Richard V. Lamb
4th June 2004, 08:16 AM
"Manana" can mean months later!
"Richard V. Lamb" <profplum@frontiernet.net> wrote in message
news:haB4c.2674$V67.51@news02.roc.ny...
> We otaku are cool? This deserves a post of its own.
Well, *we* may or may not be cool, but what we are interested in is
increasingly becoming that way. Here are some sightings my daughter and I
have made over the past few months:
First, a link to the Foreign Policy Magazine article cited in Newtype USA
about "Japan's Gross National Cool":
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~ikalmar/illustex/japfpmcgray.htm
Could Tokyo be to this decade what Swinging London was to the 1960s?
In the March 19, 2004, issue of Entertainment Weekly, the regular comics
column was devoted to manga, with an explanation of its rising popularity
(sales of manga in the US have doubled every year for the past 3 years and
now surpass $100,000,000) and reviews of the manga series "Ruroni Kenshin",
"The Ring", and "Joan Book 1". FWIW, a writer of an article in a later
issue of EW described the Olsen Twins as having "manga eyes." Considering
that manga are now taking up entire walls of bookstores such as Borders,
Waldenbooks, and Barnes and Nobles, this should not come as a surprise. The
next three items, courtesy of my daughter, who pays as much attention to
Japanese pop culture as I do, might.
On page 74 of the February 2004 issue of Seventeen (I can hardly think of a
more mainstream fashion periodical for American tweens and teens than
this--can you?), there is a full-page mini-interview and photo collage
entitled "girl around the world" and subtitled "eastern standards" that
features a 14-year-old from Tokyo. The questions and answers read like the
American knew cool when she saw it, but didn't understand why it was cool.
Particularly telling were the reactions to a picture of bear on her cell
phone and to the band that she idolized (Hanamuke, a visual kei band):
American Interviewer: "There's blood on his mouth. Do you think that's
cute?"
Japanese girl: "It's dark, but it's also very cute--it's a teddy bear. In
anime, that gap between gross and cuddly is funny."
(Would any of you have any idea what anime this is from? It sounds almost
like Miyu's mascot from the Vampire Princess Miyu TV, but I suspect that's
too old.)
Interviewer: "What guys are your type?"
Japanese girl: "Like him" (Points to photo of guitarist.)
Interviewer: "He's scary!"
(IMHO, he looks like Marilyn Manson, so I can see where an older person
would have that reaction.)
Japanese girl: "No, I think he's cool."
Interviewer: "What would your parents say if he were your boyfriend?"
While the interviewer from Seventeen obviously didn't get it, my daughter
and I did.
On page 14 of the July 2004 issue of YM, Linda Fear's editorial "Five things
I learned this month" concludes with "5. Want to be a trendsetter? Japan, my
friends, is the next big thing." The last editorial page (116) is devoted to
"The next big thing, Japan", featuring the latest clothes, accessories,
makeup, gizmos, and snacks from Japan. It also featured the latest manga
available in the US, using the description "comics by girls, for girls"
(Wow, were they ever sold a bill of goods!). My daughter and I looked at the
manga title (xxxHOLIC) and said "they have no idea what they have!" I
wonder how hard Del Rey's marketing people had to work to get *that* product
placement! Again, the American fashion people know cool when they see it,
even if they don't have a clue what it really means.
Finally, how many of you caught the episode of MTV's "Room Raiders" where
the girl who won the date was a cosplayer? She was also a model on MTV's
special on console gaming. That girl's "stage name" is YuffieBunny, and she
was one of the Fans View Convention Personality of the week. Here's the
link to the page:
http://www.fansview.com/person/0502pers.htm
I bet that, if Room Raiders was around three years ago, they would not have
cast a cosplayer!
Now how far will Japanophlia go? Will we see the 21st Century equivalents
of Valley Girls dressing up as Kogals and doing the Para Para in Southern
California clubs? Will we see the next trend among goths being Gothic
Lolitas? Will the mainstream teen fashion magazines have fanart pages, like
the Gothic and Lolita Bible? Speaking of the Gothic and Lolita Bible, will
it ever be translated into English and sold at Hot Topic? Oh, if Japan as a
fashion trend takes off, how long will the bubble last? Five years, like
the British Invasion of the 60s? If so, will the resulting crash knock out
interest in manga, anime, and J-Pop? Stay tuned!
Vince "Professor Plum" Lamb
"Washuu has crabs!"
"Richard V. Lamb" <profplum@frontiernet.net> wrote in message
news:haB4c.2674$V67.51@news02.roc.ny...
> We otaku are cool? This deserves a post of its own.
Well, *we* may or may not be cool, but what we are interested in is
increasingly becoming that way. Here are some sightings my daughter and I
have made over the past few months:
First, a link to the Foreign Policy Magazine article cited in Newtype USA
about "Japan's Gross National Cool":
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~ikalmar/illustex/japfpmcgray.htm
Could Tokyo be to this decade what Swinging London was to the 1960s?
In the March 19, 2004, issue of Entertainment Weekly, the regular comics
column was devoted to manga, with an explanation of its rising popularity
(sales of manga in the US have doubled every year for the past 3 years and
now surpass $100,000,000) and reviews of the manga series "Ruroni Kenshin",
"The Ring", and "Joan Book 1". FWIW, a writer of an article in a later
issue of EW described the Olsen Twins as having "manga eyes." Considering
that manga are now taking up entire walls of bookstores such as Borders,
Waldenbooks, and Barnes and Nobles, this should not come as a surprise. The
next three items, courtesy of my daughter, who pays as much attention to
Japanese pop culture as I do, might.
On page 74 of the February 2004 issue of Seventeen (I can hardly think of a
more mainstream fashion periodical for American tweens and teens than
this--can you?), there is a full-page mini-interview and photo collage
entitled "girl around the world" and subtitled "eastern standards" that
features a 14-year-old from Tokyo. The questions and answers read like the
American knew cool when she saw it, but didn't understand why it was cool.
Particularly telling were the reactions to a picture of bear on her cell
phone and to the band that she idolized (Hanamuke, a visual kei band):
American Interviewer: "There's blood on his mouth. Do you think that's
cute?"
Japanese girl: "It's dark, but it's also very cute--it's a teddy bear. In
anime, that gap between gross and cuddly is funny."
(Would any of you have any idea what anime this is from? It sounds almost
like Miyu's mascot from the Vampire Princess Miyu TV, but I suspect that's
too old.)
Interviewer: "What guys are your type?"
Japanese girl: "Like him" (Points to photo of guitarist.)
Interviewer: "He's scary!"
(IMHO, he looks like Marilyn Manson, so I can see where an older person
would have that reaction.)
Japanese girl: "No, I think he's cool."
Interviewer: "What would your parents say if he were your boyfriend?"
While the interviewer from Seventeen obviously didn't get it, my daughter
and I did.
On page 14 of the July 2004 issue of YM, Linda Fear's editorial "Five things
I learned this month" concludes with "5. Want to be a trendsetter? Japan, my
friends, is the next big thing." The last editorial page (116) is devoted to
"The next big thing, Japan", featuring the latest clothes, accessories,
makeup, gizmos, and snacks from Japan. It also featured the latest manga
available in the US, using the description "comics by girls, for girls"
(Wow, were they ever sold a bill of goods!). My daughter and I looked at the
manga title (xxxHOLIC) and said "they have no idea what they have!" I
wonder how hard Del Rey's marketing people had to work to get *that* product
placement! Again, the American fashion people know cool when they see it,
even if they don't have a clue what it really means.
Finally, how many of you caught the episode of MTV's "Room Raiders" where
the girl who won the date was a cosplayer? She was also a model on MTV's
special on console gaming. That girl's "stage name" is YuffieBunny, and she
was one of the Fans View Convention Personality of the week. Here's the
link to the page:
http://www.fansview.com/person/0502pers.htm
I bet that, if Room Raiders was around three years ago, they would not have
cast a cosplayer!
Now how far will Japanophlia go? Will we see the 21st Century equivalents
of Valley Girls dressing up as Kogals and doing the Para Para in Southern
California clubs? Will we see the next trend among goths being Gothic
Lolitas? Will the mainstream teen fashion magazines have fanart pages, like
the Gothic and Lolita Bible? Speaking of the Gothic and Lolita Bible, will
it ever be translated into English and sold at Hot Topic? Oh, if Japan as a
fashion trend takes off, how long will the bubble last? Five years, like
the British Invasion of the 60s? If so, will the resulting crash knock out
interest in manga, anime, and J-Pop? Stay tuned!
Vince "Professor Plum" Lamb
"Washuu has crabs!"