Case (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fandomsecrets2010-07-15 04:34 pm
case) wrote in fandomsecrets2010-07-15 04:34 pm
[ SECRET POST #1290 ]
⌈ Secret Post #1290 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
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Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 05 pages, 108 secrets from Secret Submission Post #184.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 1 2 3 4 5 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 3 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
no subject
(Anonymous) 2010-07-15 10:23 pm (UTC)(link)I just got back from studying in Japan this week. I was there about three months. It was the trip of a fucking lifetime- I made a ton of friends, had a fantastic time, and learned and experienced a ton.
None of the excitement and enjoyment came from being an otaku. Or at least, nothing that was special to me. I went through Akiba at least once a week, on my way home from volunteering at a homeless shelter. I bought a good chunk of otaku swag- I've got an awesome Subaru Nakajima figure sitting in my room, I bought a copy of Fate/Stay Night, some CDs, etc. But that was all little, personal things. I didn't talk with any of my Japanese friends about anime, we talked about a whole bunch of things.
Also- everyone who's telling you Japan's full of racist, xenophobic pricks who wouldn't piss on a gaijin if he was on fire?* They're not telling the full story. There are a good number of those types of people in Japan, but you could probably find them everywhere. Just about everyone I interacted with in Japan, from my teachers to the volunteers at the shelter I was at, was amazingly helpful and friendly. They were nice people, same as everywhere else.
But they're people, same as everywhere else, and most people aren't involved in fandom. Anime and manga, manga in particular, is more mainstream over there. Which means that it's just TV to most people. There's nothing special about it, and most people aren't going to want to talk about it for hours on end.
If you're going alone, with minimal Japanese skills, and hoping to find otaku friends and fit in, you're going to be in trouble. I couldn't tell you how to get ingratiated with that sort of crowd, and I suspect it would be highly difficult.
If you're going with a group, you're probably going to have a blast. Look at the other people in your group if you want to talk geek- chances are, a lot of them are otaku as well. A lot of people in my program were. With one exception (and even then, he was a decent guy), we were all there for more than just the anime.
Japan is full of awesome stuff besides anime and manga. Go sing karaoke with your friends, have a party at an izakaya, go to an onsen, visit all the tourist sites, eat at a hole-in-the-wall ramen stand, etc. There are so many things you can do that have nothing to do with anime and manga that you sell yourself really short if that's all you're looking for.
Be careful, too. If you're a girl doing all that stuff, you're going to get a lot of strange looks, and probably more than a few creepers. Keep an eye out.
*yes, yes, it's hyperbolic. So sue me.
no subject
(Anonymous) 2010-07-15 10:26 pm (UTC)(link)The first thing was that I frequently found myself wanting to apologize for my entire gender.
The second was that there are times I love being an otaku, and times where I'm ashamed of it. In Akiba, they come in very close succession.
no subject
no subject
i'd also say to the OP, if you are indeed a girl, Akiba is definitely NOT the place to go unless you want to hate men for the rest of your life. Try Otome Road in Ikebukuro. But moreover, like anon said, look for other things Japan has to offer. You won't regret it.