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Brief Description:
"In this ethnographic study of Otaku-- a loose category referring to intense fans of Japanese animation, games, and comics-- conducted in Akihabara, the electronics-turned-pop-culture neighborhood of Tokyo, author Patrick Galbraith traces the evolving relationships of mostly male-fans with imagined female characters. The term otaku, he argues, is frequently pathologized, to mean alienated or introverted persons - usually male - who have difficulty having real relationships and thus retreat into a world of their own imagination and control. Galbraith wonders why the form of a relationship that focuses on an animated character is more problematic than other kinds of fan attachments - crushes on pop music stars or a deep investment in Star Wars or Harry Potter. Through his engaged ethnography at the height of the interest in maid cafâes and animated female characters in the early 2000s, he is able to historicize this fandom in an empathetic and detailed way, showing that what many have taken to be a single and peculiar psychological phenomenon was actually a complex, quickly evolving pop culture phenomenon. The affective relationships of the fans (seen as 3D) and the characters (2D, even when they are in three dimensions) is seen as a shifting and ordered form of closeness, a closeness between humans and animated characters. Galbraith urges us to explore rather than denigrate these relationships." -- Provided by publisher.
Brief Description:
"In this ethnographic study of Otaku-- a loose category referring to intense fans of Japanese animation, games, and comics-- conducted in Akihabara, the electronics-turned-pop-culture neighborhood of Tokyo, author Patrick Galbraith traces the evolving relationships of mostly male-fans with imagined female characters. The term otaku, he argues, is frequently pathologized, to mean alienated or introverted persons - usually male - who have difficulty having real relationships and thus retreat into a world of their own imagination and control. Galbraith wonders why the form of a relationship that focuses on an animated character is more problematic than other kinds of fan attachments - crushes on pop music stars or a deep investment in Star Wars or Harry Potter. Through his engaged ethnography at the height of the interest in maid cafâes and animated female characters in the early 2000s, he is able to historicize this fandom in an empathetic and detailed way, showing that what many have taken to be a single and peculiar psychological phenomenon was actually a complex, quickly evolving pop culture phenomenon. The affective relationships of the fans (seen as 3D) and the characters (2D, even when they are in three dimensions) is seen as a shifting and ordered form of closeness, a closeness between humans and animated characters. Galbraith urges us to explore rather than denigrate these relationships" -- Provided by publisher.
Biographical Note:
Patrick W. Galbraith is a lecturer at Senshū University in Tokyo. He is the author of
The Moe Manifesto: An Insider's Look at the Worlds of Manga, Anime, and Gaming, coauthor of
AKB48, and coeditor of
Idols and Celebrity in Japanese Media Culture.
Commendation Quotes:
"In this tremendous book, Patrick Galbraith brings to life the relatively unknown world of Japanese popular culture. His voice shines throughout thoughtful interviews, detailed ethnography, sensitive portraits of people characterized as 'otaku, ' and nuanced readings of videogames and interactive fiction. An impressive contribution to the field of manga and anime studies."
Commendation Quotes:
"This book offers nothing less than a thorough rethinking of normative sexuality and alternative sexualities through the figure of the otaku and their practices. It's everything that the fields of Japan studies, queer theory, and media history need at this moment. A virtually flawless and captivating read."
Commendation Quotes:
"In this tremendous book, Patrick W. Galbraith brings to life the relatively unknown world of Japanese popular culture. His voice shines throughout thoughtful interviews, detailed ethnography, sensitive portraits of people characterized as 'otaku, ' and nuanced readings of videogames and interactive fiction. An impressive contribution to the field of manga and anime studies."
Review Quotes:
"In this tremendous book, Patrick W. Galbraith brings to life the relatively unknown world of Japanese popular culture. His voice shines throughout thoughtful interviews, detailed ethnography, sensitive portraits of people characterized as 'otaku, ' and nuanced readings of videogames and interactive fiction. An impressive contribution to the field of manga and anime studies."--Ian Condry, author of "The Soul of Anime: Collaborative Creativity and Japan's Media Success Story"
Review Quotes:
"This book offers nothing less than a thorough rethinking of normative sexuality and alternative sexualities through the figure of the otaku and their practices. It's everything that the fields of Japan studies, queer theory, and media history need at this moment. A virtually flawless and captivating read."--Marc Steinberg, author of "Anime's Media Mix: Franchising Toys and Characters in Japan"
Review Quotes:
"This thoughtful investigation of hegemonic masculinity and its alternatives at the margins of imagination is well-sourced with cultural and academic research as well as personal experience."--R. Tait-Ripperdan "Choice" (5/1/2020 12:00:00 AM)
Review Quotes:
"
Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan is a meticulously researched book...[and] a strong contribution to the field of Japanese popular culture."--Emma E. Cook "Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute" (5/15/2021 12:00:00 AM)
Review Quotes:
"This is an excellent and thought-provoking text which will no doubt take its rightful place in the canon of manga, anime, and otaku studies. . . . The narrative [Galbraith] weaves contains just the right amount of academic theoretical discourse, reflections on his personal involvement in the movement, more as a participant than as a participant observer, and a solid history of Japanese (sub-)culture over the last 50 years."--Holger Briel "Japanese Studies" (3/17/2023 12:00:00 AM)
Table of Contents:
Dedication / Acknowledgments ix
Introduction. "Otaku" and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan 1
1. Seeking an Alternative: "Male Sōjo Fans since the 1970s 20
2. "Otaku" Research and Reality Problems 49
3. Moe: An Affective Response to Fictional Characters 76
4. Akihabara: "Otaku" and Contested Imaginaries in Japan 127
5. Maid Cafés: Relations with Fictional and Real Others in Spaces Between 184
Conclusion.
Eshi 100: The Politics of Japanese, "Otaku," Popular Culture in Akihabara and Beyond 227
Notes 261
Bibliography 289
Index 311
Publisher Marketing:
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.
Review Citations:
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Choice 05/01/2020 (EAN 9781478006299, Paperback)
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Choice 05/01/2020 (EAN 9781478005094, Hardcover)
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