisance to residents and even to the otaku shopping in the area. The evening after Jeuness closed on June 8, the survey was 768 for reviving the Pedestrian Paradise, 998 against and 183 undecided.
"Everyone is against reviving the Pedestrian Paradise as it was," said Kobayashi Takaya, speaking for the Chiyoda Ward Council. "Even if it was revived, we would seriously have to consider how it is used. The street is a place for walking, shopping and socializing, not strange performances and play."
Picture taken by Adrian A. Lozano.
Tags: Akihabara Events Otaku 0 Comments
07.06.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Alice in Wonderland Event
Venerable cosplay pub Little BSD in Akihabara was transformed into a scene from Alice in Wonderland on June 7. A group of eight, including six from a maid cafe in Ikebukuro, borrowed the space for a one day event
"Everyone knows Alice in Wonderland and the costumes are cute," said Tachibana Wataru, who planned the event along with Yanagi Mao. "We didn't want to do just a normal maid cafe, but something with a theme."
Tachibana and Yanagi came up with the idea while drinking six months ago, and after the success of the first experience might do it again.
"Of course we are in Akihabara, so many men interested in maid cafes came," Tachibana explained. "But the image is really cute, so lots of women came too."
The cast agreed.
"All women like the vibe of Alice in Wonderland," said Celicia, who dressed as the Queen of Hearts. She added that the cast was comprised of dedicated cosplayers, making it doubly fun for them.
The food and drink was average maid cafe fare, with some nice sweets and themed options such as the Alice Tea Party Set. The real appeal was talking to average girls who got out of the maid cafe and made it big(ger) on their own. Way to go!
Photos by Adrian A. Lozano.
Tags: Maids Akihabara Otaku 0 Comments
03.06.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Live Action Anime performance
I was kindly invited to a themed stage performance titled "Live Action Anime: Madness at Mokuba 2009" on May 28. It was put on by the MIT Dance Theater Ensemble, who were visiting Tokyo University of the Arts. Organizers and journalists alike told me it was going to be "history in the making," fans from the United States acting out anime live on stage for a Japanese audience. Japan scholar Ian Condry wrote the script. Intrigued, I ducked out of Akihabara around 18:30 and rushed to the venue out in Kitasenju.
The story was about a company trying to brainwash the world using light patterns from anime. This meta-statement came out in an extremely long-winded explanation of the history of anime from "Astroboy" and robot love to "Gundam" and the otaku movement, and finally the "Pokemon" Shock and mass hypnosis. Apparently only burnt out Japanese gamers can resist this, as they have been brainwashed for a long time anyway. A group of them is being held at a sweatshop in Akihabara working on the company's mind-control algorithms.
Anyway, as the company increases its brainwashing agenda, youth at the Mokuba school lose touch with reality and slip in and out of fantasy. This supposedly accounts for huge leaps in the narrative, such as Extra Schoolgirl 2 turning into a flock of birds, appearing in Akiba to save a gamer slave and realizing the company's evil plot. Really, there is almost no reason to even attempt to make sense of it. Oh, and there is a giant robot match sponsored by the company that the students of this school are participating in.
The cast was selected from the MIT university anime club mailing list, and by all accounts the entire 45-minute show was just an elaborate excuse to get a giant robot on stage. The robot, piloted by a "Chris," was really the highlight of the night. Chris said he built the thing in 1999 for a New Year's Eve party to ring in the new millennium. He since wears it to various events and trade shows, including a Bandai talk event hosted by Condry.
"This is just one part of my never-ending struggle to meet women," he said during a Q&A with the audience.
While the show was at times charming - lines such as "Reality is so 20th century" and characters with names such as Ota - history in the making this was not. Granted, if you haven't ever been to a convention, you might find otaku dressing up and geeking out an interesting scene, but for me it was just a reunion with everyone I've known since middle school. They were doing so-called "physical karaoke" (they couldn't dance...) on a stage. The lack of a decent narrative, dance and acting and cliché characters such as a pink-haired schoolgirl, samurai freak and Aeon Flux wannabe all contributed to an accentuated amateurism in this "international tour" group. The audience was very confused and only sporadically, nervously clapped. The comment from Chris received the most applause of the night, which tells you something. The idea of live-action anime has potential, but after over a year of practice you would expect a better story, consistent characters and polished performance. Even the worst of anime is nowhere as half hashed as this show made the medium seem to be.
Tags: Otaku Overseas 0 Comments
31.05.2009 · by Adrian A. Lozano
Otaku court room TV drama Samayoi Zakura aired
Tonight Fuji TV aired "Samayoi Zakura" a fictional one off television court room drama adapted from a weekly serialized manga of the same name. An otaku played by Takashi Tsukamoto is accused of murdering three ladies with a survival knife for harassing his family, and a jury is selected to decide if he is in fact the killer that will get the death penalty. The main character is a juror named Keiichi Aiba a fellow otaku who shares the same interested of the accused killer. Keiiichi is played by Atsushi Ito who played the down on his luck love struck otaku from Densha Otoko. It was like watching a Densha Otoko mirror universe episode, it even had a Getsumento Heiki Mina (月面兎兵器ミーナ) type character in the plot named Kyoukotan from a fictional anime series called "Forest Gal". Kyoukotan just seems thrown together over night she is badly designed and visually unappealing, looks like something I would have seen in the artist alley of Anime Expo back in 90's.
I couldn't believe Fuji TV would air a drama like this since we are about a week away from the first anniversary of the Akihabara stabbing that lead to seven deaths. I'm not saying it wasn't an interesting drama but come on this was just not the right time.
Tags: Akihabara Massacre 0 Comments
28.05.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Jamie and Tenipuri on TV
Our friend, Jamie Lano, will be appearing on a TV show called "Janban" tomorrow, May 29, at 18:00 on Channel 12 (TV Tokyo).
The segment will feature "The Prince of Tennis" and Jamie's teacher, Konomi Takeshi. The film crew came to the studio and filmed the assistants, including Jamie.
She also promises "pirates playing tennis." I don't know what that means, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued.
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27.05.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Moe, maids and coffee
A sign in Akihabara station. It reads: "You, all moe in Akihabara. We haven't any maids or butlers, but this is a delicious new meeting. Tasty Famima Cafe." I don't know if it means to be, but this strikes me as rather condesending. As if stupid convenience store coffee could ever be as delicious as moe. Humbug!
Tags: Akihabara Moe CM 0 Comments
23.05.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
John Hathway gets his props!
JohnHathway, the doujinshi artist behind Otaku2's imagery, has been featured by HASTAC. American academics rave about his creativity and dedication. Way to go, man! No one deserves it more.
Tags: Doujinshi Otaku Tour 0 Comments
21.05.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
'K-On' Rocks!
I am in love with Yui from "K-On" (けいおん). Not Mio, not Mugi, but Yui. I was down in Akihabara killing time before the broadcast tonight, and everyone was talking about Mio this and moe that. It's a regular flipping boom. But I am sticking to my guns on this: Yui is the cutest. As I rounded the corner for some GoGo Curry, I saw that Music Vox has a picture of the lovely guitarist on their entry. Rock and roll!!
16.05.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Passive-aggressive finger to the law!
My opinions on the police presence in Akihabara are well known, as is my insistence on wearing a costume and walking the streets when I know it means they will question me. Seems like I am not the only one who is bugged by these guys. This is my new favorite shirt, because at least I can pretend to be able to defy them as they rummage though my bag.
Tags: Akihabara Otaku Weird 0 Comments
08.05.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Maid cafe 'Akiba' in Hiroshima!?
We all know that maid cafes, or what passes for them, can be a little shady outside of Akihabara. At last count, their were 217 maid establishments in Japan, and not all clients are looking to idolize moe characters from a far. A cursory online image search or trip to the local video shop reveals the maid costume is often treated as a sort of erotic cosplay and moe mild eroticism, however much diehard may disagree. This image is a great example - a "maid cafe" called "Akiba" smack in the middle of the red light district in Hiroshima. All the signs of good clean otaku fantasy and fun are there, but I wonder if the services are even remotely similar... Thanks to Erika Alpert for the picture! If anyone else has something to share, let us know!
Tags: Maids Tourism Weird 0 Comments
