otaku

Otaku central in Nathan Road - Yau Ma Tei - an interview.

This is how the Otaku community gets ready before chasing cosplay girls.

[Warning: site is text-only NSFW]
What's more Japanese than haiku?
Perhaps one with an otaku twist.
Found the site last year (don't remember from where). It's a fun and unusual way of stress relief for me I think. Get your (creative) juices flowing and try your hand at writing one yourself.

Seriously, this guy just keeps on churning things out. Now that he's established himself as the premiere otaku blogger, he's finally decided to cash in on his success with a merchandising spree. He's announced a whole stack of goods relating to his mascot, Mirai Suenaga.

If you're into anime or jdrama, you probably know crunchyroll, huge a streaming video website with lots of content and otakus. After millions (literally) of dollars in venture capital, crunchyroll has been able to license huge series like Naruto Shippuden and has now become a public Japanese Company.

In Japan there are many fashion or cult trends, to name a few like, Otaku, Goth, Maid, Schoolgirl, Punk, Rockers. This isn't solely restricted to the young, I have seen older Japanese dressed like American Cowboys, or riding a motor bike which looks like a cop bike with the rider dressed like an American cop.

We all know the famous J-Pop singer and her masterpiece "First Love", the best-selling album in Japan. Well, you wouldn't expect Utada Hikaru to be a Tetris Otaku, right? Check the videos for yourself!

Today, the “otaku” phenomenon represents as one of the most influential sub-culture in Taiwan. However, what is the “otaku”? To English-speaking countries, it generally means geeks or nerds. Indeed, negative stereotypes have been applied to this group but cultural and commercial impacts have changed the whole phenomenon.

In this very ecchi series, Keita is all set to enter high school on an athletic recommendation. That’s not really what is on his mind though; what is on his mind are his twin step sisters Ako and Riko who have both taken a serious liking to him. Like seriously.

This weekend, people came from all over Japan to show of their 痛車. An "Itasha" is a car that is decked out with anime-manga-game stickers or paint. A lot of the nicodou comments were worried that this is going to be a disaster once the foreign media gets a hold of it. What do you think? XD

Perspectives from an American female cosplayer and an employee in an Akihabara Maid Cafe.

Despite assurances from some that last Saturday's Yamanote Halloween Train was a bust, the following account paints a completely different picture.

We had otaku nerds from 2channel, photographers, and police protection! We were like rock stars! All in all good fun.

Last week, I went to Nakano Broadway—the real mecca for geeks (critics say Akiba has become tourist heaven)—with moot, the mysterious guy who founded 4chan (yes, I did meet him, you can believe me or not believe me, I don't care). We just walked around for a couple hours, I bought a superhero Gachapon and he bought a lighter and a figurine.

Maid Cafe's rule... or in this case, Maid Cafe Rules. Since these chic centers of Japanese otaku (geek) culture began popping up around Tokyo's nerd nirvana of Akihabara, some customers have taken the "maid" concept a little too seriously. These "Ten Commandments" spell out just what Thou Shalt Not do!

With the amazing success of the oden-kan, other types of can food appeared in Akiba. Next to the oden-kan, you can find ramen-kan, porridge-pan and even spaghetti-kan. Later on, Pinafore cafe joined in the can wagon and created their own brand of rice in a can. Inside the can is omelette rice with a small packet of ketchup for you to draw on and others include hamburger and rice.