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How many otaku penlights do you need to survive a blackout in Japan?
Light up the darkness with a little love from your idol. In Japan, “penlights” are glowsticks commonly used by otaku, who take them along to live performances, where they wave them about in the...
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Bulk-buying otaku has heart broken by Spy x Family Gum【Video】
Anime tie-in turns out, unexpectedly, to be exactly what it promised. Spy x Family has been following the standard arc for a hit franchise. The manga debuted in 2019, building up a solid reader base...
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Rock legend Gene Simmons has no problem with otaku marrying their 2-D anime...
Can’t understand why someone would want to marry someone who’s not real? That’s not what’s important, Kiss frontman says. Back in 2018, Akihiko Kondo decided to get married. At the time he was 35, so...
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We visit a restaurant called ‘Otaku’ in France, eat some otaku sushi
We expected the Parisian restaurant to be overflowing with anime goods, but the reality was something quite different. Our Japanese reporter Ikuna Kanezawa has once again found herself travelling the...
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Four (actually five) important manners tips for attending anime stage shows...
Our hardcore anime musical fan gives us a quick course in otaku/fujoshi etiquette. Anime enthusiasts of yesteryear may have spent the majority of their time in front of a TV screen, but for the modern...
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Part-maid cafe, part-dentist’s office? Akiba Dental Clinic opens in...
Frilly outfits and assisted teeth-brushing practice are part of the otaku-oriented dental clinic. Akihabara is Tokyo’s most otaku-oriented district, filled with electronics stores, video game...
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Akiba Dental Clinic: The Akihabara dentist where a moe maid in cosplay cleans...
This new dentist wants to make otaku dreams come true. Tokyo’s Akihabara, or “Akiba” as it’s affectionately known in otaku circles, has long been known as a place where moe, feelings of strong...
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Tokyo Police apprehend the “Lego Kid” and accomplices
Train photography may have been the motive for alleged Legomaniacs. Aside from their intrinsic value as entertaining and educational toys, there has been a growing interest in Lego brand blocks as a...
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Akihabara landmark Toranoana is permanently closing, chain downsizes to just...
Dojinshi specialty shop will live on in other capacities, but its 28-year-run in Akihabara is coming to an end. There’s a pretty high turnover of shops in Akihabara, which isn’t so surprising since...
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Virtual YouTuber finds a way to shake hands with real-world fans, give them...
A 2-D/3-D dream come true for Nightmare fans. Initially, it wasn’t entirely clear if the idea of VTubers/virtual YouTubers would entirely catch on, but they’re now a robust part of the Japanese pop...
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Biannual running of the otaku fails to take place for second time in a row
Some fear the tradition may never return, but most just hope so. Shortly after sunrise on 13 August, a lone man dressed in yellow stood outside of the entrance to Kokusai-Tenjijo Station. Though...
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Manga artist fails to sell a single book at Comiket, still considers the day...
Comiket rookie goes home with zero revenue and zero regrets. Last weekend marked the long-awaited return of summer Comiket, which had been on a combination Olympics/pandemic-induced hiatus since its...
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Celebrate your oshi’s birthday in style with this fully customisable cake
The cake comes in 24 different colours and a whole load of possibilities! Our resident oshikatsu expert Ninoude Punico knows that the most important day in any self respecting superfan’s calendar is...
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Otaku gather in the Akihabara night as Toranoana dojinshi shop permanently...
Goodbyes both heartfelt and snarky mark the end of an era in Tokyo’s otaku district. It’s not unusual to feel a little wistful at the end of August, as summer starts to fade and shorter days and...
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Japanese manga hotel rooms strictly prohibit reality, want guests to drown in...
A place for otaku to nurture their “manga brain”. Tokyo’s Jimbocho neighbourhood is known as the place to go for secondhand books. With well over a hundred used book stores in the area, Jimbocho is a...
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Our reporter illustrates their first experience attending a fan photo event...
Taking a photo with a big celebrity crush results in high anxiety but also boosts something else unexpectedly for our writer. It was the very first time for our Japanese-language reporter Udonko to...
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We got a massage and talked games at Tokyo clinic made for and run by otaku
Japan truly is the place to live your best otaku life. Our Japanese-language reporter and manga artist Udonko recently heard about a special spot in Tokyo just for otaku: Cura, a massage clinic made...
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Tokyo’s huge new anime entertainment complex reveals opening date, floor guide
There’ll be more to do than just shopping at the new Animate flagship location. It’s been a rough couple of years for Tokyo’s otaku-oriented businesses, with landmark dojinshi shops and video game...
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We take a look inside a “special bag” from an Akihabara adult chainstore
Does Lammtarra really know how to give us a good time? One of the things we love about Japan is the random luck of a gacha bag, especially in the Tokyo otaku neighbourhood of Akihabara, where a...
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Tsundere beer now on sale in Japan, but it’s not like she brewed it for you...
A beer with two sides to its flavor for the anime archetype with two sides to her personality. As fans of anime and manga know, a tsundere is a character with a hot-and-cold personality. Ordinarily...
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