Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan

Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan PDF Author: Patrick W. Galbraith
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 147800701X
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
From computer games to figurines and maid cafes, men called “otaku” develop intense fan relationships with “cute girl” characters from manga, anime, and related media and material in contemporary Japan. While much of the Japanese public considers the forms of character love associated with “otaku” to be weird and perverse, the Japanese government has endeavored to incorporate “otaku” culture into its branding of “Cool Japan.” In Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan, Patrick W. Galbraith explores the conflicting meanings of “otaku” culture and its significance to Japanese popular culture, masculinity, and the nation. Tracing the history of “otaku” and “cute girl” characters from their origins in the 1970s to his recent fieldwork in Akihabara, Tokyo (“the Holy Land of Otaku”), Galbraith contends that the discourse surrounding “otaku” reveals tensions around contested notions of gender, sexuality, and ways of imagining the nation that extend far beyond Japan. At the same time, in their relationships with characters and one another, “otaku” are imagining and creating alternative social worlds.

Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan

Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan PDF Author: Patrick W. Galbraith
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 147800701X
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 245

Get Book

Book Description
From computer games to figurines and maid cafes, men called “otaku” develop intense fan relationships with “cute girl” characters from manga, anime, and related media and material in contemporary Japan. While much of the Japanese public considers the forms of character love associated with “otaku” to be weird and perverse, the Japanese government has endeavored to incorporate “otaku” culture into its branding of “Cool Japan.” In Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan, Patrick W. Galbraith explores the conflicting meanings of “otaku” culture and its significance to Japanese popular culture, masculinity, and the nation. Tracing the history of “otaku” and “cute girl” characters from their origins in the 1970s to his recent fieldwork in Akihabara, Tokyo (“the Holy Land of Otaku”), Galbraith contends that the discourse surrounding “otaku” reveals tensions around contested notions of gender, sexuality, and ways of imagining the nation that extend far beyond Japan. At the same time, in their relationships with characters and one another, “otaku” are imagining and creating alternative social worlds.

Otaku Japan

Otaku Japan PDF Author: Gianni Simone
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 146292154X
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 149

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Book Description
Transport yourself to the global capital of cool with this ultimate guide to Japanese pop culture! Are you crazy about Japanese manga, anime, video games, cosplay, toys and idols? If so, this book is for you! Whether you're planning a trip to Japan, have a severe case of wanderlust, or are just fascinated by its culture, let Otaku Japan transport you to the capital of cool. In this practical travel guide, over 450 iconic shops, restaurants, cafes, clubs and events are presented in loving detail with precise directions on how to find them. More than 20 maps, websites and over 400 color photos take you the length and breadth of Japan to all the centers of Otaku culture--from snowy Hokkaido to sunny Kyushu. Highlights include: Interviews with Game Developers Cosplay and Halloween Events in Japan Dojinshi: Self-published Comics A Visit to the Ghibli Museum Interview with famous Japanese idols Anime-themed Trains A Glossary of Otaku Terms And much, much more! The book covers all major regions in Japan--Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nagoya, Sapporo and Fukuoka--as well as lesser-known areas like Tohoku, Chugoku and Shikoku.

Otaku

Otaku PDF Author: Hiroki Azuma
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 0816653518
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
Printbegrænsninger: Der kan printes 10 sider ad gangen og max. 40 sider pr. session

The Obsessed

The Obsessed PDF Author: gestalten
Publisher: Gestalten
ISBN: 9783967040081
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
The book will delve into the world of Japanese subcultures and the obsessive approach that many people take to their hobbies, passions and lifestyle choices. Japanese Subcultures will contain photos and texts - such as potentially profiles, essays or features - of a diverse range of Otaku and other fans and followers of different subcultures, and will unveil what is behind these obsessions and what makes these people tick.

Fandom Unbound

Fandom Unbound PDF Author: Mizuko Ito
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300158645
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
In recent years, otaku culture has emerged as one of Japan's major cultural exports and as a genuinely transnational phenomenon. This timely volume investigates how this once marginalized popular culture has come to play a major role in Japan's identity at home and abroad. In the American context, the word otaku is best translated as “geek'—an ardent fan with highly specialized knowledge and interests. But it is associated especially with fans of specific Japan-based cultural genres, including anime, manga, and video games. Most important of all, as this collection shows, is the way otaku culture represents a newly participatory fan culture in which fans not only organize around niche interests but produce and distribute their own media content. In this collection of essays, Japanese and American scholars offer richly detailed descriptions of how this once stigmatized Japanese youth culture created its own alternative markets and cultural products such as fan fiction, comics, costumes, and remixes, becoming a major international force that can challenge the dominance of commercial media. By exploring the rich variety of otaku culture from multiple perspectives, this groundbreaking collection provides fascinating insights into the present and future of cultural production and distribution in the digital age.

Tokyo Geek's Guide

Tokyo Geek's Guide PDF Author: Gianni Simone
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 1462919707
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
Tokyo is ground zero for Japan's famous "geek" or otaku culture--a phenomenon that has now swept across the globe. This is the most comprehensive Japan travel guide ever produced which features Tokyo's geeky underworld. It provides a comprehensive run-down of each major Tokyo district where geeks congregate, shop, play and hang out--from hi-tech Akihabara and trendy Harajuku to newer and lesser-known haunts like chic Shimo-Kita and working-class Ikebukuro. Dozens of iconic shops, restaurants, cafes and clubs in each area are described in loving detail with precise directions to get to each location. Maps, URLs, opening hours and over 400 fascinating color photographs bring you around Tokyo on an unforgettable trip to the centers of Japanese manga, anime and geek culture. Interviews with local otaku experts and people on the street let you see the world from their perspective and provide insights into Tokyo and Japanese culture, which will only continue to spread around the globe. Japanese pop culture, in its myriad forms, is more widespread today than ever before--with J-Pop artists playing through speakers everywhere, Japanese manga filling every bookstore; anime cartoons on TV; and toys and video games, like Pokemon Go, played by tens of millions of people. Swarms of visitors come to Tokyo each year on a personal quest to soak in all the otaku-related sights and enjoy Japanese manga, anime, gaming and idol culture at its very source. This is the go-to resource for those planning a trip, or simply dreaming of visiting one day!

Pop Japan Travel

Pop Japan Travel PDF Author: DMP
Publisher: Digital Manga, Inc.
ISBN: 1569709424
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
Readers can join a tour group of anime fans, or "otaku," as they travel to Japan for the first time and experience a series of adventures while visiting anime attractions in Tokyo and learning about Japanese culture and customs.

The Otaku Encyclopedia

The Otaku Encyclopedia PDF Author: Patrick W. Galbraith
Publisher: Kodansha Amer Incorporated
ISBN: 9784770031013
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
Otaku - Japan's anime nerds, game geeks and pop-idol fanboys - originates from a polite second-person pronoun meaning 'your home' in Japanese. This guide offers an insight into the subculture of Cool Japan - from cosplay to anime, manga, videogames and more. With over 500 entries - including common expressions, people, places, and moments of otaku history - this is the essential 'A to Z' of all the facts Japanese pop-culture fans need to know! Otaku: Nerd; geek or fanboy originates from a polite second-person pronoun meaning 'your home' in Japanese. Since the

Otaku Spaces

Otaku Spaces PDF Author: Patrick W. Galbraith
Publisher: Chin Music
ISBN: 9780984457656
Category : Fans (Persons)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The first comprehensive look at Japan's otaku collectors, including peeks inside their rooms and visits to their favorite stores.

Debating Otaku in Contemporary Japan

Debating Otaku in Contemporary Japan PDF Author: Patrick W. Galbraith
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472594975
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
With the spread of manga (Japanese comics) and anime (Japanese cartoons) around the world, many have adopted the Japanese term 'otaku' to identify fans of such media. The connection to manga and anime may seem straightforward, but, when taken for granted, often serves to obscure the debates within and around media fandom in Japan since the term 'otaku' appeared in the niche publication Manga Burikko in 1983. Debating Otaku in Contemporary Japan disrupts the naturalization and trivialization of 'otaku' by examining the historical contingency of the term as a way to identify and contain problematic youth, consumers and fan cultures in Japan. Its chapters, many translated from Japanese and available in English for the first time – and with a foreword by Otsuka Eiji, former editor of Manga Burikko – explore key moments in the evolving discourse of 'otaku' in Japan. Rather than presenting a smooth, triumphant narrative of the transition of a subculture to the mainstream, the edited volume repositions 'otaku' in specific historical, social and economic contexts, providing new insights into the significance of the 'otaku' phenomenon in Japan and the world. By going back to original Japanese documents, translating key contributions by Japanese scholars and offering sustained analysis of these documents and scholars, Debating Otaku in Contemporary Japan provides alternative histories of and approaches to 'otaku'. For all students and scholars of contemporary Japan and the history of Japanese fan and consumer cultures, this volume will be a foundation for understanding how 'otaku', at different places and times and to different people, is meaningful.