Kotaku: Otaku

Nine Ways Japanese Women Know You Are a "Creepy" Otaku

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:00:00 EST

Some of you are nerds. That's fine. Some of you are not. Likewise—fine. But for the geeky male readers out there, not all members of the opposite sex are going to be down with your peculiarities. More »

This Chocolate Isn't Painful. It's Sweet and Dorky.

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:55:00 EST

You know "itasha", right? It means "painmobile" and refers to cars covered in nerdy stickers. More »

The Waitress Uniform That Started It All

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:00:00 EST

For a generation, Anna Miller's was more than a coffee shop. For a generation, it inspired video games, anime, and countless cosplay. For a generation, it's quickly becoming a memory. More »

Is This the Perfect Otaku Office?

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:30:00 EST

My office? Nope. While it's a mess of stuff, my desk doesn't exactly scream otaku (though, the signed Kurt Vonnegut print above it is pretty cool!). This guy's office, however, is otaku chic. More »

Watch an Orderly Japanese Nerd Horde. It Will Blow Your Mind.

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:30:00 EST

Have you ever wondered what thousands and thousands of Japanese otaku (geeks) look like when they swoop on a single spot? They look like this. More »

Where Can Japanese Nerds Take Non-Nerds on Dates?

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 03:00:00 EST

You might be a nerd. I'm a nerd! But just because you are one, that doesn't mean your significant other is. Your partner, whether they're male or female, might not like video games, anime, manga—or whatever. More »

Five Things Japanese Women Don't Want To Find in Your Room

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:00:00 EST

Only five! There are probably many, many more, but let's start with with five. Web research site My Navi News polled nearly seven hundred of its online readers, asking them to list the things they did not want to find in a guy's room. More »

How Girl Nerds Accidentally Reveal Their Inner Geek

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 05:00:00 EST

In Japan, the word "otaku" can be dicey. Some think the moniker carries a lot of baggage and evokes negative, even frightening, imagery. Others don't care and proudly call themselves "otaku". More »

Belgian Lolitas Dancing. Belgians Wearing Funny Costumes. Belgians Kicking Ass

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:30:00 EST

The Japan Expo Belgium 2011 was held in Belgium, with folks dressing up like Japanese anime and game characters. And other people beating the crap out of each other. More »

The Equal Opportunity Perversion of Kotaku

Joel Johnson — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:40:00 EST

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Last week, some folks paid Kotaku the kindness of noticing how...let's call it "progressive"...we've begun to lean over the last few months since I came aboard as Editorial Director. (Dan Bruno, in particular; I had other discussions on Twitter.) Often there was a criticism behind the compliments: Why does an organization that unabashedly wants to encourage LGBT* and women's voices in gaming also unabashedly put up galleries of women in revealing cosplay or articles about the sex worker industry in Japan? Some critics used pretty unequivocal terms, calling some of our content "embarrassing" or (and this may not be an exact quote) "part of the problem". More »

The Depressing World of Unemployed Nerds

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 03:00:00 EDT

You might have a job. You might be between jobs or you might be out of one entirely. Same goes for many in Japan. But what they spend their unemployment checks on might differ from what their counterparts do elsewhere. More »

Dudes, Your Girly Desktops and Walls Are Driving the Ladies Away

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 03:00:00 EDT

You might think those posters of big-eyed little anime girls are cute as a button. But according to FujiTV, nearly 80 percent of Japanese women polled give a big no thanks to dudes who cover their room with stuff like that. More »

Busy Next Month? Spend Time with Nightmare-Inducing Anime Chicks.

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 02:00:00 EDT

Maid cafes are a dime a dozen in Tokyo geek mecca Akihabara. They're totally normal. Cafe t.t.t. might be in Akihabara, but it's zip codes are way from normal. More »

Eat Curry. With Your Plastic Girlfriend.

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 02:00:00 EDT

Some people have flesh and blood girlfriends. Others have pillows. And some have plastic toys. One curry restaurant in Tokyo's geek district is sensitive to this. More »

All the Fresh Nerd Heroin You Could Ever Want

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 07:30:00 EDT

On July 2, Animate is opening its latest super store in Shinjuku. If you've never been to an Animate, they're like hypermarts. For otaku. More »

Furries and Lolitas Pave the Way for the Modern Journalist

Sam Winstrom — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:20:00 EDT

There's a lot we can learn from furries. While animal costumes might not be your thing, Lauren Rae Orsini says that they have inspired her as a journalist. More »

The Word "Otaku" Was Banned by NHK until 2008

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:20:00 EDT

In a piece on the Lolita Complex, punks, and otaku, game translator and author Matt Alt points out that the word "otaku" ("geek") was a dirty word of sorts, banned by NHK until 2008. More in the link. [Neojaponisme] More »

Japanese Government Debuts Maps for Otaku

Jen Schiller — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:20:00 EDT

Japan's National Tourism Organization has released a two-sided map that will revolutionize Otaku Tourism. The first side details each region in Japan, leading fans to major anime/manga hotspots, and the other details pilgrimages to harder to find locations. [Forevergeek] More »

Your Face on an Action Figure? Badass

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 20 May 2011 07:30:00 EDT

Based in Tokyo geek mecca Akihabara, Clone Factory is just that: a factory that makes clones. More »

These Guys Will Freak You Out, Then Amaze You

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 17 May 2011 04:00:00 EDT

At the Taipei Game Show earlier this year, event areas had girls on stage dancing to pop tunes. But that's not where the real action was. More »

The Voice Actress Capturing The Hearts Of Otaku Everywhere

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 02:00:00 EDT

In Japan, voice actresses have a niche fan base. There are magazines and websites dedicated to them, and popular voice actresses might parlay that into music singles or photobooks. Aya Hirano, the voice of Haruhi Suzumiya, was able to make the leap from anime and games to mainstream celebrity, appearing on television and even as the spokesperson for Denny's in Japan. More »

Can An Earthquake Cancel Some Lady's Skimpy Photos?

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EDT

The Tohoku Earthquake caused game after game to be delayed. One game, Disaster Report 4, was even canned. But it's not only games that are being impacted. Pictures of voice actress Chiaki Takahashi in revealing clothing are, too. More »

Give Blood Like You're In An 80s Sci-Fi Comic

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 02:00:00 EDT

In the days following the Tohoku Earthquake, Japanese people across the country began doing what they could for the relief efforts by rolling up their sleeves and giving blood. Just days after the quake hit, the Japanese Red Cross blood donation centers were running at a surplus. More »

How Otaku Annoy Other Otaku

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 02:00:00 EDT

Are you a nerd or a geek? If calculations are correct, I've probably pissed off oodles of others, who have also pissed off their fair share of fellow nerds. It's a vicious cycle: otaku (loosely "geek" or "nerd") pissing off other otaku. But it exists and, otaku being otaku, there's not much one can do about it. More »

Otaku Rooms Are Dangerous In Earthquakes

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EDT

The recent earthquake and tsunami ravaged northeastern Japan, but it also turned much of the Kanto area upside down. Otaku are uploading images of havoc it caused in their nerd kingdoms. More »

This Apartment Is No Nerd Slob Hole

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 07:00:00 EST

The thing about nerd hovels is that the their stereotypical image is of being dark, dank, messy and cluttered with crap. Swiss dude Melonpan's lair is anything but. More »

The Great Hug Pillow Arrest

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 02:00:00 EST

Some cops arrest drug dealers, murderers and master thieves. In Tokyo, Japanese police arrested a 25-year-old vocational student from China for selling knock-off hug pillows. More »

This Poor, Poor Lancia Stratos

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 09:00:00 EDT

The Lancia Stratos was arguably the most beautiful rally car ever. In its rally heyday, it was covered with Alitalia and Castrol stickers. Its heyday is over. More »

These Boys Have Irked Idol Game Fans

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 07:00:00 EDT

The upcoming entry in Namco Bandai's idol simulator franchise features a boy band. Some fans of THE iDOLM@STER do not want a boy band in the game. They're not happy. More »

Girls With Hardware Are Called Hardware Girls

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 03:00:00 EDT

Arcade cabinets, retro game consoles and CPUs. "Hardware Girls" isn't just photos of beautiful hardware, it's also pics of beautiful girls. More »

NSFW: Bald Man Humps Pillow For Android Exercise

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:00:00 EDT

Getting in shape is hard. Some people need motivation. Others need motivation. More »

Voice Actress Pisses Off Otaku

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 06:00:00 EDT

Voice actress Aya Hirano doesn't seem to want to be a voice actress anymore. The 22-year-old is trying to make the leap to mainstream celebrity and ticking off her rabid fan-base in the process. More »

Remember That Ferrari?

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 06:00:00 EDT

You know, this one. It got a ticket for parking violation, not good taste violation. As seen on AkibaOS. More »

How Do You Know If Someone's An Otaku?

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 05:00:00 EDT

No, really, how? More »

This Man Needed Toilet Paper

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 13 May 2010 02:30:00 EDT

Imagine you are at large electronics store in Japanese otaku mecca Akihabara. Imagine you go to the bathroom and *ahem* take a dump. Imagine that there is no toilet paper in said bathroom. What would you do? More »

Ten Reasons Why Teenage Girls Become Otaku

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 10 May 2010 03:00:00 EDT

Everyone has their reasons. What's yours, sister? More »

It's Like Street Fighter, But With Stripping

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 04:00:00 EDT

The objective in Super Strip Fighter IV isn't necessarily simply to beat your enemy. Sometimes, it's something else entirely. More »

Minorigate, or, How to Piss Off Otaku Without Really Trying

akira — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 02:00:00 EDT

Last summer erotic game developer Minori, developer of adult PC titles like Bittersweet Fools and Angel Type, blocked foreign access to its website in the wake of the Rapelay controversy. More »

Watch Out! June 24 Will Be Geekageddon

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 07:00:00 EDT

June 24 is going to be a big day for otaku games in Japan. Enormous. Gianormous. Huuuuuuuuuuge. Here's why: More »

The Evolution of The Otaku Room

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EDT

Time changes us all. And not only us, but our rooms. Otaku are no exception! More »