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Japan is the land of the "boom" and
every year something new seems to come out of left field and
become really popular here. One of the keywords for 2005 so far
has been "Akiba-kei," which literally means
"related to Akihabara" and refers to Tokyo's mecca for
electronics and, increasingly, for general otaku culture.
"Otaku" are people who love anime and manga, can
appreciate beauty in a bishoujo game character (the dating-sims
that J-List sells), and may know something about the subtleties
of maid uniforms. As Akihabara has lost its importance as the
place to buy electronics in Tokyo, it's been morphing into a
haven for fans of doujinshi (Japan's famous amateur comics),
high-end anime shops and maid cafes, where beautiful girls in
Gothic maid costumes will bring you coffee. It seems everywhere
you turn these days, people in Japan are talking about good,
wholesome geek culture.
Part of the reason for this new interest in
otaku-dom is the hit drama Densha Otoko, or Train Man, the story
of an introverted man who loves anime and video games. When he
saves a beautiful woman from a drunkard on a train, she shows
her thanks by giving him an expensive Hermes tea set. He's
smitten by her beauty, but too shy to do anything about it, so
he goes online and asks for help on a popular Internet BBS.
Before long, their budding love is being followed by a million
otaku throughout Japan who take part in the discussions about
their relationship. The drama, which is a few episodes from its
end, is based on a true story -- a real member of the popular
Japanese BBS 2ch did find love by getting help from thousands of
otaku. The show is incredibly popular, commanding upwards of 20%
of viewers here.
Otaku culture has also made its mark on a
popular Japanese television show TV Champion, which normally
challenges teams of artists to create amazing works out of
trash, or design sprawling creations using legos, or bake cakes
in the shape of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. This week's
episode was Akiba-kei all the way, though, with contestants
doing things like listening to clips from anime and identifying
who the voice actor/actress was, answering obscure trivia about
anime, and dressing normal Tokyo girls up like their favorite
anime characters. In the end, the contestant with the most votes
was awarded the title "King of Otaku."
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