Earlier this month, I blogged a video caught off a Japanese news-show that documented the pilgrimage of a group of Japan-obssessed geeks to Tokyo to revel in American-style "otaku" obsession. We get so much pleasure out of odd cultural moves from Japanese nerd-dom, so it's great to see Western nerd culture go under a Japanese microscope.
Here's a followup video on the same subject, this time with English subtitles. As Gavin from TVinJapan sez, "it does a really nice job of explaining some of how the Japanese feel about these Americans that are obsessed with Japanese culture."
(Thanks, Gavin!)
Update: Jenn sez, "American otaku aren`t the only ones that Japanese tv follows with interest. This video (mainly Chinese footage dubbed over with Japanese), a segment from a panel show, follows the equally fascinating story of Chinese otaku. (part two)
"The video starts with footage of anti-Japan rallies in China, followed by polls on how the Chinese feel about the Japanese (more than 60% say they `hate` Japan). Then they ask the same respondents what country`s animation they like best, and surprisingly more than 60% say they prefer Japanese anime to Western (28%) or Chinese (11%). The segment covers the phenomenonal popularity of Japanese manga in China, as well as otaku attending a cosplay convention in China, focusing on a high school student whose parents berate her for not only having such a hobby but it being Japanese.
