Tokyo Geek’s Guide: Manga, Anime, Gaming, Cosplay, Toys, Idols & More By Gianni Simone (North Clarendon, Vt.: Tuttle Publishing, 2017, 144 pp., $16.95, paperback) In the past two decades Japanese anime, manga, and gaming has gained worldwide popularity. This otaku culture has seeped into the mainstream and can be glimpsed all around Japan. “Tokyo Geek’s […]
A place of their own
OTAKU SPACES By Patrick W. Galbraith, photographs by Androniki Christodoulou (Seattle: Chin Music Press, 2012, 240 pp., $20, paperback) Patrick Galbraith is no newcomer to the otaku scene in Japan. A journalist by training and the author of “The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider’s Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan” and one of the main […]
Falling birth rates and infantile otaku culture
I’m more of a Western gamer when it comes to my video gaming habits. I guess I just never got into the Moe-blob romance and tsundere masochism my friends have enjoyed (though I did play a few dating sims in my day). If I had to choose, I’m much more an “action games” person. That, […]
Cosplay, transcending the fourth wall and more
With the rising popularity of anime and the subsequent rise in popularity at such anime conventions as Anime Expo and Fanime Con in California, the practice of cosplay became a largely popular activity among fans. Cosplay, a contraction of the words “costume” and “play” is a fan-activity where people dress up as characters from anime, […]
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