Author Archives: Ellen Pilot
Otaku Social Pariahs Within Japan
In anime, otaku are used as kind-spirited comedy founder or take up the role of the sadly misunderstood misfit. Their obsessive traits are endearing to their audience, since it is a mirror of them. It could be seen as a kind of reassurance to the audience that are neither scary nor threatening, despite what the majority of Japanese people think. This brings us back to the question that this essay will address, why are otaku social pariahs in Japan? READ MORE
Homosexuality, Manga, and the Land of the Rising Sun
I know it might be presumptuous, but I believe that most Western anime viewers really don’t know much, if anything, about Japanese people and culture besides what is presented to them in anime and manga. Sure, it’s easy enough to look up why Japanese people write wishes on pieces of paper and hang them on trees for Tanabata, or what a tree leaf standing up in a cup signifies, but does anime and manga really give the average Western otaku an informed and accurate picture of Japan? READ MORE
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