@Erica: Oops, sorry for the delay. Yeah, I’ll keep fall in mind! =-) Butler cafes?! Now that’s something I’d like to check out! The one with the western men has got to be interesting but I think I saw a news documentary on this somewhere. I just saw a doc on Japanese male host bars for women. The guys make loads of money– that’s a kind funky and seedy system too apparently. Butler cafes, I know are different and much more lighter and commercial than male host bars. Japan has such an interesting cabaret.

As for stereotypes, it’s unfortunate that they exist period, but I think for every group, ethnicity, subculture, culture, … there’s going to be a good and bad stereotype and the color of it will depend on how much information an individual has to make an educated decision. I know not all fanatics of that culture are extreme (even though my first experience with it was twisted) and I could see a variety of folks from creepy, nerdy and normal but personally, the vibe of Akhibahara itself, …I wasn’t keen to. Not the same vibe as the manga cafes I’ve stayed at or Harajuku or anywhere else.

Giant naked woman with a huge saw-toothed which bit off heads of kids and adults. Scarred for life. =-|

I’m kind of planning a trip out to Japan next fall if you’re in the area 🙂 Well, men are the general demographic for maid cafes, but it’s also very common to see people out in the street calling you in- especially for izakayas/kareoke- so it’s not that weird that the girls are out there… except that they are dressed like a little girl. FYI they also have butler cafes that mostly cater to women, if you’d like to check that out instead. IN FACT, I’ve heard rumors that there’s one with purely western men.

Oh, I’m not saying that none of that is true. I’ve seen super creepy things in both Akihabara and Ikebukuro, I just feel like so many articles focus on the extreme that everyone who reads manga/watches anime gets put into that stereotype.

That sounds terrifying. The manga that I read is about a little boy who solves mysteries, nothing close to pornography. The line between pornography and anime/manga seems to have blurred recently, which is perhaps why I stick to the one I’ve been reading since I was in elementary school 😉

@Erika: I’ll take you up on the maid cafe offer next time I’m in Tokyo! 🙂 Really would love to see an honest one vs. seedy, because those girls were seriously only approaching men. As for anime.. yup, you lost me after Anime. =/ ha ha..

As for articles highlighting the extreme aspects of the culture. I feel conflicted about that. On one hand,the fact it’s sensational news leads to misinterpreting a whole based on an extreme few and yet, there’s a level of truth to it, both subtle and extreme. However, it could also be a similar predicament I’ve found in trying to interpret Korean culture. Not many local/culture things are written in English. Thus, English readers can only rely on a few flawed articles.

Anyways, you also just reminded me of my first introduction/mishap to manga. I borrowed an animation from the public library in NYC, because an artist gf recommended I watch manga for inspiration. The animation I chose was a total shot-in-the-dark choice but the title seemed fun and i’ve seen pictures to know these animations can be cute– and BOY, it was the most violent and sexually-grotesque jolt to all of my senses. I seriously, didn’t know how anyone conceive such ideas much more than watch it. I’ve seen porn and can stomach violent horror flicks but I couldn’t last more than 5 minutes with that animation without feeling absolutely sick with the level of twistedness it was. That was my first and last experience with manga. I know there are different categories but that one made me want to regress to Sailor Moon animations. =(

haha weeeeell probably somewhere on the interwebs。If you ever find yourself confused in Akihabara (or any other part of Japan), shoot me an email- I’m more than happy to share what I know 🙂 Or if you’d like, I can take you to that maid cafe 😉

manga = comic books or “graphic novels”
anime = characters drawn in that particular way in motion. The word is also used to describe the genre in general, which I think is where it gets confusing.

I also feel that most articles only highlight the interesting/unique/downright absurd bits about the culture. Likewise, a lot of the stores in Akihabara cater to those bits, especially now that the otaku scene in Akihabara is shifting toward catering to tourists while the hardcore otakus are heading toward Ikebukuro. There are many aspects to otaku-dom, especially in its extreme that confuse/bewilder/gross me out, but I’ve also come to learn that it’s no different than fandom in general. Just… it’s toward a drawing, not a person who can breathe.

@Erica: Where were you when I was sightseeing Akihabara? Thanks for sharking your insight; I don’t feel it’s defensive at all. My post is basically saying~ it would’ve helped to have more insight into the culture so I could either, understand what I saw or look for what I didn’t. As a travel blogger, I like to give places a fair shot, but it’s hard if you don’t have the information to truly know how to appreciate it. Even having researched otakus and the limited articles I could dig up on them… they intrigue me, but the Akihabara vibe was just a little off for me. A dead calm. Lack of information is what most travelers sightsee with. Even when you read up on a culture, there’s always going to be a wall you’ll hit unless you experience it first hand.

The manga/anime thing still confuses me… I hate to admit, I don’t know the difference.

When are you going?? I’m hoping to be there fall/winter-ish 🙂

I also just had to say that there are a lot of maid cafes that are out in the open and completely not sketchy. As a female foreigner, I went into one (after doing my research) and the gals working there could not have been sweeter, asking me as many questions as I asked them. The reason that the maid shy away from the camera are that 1) their employers discourage it as they usually charge for photos 2) they don’t want to end up on the internet & affect any future job prospects.

I don’t mean for this to sound defensive at all, I really enjoyed reading your point of view. I just wanted to add a couple tid bits as a Japanese-American who lived in Tokyo for 3 years 🙂

@Indra: So lucky! I really wish I got to visit a Maid Cafe. Maybe that would’ve made me feel a little different about this area. 😉

@Jenna: Thanks for that feedback! ha ha… I’ll definitely have to take a look at that when I get home!

@Tom: I thought I’d be gushing too, but it all felt a little dry for me. Will be interested to see how you feel about it. ps. Feeling like an outsider in Korea? Yeah, I got that too. I think I’m better with that feeling on a long-term basis vs. a short term experience. With short experiences, I know I have much less time to figure things out. There have been a lot of times I wished I’d read up on it so I knew what I was seeing.