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The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan
 
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The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan [Illustrated] (Paperback)

by Patrick W. Galbraith (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 248 pages
  • Publisher: Kodansha International Ltd; 1st edition (3 Aug 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 4770031017
  • ISBN-13: 978-4770031013
  • Product Dimensions: 18.6 x 13.2 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 30,955 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #11 in  Books > History > Reference > Encyclopaedias

Product Description

Product Description

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 1980s, it's been used to refer to people who are really into Japanese pop-culture, such as anime, manga, and videogames. A whole generation of people, previously marginalised with labels such as 'geek' and 'nerd' are now calling themselves 'otaku' with pride. The author, Patrick W. Galbraith, has spent several years researching deep in the otaku heartland and his intimate knowledge of the subject gives the reader an insider's guide to words such as moe, doujinshi, cosplay and maid cafes. Insightful interviews with key players - such as Takashi Murakami, otaku expert Toshio Okada, and J-pop idol Shoko Nakagawa - are interspersed throughout the book offering an even deeper look into the often misunderstood world of Otaku. This book offers a fascinating insight into the subculture of Cool Japan - from cosplay to anime, manga, videogames and a whole lot more. This is the definitive guide to the world of Otaku - Japan's anime nerds, game geeks and pop-idol fanboys - no competition.


About the Author

Patrick W. Galbraith is a journalist based in Tokyo. He specialises in Japanese popular culture, and writes a regular column for Metropolis magazine. He gives weekly tours of Akihabara, the otaku capital of Japan, and is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Tokyo. Foreword by world authority on manga Frederik L. Schodt, author of KI long-seller Manga,Manga - The World of Japanese Comics (1983; GBP 16.99)

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The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan
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The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan 4.0 out of 5 stars (1)
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A Gaijin's Guide to Japan: an Alternative Look at Japanese Life, History and Culture 2.7 out of 5 stars (3)
£4.95

 

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A good introduction to a slightly dodgy subculture, 29 Oct 2009
By R. G. Milner "Kilkrazy" (UK/Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The Otaku Encyclopedia is an encyclopaedic dictionary of about 600 Japanese terms mainly from the Otaku subculture. It includes slang, jargon, characters, creative people and companies, and the like.

The main areas covered are manga, anime, cosplay, figures and dolls. Associated areas such as video and tabletop games, or airsoft guns, are also briefly mentioned.

Each term is fully explained with its original Japanese katakana and/or kana.

There are also frequent mini essays or interviews on some of the main personalities of the subculture, such as maid cafe idols, big name otaku, and figure sculptors.

As far as my knowledge goes this is all accurately explained. The author is an otaku-journalist, who having lived in Japan for about five years, is pursuing a PhD in otaku culture at the University of Tokyo. While I can't claim his depth of knowledge, my association with Japan goes back over 15 years. Although not an otaku myself I have been following Japanese and anime/manga culture since the early 1980s.

So I recommend it. If you want to know what "tsundere", "moe" or "gokko asobi" means, this book will tell you. It will also work as a general overview of the otaku scene.

If I have an argument with this book, it is the presentation of otaku as a part of Cool Japan. Good anime is cool. I don't think otaku is cool. Although otaku love anime, otaku itself is mainly a mode of consumption rather than self-expression or creativity. It does not have a cool image in the west, and much less in Japan itself. While the 2005 movie "Train Man" started to rehabilitate the image of otaku, it still remains a slightly weird subculture, especially on the outer fringes.

Some aspects of otaku -- cosplay, maid cafes, "dollpla" and "doujinshi" -- undeniably have a camp charm and demonstrate creativity and active fun.

The fetishisation of pubescent girls as sex objects, nude printed dakimakura (hug pillows,) and various kinds of sex dolls and figurines, will never be cool. It feels a bit creepy. It seems a small step from that to the pervy sarariman, groping schoolgirls on rush-hour trains and stealing housewives' panties off the washing line.

A major area of genuine cool is the Harajuku based street fashion scene, portrayed in magazines and books such as Fruits. This is only peripherally part of the otaku culture, via photography and fetishisation, for example, of schoolgirls' loose socks. It isn't covered here, which isn't a criticism as you can easily get other material covering it.

The book is an excellent introduction to the otaku subculture. I am left with the feeling that it is as much an attempt to claim public space and validate the author's personal interests, as it is a celebration of a successful cultural movement.
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