lainspotting

serial experiments lain - 10th Anniversary

2008-07-06T20:10:00.006-07:00

On July 6th, 1998, serial experiments lain debuted on Japanese television. Ten years later, the show's legacy endures and it continues to inspire new audiences who discover it. I haven't done a whole lot online to celebrate Lain's 10th birthday, but perhaps I'll do some more lain-related panels at conventions this coming year.

On a related note, I just got back from Anime Expo this weekend, where I had the opportunity (once again) to be on the Anime and Manga in Academia panel, along with Mikhail Koulikov of the Anime/Manga Web Essays Archive and Danielle Leigh, who writes about manga on the Comics Should Be Good! blog on comicbookresources.com (a site that I like a lot, by the way).

I also met up with my friend and fellow lain fan Ray (of Distortion Gallery fame) who I haven't seen in about 2 years. My wife Carol and I had a really nice time hanging out with Ray and his lovely wife Marie.

I also ran into some other friends at the con, which is always nice. I spent a lot of time in the dealers' room this year, but didn't buy very much. I'm saving up for San Diego Comic-Con, which I'm really looking forward to.

Lawmune's Netspace turns 10

2008-06-23T10:31:00.004-07:00

Ten years ago today, on June 23rd, 1998, this website ("Lawmune's Netspace") went live. Some of the pages were created before June 23rd, but they weren't available on the Internet until that day.

1998 was the year I graduated from college, which is why I started this site in the first place--as a method of communicating with my college friends and whoever else was interested in reading what I wrote.

A lot has changed since then, but a lot has stayed the same, too. Most of the pages I put up in those early days are still up. Some of it is outdated, but that's okay. I like having it there for the historical record. Besides, the Web shouldn't be full of dead links, and taking content down just because it's old is bad for the Web. I'll eventually update those old pages, some day.

A personal website turning 10 years old might not seem like a big deal, but this site has been very important in my life. Because of Lawmune's Netspace, I've gotten the chance to express myself as a fan of various things, shared knowledge and opinions, gotten involved in other people's creative projects, been invited to speak on several occasions, provided the idea for a character, and even got myself a job. Furthermore, with a brief note of thanks, I reminded the woman who would later become my wife how important she is to me.

My friends know that I'm a fairly private person. I prefer keeping to myself (and my family), but the Web has been a great place for me to share at my own pace. After 10 years, you might think there should be a lot more content here, but I'm actually very happy with what I've got. (That said, I still have a ton of half-formed ideas waiting to turn into full-fledged webpages.)

If you happen upon this blog post, and if this site has helped or entertained you at all during the last 10 years, thank you for visiting and reading! With so many different kinds of pages out there--including social networking sites, wikis, news aggregators, blogs, etc--the humble personal page seems to have fallen out of fashion, but I still think they (personal pages) are important and rewarding. Here's to 10 years! Let's see what the next 10 will bring.

Moving forward from sad days in Akihabara

2008-06-09T21:33:00.019-07:00

Here are some links to articles about the recent tragedy in Akihabara, where a young man killed 7 people and injured several more:

17 Hit or Stabbed, 7 Confirmed Dead in Tokyo's Akihabara

Cry for help from comic book killer

Tragedy strikes Tokyo's geeks

Akihabara, of course, is the world's most famous otaku hotspot, known for its heavy concentration of anime and manga-related stores, maid cafes, and public cosplay (usually on Sundays). In recent times, there have been various reports of some otaku being mugged there, or of police cracking down on impromptu otaku gatherings, but in general, Akihabara has been considered a fun and safe place for otaku to visit. I've only been there once, but I had a good time shopping in the otaku specialty stores.

Right now, Akihabara is a site of mourning. I imagine that otaku in Japan feel the hurt on a very personal level, with their safe haven violated--by someone who shared their interests in anime and manga, no less, and many otaku in Japan probably relate to the suspect's alleged feelings of alienation. I linked to the 2 articles above, not because they're necessarily the best ones out there, but because they've tried to link (implicitly or otherwise) the suspect's actions with his hobbies, which is sure to flare up the never-ending debates about the harmfulness of mass media.

In fact, it's fairly safe to predict that we will see the following two viewpoints expressed in the media during the next few weeks:

1) Otaku culture is causing the breakdown of mainstream Japanese society
2) Otaku culture is a symptom of the overall breakdown of mainstream Japanese society

I suppose that point #2 is a bit more reasonable than point #1, but what we almost never see, however, is an idea I've tried to propagate for some time now: Otaku culture is neither the cause of the problem, or a negative symptom of the problem. Instead, otaku culture is a positive subcultural reaction to the problems of Japanese, American, and other postmodern societies. Sure, one could easily focus on all of the negative aspects of people who are called or call themselves otaku--people have been making fun of otaku for over 25 years--but considering that most otaku around the world aren't criminals but are instead doing some very cool and creative things, and belong to vibrant and diverse communities surrounding their interests, why shouldn't we focus on (and encourage) the positive?

I think's it's important not to let events such as these be the catalyst for others to judge otaku based on fear. More importantly, perhaps, anime and manga fans should resist the urge to point to their peers who might be more introverted, have more alternative tastes, or simply look different and beratingly call them 'otaku' to distance themselves from negative mainstream attention toward anime fans in general. Instead of continuing the cycle of alienation, propagated by divisive and sensational stories in the media, we can try to be inclusive and encouraging of pluralism, at least within our own community.

RSS Awareness Day

2008-05-01T14:48:00.005-07:00

Given how infrequently I update this blog, I hope there's no one out there who actually types in http://www.cjas.org/~leng/lainspotting on a regular basis to see if there's anything new here. Instead, you should consider using RSS (for this blog and any other sites you want to keep track of).

What's RSS, you say? I'm glad you asked, because today (May 1st) is RSS Awareness Day.

Most browsers these days support RSS, and there are Web-based solutions as well. Personally, I love Opera's built-in RSS reader. I couldn't live without it.

Classic anime openings

2008-04-16T13:00:00.003-07:00

I just posted my Anime Punch report. One thing I didn't mention there is that I helped Lillian Olsen (my good friend and fellow con guest) with the multimedia clips she showed during her Classic Anime panel. She promised that I'd post links to the clips here on my blog, so here they are:

Magical Witch Sally

GeGeGe no Kitaro

Time Bokan Yatta-man

Time Bokan Zenda-man

Time Bokan Yattodeta-man

Star of the Giants

Dr. Slump Arale-chan

Urusei Yatsura

Kinnikuman

and one of my own all-time favorites...

NG Knight Lamune & 40
(first 2 openings and endings)

Con Report - Anime Punch 2008

2008-04-16T11:19:00.008-07:00

I'm writing this on the flight home from Anime Punch 2008. This was my third year at the con as an invited guest, and once again, I had a very good time. My sincerest thanks go out to the organizers of Anime Punch for having me, and for hosting such a good event that was safe, fun, and always full of interesting activities to keep enthusiastic otaku of all ages occupied.

In particular, I want to thank con chair Mike Beuerlein and Susan (the head of Con Ops) for their hospitality and helpfulness, the guys in charge of the panel rooms for always coming through when I needed help with A/V issues, and everyone who came to my panels (I hope you liked them).

Anime Punch is a convention run entirely by fans, and is associated with the OSU anime club. Even though AP is not nearly the size of conventions like Anime Expo (in Long Beach, CA) and Otakon (in Baltimore, Maryland), there was never a dull moment--which is something I can't always say about those larger cons. There's something about fans at smaller conventions that always impresses me. The atmosphere is different at events where the con-goers, invited guests, and staff aren't so different from each other, and where strangers are eager to help other strangers have a good time, instead of complaining about minor snafus and inconveniences.

For the first time in a long time, I had a very balanced con experience. I went to the opening ceremonies, attended (and presented) panels, spent some time in the video rooms, played video games in the game room, shopped in the dealers' room, ate some snacks in the (very nicely stocked) con suite, participated in game shows, struck up conversations with people I hadn't met before, went out to dinner with friends, and genuinely got excited about new (and old) anime again.

Much of my time was spent preparing for and presenting numerous panels. Officially, I was responsible for being on 5 panels, 3 of them to be presented completely on my own (so those were more like lectures or moderated discussions than "panels", per se). As it turns out, at the very last minute, I was recruited to talk on one additional panel, and I recruited someone to help me on one of my own panels.

Here's a list of what I presented:

Gainax (together with Mikhail Koulikov, maintainer of the Anime/Manga Web Essays Archive and fellow AMRC moderator). I focused primarily on the early history of Gainax and the studio's pre-Evangelion works, and Mikhail covered the more recent titles.
Otaku as Viewed by Media/Normals (with Laura). I introduced myself to Laura, who organized this panel, and she asked me to help out, so I did. We had a nice (if somewhat unstructured) group discussion about public perceptions of otaku culture (in both Japan and America). I hope Laura and I can do this panel again in the future, since it allows me to spend more time on other topics during my Otaku Studies talk (which I've presented at AP three years in a row).
Anime in Academia (together with my academic colleagues CarrieLynn Reinhard, Mikhail, and Dr. John Lent). Traditionally, this panel has been very well-attended, and we even had a bigger room this year, but for whatever reason, it felt like there were fewer attendees this time around. Anyhow, all of us had other panels that were well attended, so that's okay.

(This image, by OZinOH, is used in accordance with a Creative Commons license)
Otaku Studies. Based on my doctoral work, this is the talk I give every year (with updated content, of course) in as many places as possible. It's always very rewarding to share with my fellow fans what I've learned being amongst them and trying to make sense of our diverse community's various activities, values, and ethics. I always get really good questions and feedback from this talk. Hopefully, the more I give this presentation and make adjustments, the better it will get. Maybe I'll eventually turn it into a 2-part seminar or workshop.
Anime and the Internet (with Aaron). I didn't know until the day before the con that I was the only person who would be presenting on this topic. That was okay, I figured, since anime fandom's use of the internet was such a big part of my doctoral dissertation. Also, I work for a company that makes the world's best Web browser, so this was right up my alley. That said, I was very pleased to see Aaron of the WARP Anime Podcast in the audience. I asked him if he'd like to be part of the panel, which he kindly agreed to do--contributing some very nice insight and information about the world of anime podcasts. Our discussion topics ranged from pre-Web online fandom to the development of early anime fansites to the current-day landscape of corporate sites, blogs, social networking sites, and Wikipedia.
serial experiments lain. During this panel, I surely repeated more than once how happy and surprised I was that so many people showed up to hear and talk about lain, a show that will be 10 years old this summer. I was planning to chat with at most 4-5 people about my favorite anime TV series to celebrate its 10th anniversary, but there must have been a couple dozen people in the room, all of whom had watched lain and were fans enough of it not to attend the other, higher-profile con events of Saturday night. Since everyone in the room had seen lain already, it was a fairly high-level panel. We discussed the themes of the show, its influences, the shows it influenced, and how it affected us as viewers. I also showed some special video clips, shared information about lain merchandise, and gave away a lain artbook (to one very dedicated lain fan in the audience). Even though I prepared the least for this panel (not counting the fact that I've had a huge lain website for 9 years now), it turned out to be really fun, and I hope to do it again before 2008 ends.

I had a great weekend, and seeing all the smiling faces around me at the con, I know I wasn't alone. Anime Punch continues to foster a great intimate feeling amongst its attendees. As otaku, we're a community of fans that's all about having fun together, sharing knowledge, and being passionate about our interests, and that's why I still love going to anime cons and look forward to Anime Punch 2009!

Anime Punch 2008

2008-04-11T08:08:00.003-07:00

I'm writing this from Anime Punch 2008 in Columbus, Ohio.

As in previous years, Lillian and I are both guests at this con, and we're happy to be here.

It's not exactly a vacation, though. I have 5 panels scheduled: Gainax, Anime in Academia, Otaku Studies, Anime and the Internet, and serial experiments lain

This is going to be a good con. The event schedule is packed with all kinds of good stuff.

If you're at Anime Punch, please come by to any of my panels, and feel free to say hi at any time.

SXSW blogging

2008-03-07T11:01:00.003-08:00

Over the next few days, I will be blogging fairly regularly while I'm at SXSW Interactive, along with a few My Opera members who will also be at the event. Here's the blog we made specifically for that purpose: http://my.opera.com/opera-sxsw-2008

If you're planning to attend SXSW, you'll most likely find me at the Opera booth.

Anime exhibit in Frankfurt (Feb. 27th - Aug. 3rd)

2008-02-14T11:24:00.004-08:00

For those of you who have been wondering what anime-related projects I've been up to lately, here's a bit of news that you might be interested in.

Last summer, I got involved with an upcoming anime exhibition being put on by the Deutsches Filmmuseum in Frankfurt, Germany. It's called Anime - High Art - Pop Culture, and it will run from February 27th - August 3rd of this year. Unlike exhibits of artworks that are inspired by anime and otaku culture, this exhibit promises to dive headfirst into anime itself and the fan culture surrounding it.

I've personally loaned a number of my posters and artbooks to the exhibit. For the time being, my bookshelves are bit less dense, and my walls are temporarily quite bare (until I put up replacements), but I'm glad that I can share some of my collection with visitors to the exhibit. I also wrote an article for the catalogue (described below). The article, entitled "The Fans Who Became Kings", is a look at the history of Gainax, focusing on their importance to the development of global otaku culture.

Here's some text from the exhibit's press material:

/ Neopop meets fan culture /
Anime ? High Art ? Pop Culture at the Deutsche Filmmuseum presents the history, aesthetics and production of Japanese animation. From the early beginnings to the great cinematic successes and the popular heroes of late 1970s serials to current computer and video games, the exhibition illustrates the fascination of anime and their dramatic and often breathtaking visual language. Modules according to genres show a varied collection of materials on production, reception, fan culture and merchandising. The exhibition also features rare collector?s items and artworks from anime producers shown in Europe for the first time.

/ Interactivity /
Professionals, interested visitors and fans will find many opportunities to become actively and creatively involved in the exhibitions at both museums. Interactive features include fan art exhibitions and competitions, drawing cels and producing short animations yourself and the chance to try out a selection of video games. Films and lectures accompany the exhibitions.

/ The catalogue /
A comprehensive volume (300 pages approx.) will discuss the multimedia aspects of manga and anime in innovative ways. With contributions from leading international scientists and experts, workshop reports and statements by manga and anime artists, directors and collectors the catalogue will close the gap in interdisciplinary documentation of contemporary Japanese popular culture. It will be both a new standard reference and a highly attractive collector?s item for fans and visitors to the exhibition.

--

Official website of the exhibit: http://www.deutschesfilmmuseum.de/pre/res/txt/anime.html

Bobby Fischer (1943-2008)

2008-01-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

Bobby Fischer is dead. I've never been more than a casual chess player and observer (my parents let me take some group classes as a kid), but I've always been fascinated by Fischer.

Looking back at his life, I think:
What an incredible mind he had; such will and determination--an unrelenting need to win and dominate his opponents. His work ethic was amazing, and his sense of humor was biting (though not always in a good way). An obsessive student of the game and its history, the man wasn't just a player; he was a true chess otaku. Most of us can only dream of being as good at something as Bobby Fischer was at chess.

As many people know, however, Fischer was also quite troubled for many years before he died. He spent years as a fugitive from the law, and his anti-Semitic diatribes led many to the conclusion that he must be mad, or at least a horrible misanthrope.

In response to the dark side of Bobby Fischer's life, some have said we should only remember his brilliance at chess, his good years, and ignore the ravings of a demented old man.

I don't think it's wrong to be outraged by the hateful content of his ravings (which I first heard in the late '90s), and what he said should certainly be dismissed as racist garbage. But the tragic part of Bobby Fischer's story should not be forgotten or glossed over, even by those who choose to remember the good things about Bobby Fischer. Although he abandoned and denigrated much that was good, he himself was abandoned by a society that could not (or would not) get him the help and support he needed.

Intentionally or not, Bobby Fischer was one of America's weapons during the Cold War; his sole purpose was to disrupt the previously undefeatable Soviet chess machine. Is it any surprise that he was twisted by the paranoia of the time? It doesn't take much to fuel paranoid delusions, and it's been revealed that Fischer and his mother were both under FBI surveillance for decades. The details are vague, but the KGB took an interest in him as well.

I suspect that most of us would crack under the pressures faced by Bobby Fischer. And when a genius with an obsessive mind like Fischer's cracks, the consequences are dire, and what can we do about it? Not much, perhaps, especially when those who need help refuse to admit that they need it. Despite his glaring flaws, I'd like to remember Bobby Fischer as an American hero and a chess genius of the highest order. He was a victim of his time, his celebrity, and the very genius that served him so well on the chessboard, but which became madness in the end.

Farewell, Bobby Fischer. Some will miss you, and some will say 'good riddance', but at the very least, you won't be forgotten.

An unusually long week: wildfires and a rocking launch party

2007-10-31T12:50:00.000-08:00

On Sunday afternoon (two weekends ago), I was happily playing with my 2-year-old son in our backyard when I noticed that the air was getting kind of smoky. We went inside and I checked on the internet to see what was going on. Obviously, there was a fire somewhere, but it wasn't close to our house, so my wife and I didn't pay much mind to it. After all, brush fires are not terribly uncommon in San Diego. A few months ago, there was a small brush fire not too far from my home, but it was put out quickly.

That night, we visited my sister's house (about 20 minutes south of me) to celebrate my niece's birthday. My sister's family had lived through the Cedar Fire in 2003, and were concerned about the current fire, at which point I finally got worried. It was definitely smoky in our neighborhood when we got in the car.

When we got home, we turned on the news and saw that the fire had spread quickly. In fact, there were several large fires burning in many different locations throughout San Diego. According to the news, many San Diego residents in affected areas were being asked to evacuate through reverse 911 calls. Looking at the fire map and seeing how quickly the fires were spreading (due to the very high winds), we were getting a little nervous. Not knowing what would happen through the night, we began packing important items into our two cars, just in case we would have to evacuate on short notice.

After staying up late packing crucial documents and our most prized possessions into suitcases, we went to sleep, but I made myself wake up every two hours to check the news. Around 4AM, I saw that the news was especially bad, with houses in the city directly north of us burning, and danger to our east as well. I didn't go back to sleep after that. As my wife slept, I watched the news and continued packing.

Finally, around noon on Monday, it became clear that we'd have to go, with mandatory evacuations occuring extremely close to us to our north and east, and it was only a matter of time before the authorities would recommend our area evacuate as well. Exhausted, we drove our two cars to my sister's house, where we'd watch more news and try to get some rest. (So that my nieces and nephew didn't have to watch news all day, I used Opera Mini to check whether or not my house was in danger.)

Our family and our neighborhood were lucky. The winds didn't blow south, and the fires to our east never got close to us. As such, we were able to safely return home on Tuesday afternoon.

Most of the evacuations were precautionary more than anything, but it was still a very somber and nervous time, knowing that thousands of houses were burning in San Diego. We all witnessed a massive amount of destruction on TV, and felt for those who lost their homes and/or loved ones. Many San Diego residents who evacuated had to stay in temporary shelters, but from all accounts, they were well taken care of, and most of them would be lucky as well and eventually return to their homes. That said, the fires (which are still burning, actually, but mostly contained) destroyed so much, and the cost of rebuilding will be high, but everyone stuck together really well, and I feel more connected than ever to my local community.

One of the most surreal parts of the whole ordeal was deciding what to take and what to leave behind, not knowing if we'd ever see again the things we didn't pack with us. We actually finished packing quite early, and it turned out we didn't really have that much stuff that we consider to be irreplaceable or extremely valuable. I walked around the house several times, looking things over to make sure we had everything we wanted, and I felt pretty satisfied that we were done. The rest could be left behind, and we'd be okay. It really makes a person reconsider the value of possessions in ones life, how much we have that we really don't need, and how we should value that which we already own (as opposed to what we want to acquire). And of course, coming home again makes one realize the value of having a home, period - a basic and comfortable shelter that doesn't have to be cluttered up with useless goods and accessories. In the coming weeks, I know that I'll be looking into places that are asking for donations of clothes, books, and other stuff.

I was operating on an adrenalin high most of Monday and Tuesday, and when I woke up on Wednesday, my entire body hurt from the built up stress, tension, and fatigue. I can't even imagine how the firefighters felt after working for days on ends without sleeping. On Thursday morning, I was scheduled to fly to San Francisco to help with the Rock Opera party, where we'd be doing a major product launch, but I was feeling physically bad enough to consider skipping the event.

However, it's not every day that Opera holds a rock music event in the US, launches three new products (Opera 9.5 beta, Opera Mini 4 beta 3, and Opera Link) on the same day, and flies out the CEO to kick off the event with a rousing speech. I had to attend. Plus, we've been working on the launch party for a long time now. I also wanted to make sure our My Opera guests whose travel I arranged were well taken care of and would have a good time at the party.

I got on the airplane early Thursday morning and arrived at my "European-style" hotel in San Francisco a few hours later. On Thursday afternoon, I spent some time hanging out with our My Opera guests and helping to prep for the party.

The party itself was great! It had good food, drinks, lots of people asking and enthusiastic about our latest Opera products, and a ton of rocking music. During the party, I talked with people mostly about Opera Mini and Link, both of which were received very well. The venue was excellent, and the people we hired did a fantastic job making it look great (see photos here). It was the most exciting Opera launch event I've ever attended, and I hope we can do more of the same in the future.

I'd like to thank My Opera members Charlie (BAMAToNE), Anton (Captain Seagull), and Scott and Annette (skid94) for attending the party from out-of-state. Check out their party-related blog posts and photo albums. Anton was particularly great showing off the capabilities of the Wii's Internet Channel, and since it was a party, nobody was surprised or upset when partygoers spontaneously decided to play Wii Sports as well. :)

On Friday, Charlie and I wandered around a little bit before grabbing dinner at a Thai restaurant. Charlie got to witness his first San Francisco protest rally, with everyone on bicycles. Actually, I had never seen that before either.

I got home on Saturday, and by Sunday, I was laid up in bed after a crazy week of fires, work, and work-related partying. It was one of those perspective-changing weeks you never forget. All in all, even though my physical condition is still not 100%, there's plenty to smile about.

My new Flickr account

2007-05-02T00:07:00.000-07:00

My backlog of items I want to blog about continues to grow. In the last few months, I've done a lot of traveling, attended a bunch of events, read a lot of interesting things, etc. There's more than enough to write about, but lately, I've been playing around with Flickr instead. Flickr is nice and easy because I have a lot of old photos lying around, and uploading and organizing them doesn't require much writing at all.

Please feel free to check out my photos here: http://flickr.com/photos/lawmune

Upcoming talk: Otaku in America

2007-04-10T17:37:00.000-07:00

Anime Punch two weekends ago was great (and I'll write about it soon), but now I have to prepare for more travel. This time, I'm headed back to Texas.

On Thursday, I'll be giving a talk at the University of North Texas. I've been invited by their Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures to talk about my work on otaku culture in the US.

Here's the summary:

"The International Evolution of the Otaku Concept: Otaku culture in Japan and the United States". April 12th, 6:00-7:00 PM, Curry Hall 104

Come and explore the origins and history of the otaku phenomenon in Japan, and how the otaku concept has changed in the last two decades (in both Japan and the US). What can we learn from studying anime fans in America? What are the social implications of the otaku lifestyle? Hosted by Lawrence Eng, longtime anime fan and Otaku Studies scholar, all of these issues (and more) will be discussed.

Meet me at Anime Punch this weekend

2007-03-29T14:42:00.000-08:00

Quick note before I get on a plane to Columbus:

I'll be at Anime Punch this weekend as an invited guest. I'll be on the "Anime in Academia" panel at 2PM on Saturday and doing the "Otaku Studies" panel at 3PM on Saturday. I'm also helping Lillian Olsen with her "Kimono" panel at 1PM on Saturday and her "Shounen Manga" panel at noon on Sunday. I might participate on a few other panels, as well. Like last year, I'll have some cool stuff to give out (to people who earn it) during my otaku panel, and I'll definitely have some Opera gear to give out as well.

SXSW

2007-03-11T18:42:00.000-08:00

In case you don't keep up with my Opera blog, I'm in Austin, Texas for a few days for South by Southwest (SXSW). We (Opera) have a nice booth presence at the event this year. So far, we've had a great time, talking with a ton of people who want to know more about the things we're cooking up in Oslo and sharing with the world. Come by to the Opera booth and say hi if you're around.

Copycat movie posters?

2007-01-26T16:14:00.001-08:00

Has anyone else noticed the similarity between the movie posters of the current top 5 movies in the US?

You can view the posters on IMDB's "Now Playing" page, or if you're reading this after the fact, here are the 5 movies I'm talking about:

1. Stomp the Yard
2. Night at the Museum
3. Dreamgirls
4. The Hitcher
5. The Pursuit of Happyness

(I'm referring, of course, to the use of lighting and silhouetted main characters.)

Technical Difficulties

2007-01-14T11:24:00.000-08:00

Ever since I switched to the new, non-beta version of Blogger, I've been having some problems with this blog. Those of you who access this content via RSS have probably noticed a lot of weird stuff going on. Anyhow, I apologize for that and am working to get things fixed as soon as possible. In the meantime, I've been more active recently on Opera Otaku, my Opera browser-related blog. Feel free to head over there and leave comments if you like.

Returning to the world of anime otaku

2006-12-05T15:56:00.000-08:00

Two months have gone by since I posted here last. It's not that I don't have stuff I want to write about. It's mostly that I have been so absorbed in my new job at Opera. I haven't had time to pursue some of my old interests. That's set to change, however, at least briefly. There are a couple of otaku-related events coming up that I'll be attending.

Japanamerica launch party

First of all, my friend Roland Kelts just released a book called Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S.. I met Roland after a seminar I gave last summer on otaku culture in Japan and the US. In the months that followed, he interviewed me for his book. I haven't read it yet, but supposedly, I have some quotes in it. I'll review it as soon as I get a copy.

Anyhow, Roland invited me to the book's launch party tomorrow in Manhattan (at The Cutting Room). I'm really looking forward to it (believe it or not, I kind of miss the east coast's cold weather).

More information on the book can be found here: Japanamerica by Roland Kelts.

Anime Punch! 2007

Last year, I was invited to be a guest at Anime Punch!, an up-and-coming anime convention in Columbus, Ohio. I had a great time, and I'm happy to announce that they've graciously invited me back for the 2007 event in late March. If you can attend, please stop by one of my panels. I'll most definitely talk about otaku culture again, but I'll try to come up with some new panels as well. Suggestions are always welcome, and I'll try to be more active this year on the con's official forums. When the con date gets closer, I'll post more details.

Attn: Friends of Robert Anton Wilson

2006-10-04T15:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I came across the sobering news that Robert Anton Wilson (RAW for short) is in poor physical condition and desperately needs financial assistance. Some may know him as the co-author of the cult classic Illuminatus Trilogy, and others have enjoyed his mind-bendingly profound and funny works of non-fiction. Traces of his work can be found all over pop culture for those who know where to look.

Anyhow, RAW's plight was blogged about on Monday and his friends have put out a general call for donations to make his final days just a little more pleasant. I know firsthand how bad healthcare costs can be in the US, and RAW's works have affected me more than a little, so I've already sent in my $50, and I'm certainly not the only one who felt the need to do so. The outpouring of goodwill from RAW's fans has been an amazing thing to witness.

If you don't know RAW's works firsthand, perhaps you know lainspotting because of my anime site, thought experiments lain. There are probably a lot of things in my life that would be very different if I hadn't read the collected works of Robert Anton Wilson, but I know for sure that TEL would not have happened without him. Much of my analysis of serial experiments lain is based on principles and ideas I was exposed to through RAW. I mention him on the website more than once, and I feel good knowing that maybe a few anime fans learned about him through my work.

I had the pleasure of hearing RAW speak in person in 1999, less than a month after his wife of over 40 years passed away. He looked very tired, but he still showed up for the speaking engagement in a small bookstore in Riverside, California. He was everything I expected and more, and I only wish I had taken the opportunity to speak to him. Today, I consider it an honor to help out a man who has helped so many others through his writing, and who has always presented himself humbly despite his unique and great gifts.

Big Changes

2006-08-27T04:37:00.000-07:00

After a several month break from posting, I'm finally back! In case you don't know where I've been, I was writing my doctoral dissertation (on otaku culture in America, especially anime and manga fandom). As of 3 weeks ago, I completed all the requirements for my PhD. Some 25 years of schooling (kindergarten through grad school) are behind me at last.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of the interviewees and those of you I hung out with during the course of my research. If you volunteered to be interviewed and I didn't get around to you, I'm sorry we weren't able to sit down and chat some more, but thank you nonetheless for your enthusiasm and willingness to help. Our interactions, though brief, were still important to me.

Getting my PhD feels great, but I'm excited about things coming up, as well. Many graduating PhDs scour the job market for academic jobs, and I did that a little bit, but I ultimately decided to do something a little different. Readers of lainspotting and especially Opera Otaku know that I'm a big fan of the Opera browser and the company that makes it. Starting in September, I will be working for Opera Software full time at their San Diego branch office. (Because of my very recent move from New York to California, I haven't had time to write until now.) Long time readers will remember that I wrote an article about branding and Opera back in early 2005, and I visited Opera's main headquarters in Oslo, Norway last summer. As such, I've had an informal relationship with the company for quite awhile now. With the completion of my degree, I'm happy to become a full-fledged member of the Opera team.

Utilizing my research background, a major part of my work will involve really getting to know American users of Opera: die-hard fans and casual users alike. Furthermore, I'll be talking with people who don't use the browser to determine how Opera might better serve their needs as well. Once I start my new job, I'm sure I'll be writing more (either here or elsewhere) about my experience of working at Opera, so stay tuned!

My Otaku Room

2006-05-29T17:11:00.000-07:00

For the Weekly Anime Review episode featuring an interview with yours truly, Aaron used an image of an otaku's room. Someone asked me if the picture was of my room. It isn't. While I like figures, I don't collect a whole lot of them. I mostly collect posters, artbooks, and other rare stuff I can get ahold of related to my favorite anime.

I've posted photos of my home office / anime-haven before, but it's been awhile. The following photos are the most recent, taken about a year ago (before Rowan was born). Since then, in order to put in Rowan's crib and changing table, I have moved some things around and removed the guest bed. (Rowan still gets to enjoy the posters, though.) Except for select titles that I like to have close by, I keep my modest anime and manga collection in other rooms (such as the living room where my TV and PS2 reside). Naturally, since these photos are over a year old and I don't typically throw things away, I have more stuff now.

Talking About Otaku with Weekly Anime Review

2006-05-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

I'm too busy these days to write much here, and I expect it will be like that for the next two months, but if you'd like to literally hear me talk about otaku, I was recently interviewed by Aaron of Weekly Anime Review, an excellent podcast that I mentioned previously on lainspotting. The interview is the main feature of the latest episode, found here: Episode 33 - Otaku Studies With Lawrence Eng

I was on a cell phone, so my voice is definitely muffled, but if you turn up the volume, you should be able to hear what I'm saying. I'm much more comfortable writing out my thoughts than articulating them verbally, especially in an unscripted interview (as opposed to a formal presentation), but it was a nice change of pace (since I'm the one who usually does the interviewing) and I think it turned out pretty well. If you're visiting this site for the first time because you heard the interview, welcome! (There's a lot of material spread out all over the place, so feel free to explore.)

In case people were wondering, my conversation with Aaron was actually longer than what's presented, but he edited some stuff out to keep things on topic. For example, we spent some time talking about my lain website and how it came about. In general, Aaron did a great job of editing. The only weird bit I noticed was when I was talking about Kino's Journey, and then it abruptly jumped to me talking about otaku again, but other than that, the editing was smooth.

Earliest mentions of "otaku" in anime or manga?

2006-05-17T21:33:00.000-07:00

The last couple of posts have been very text-intensive, so here's a quick question and a chance for me to post a nice image.

Does anyone reading this know the earliest usage of the term "otaku" (in the uber-fan sense) in an anime or manga? All you masters of old school anime, here's your chance to show your stuff.

The earliest usage I know of is in Volume 2 of Gainax's Aim for the Top! Gunbuster (one of my all time favorites), released on January 1st, 1989 (on VHS). Noriko is called an otaku by Kazumi in the science lessons following episode 4. You can look at the translated script here: "Top wo Nerae -- GunBuster -- Vol. 2"

Takaya Noriko from Gunbuster
If you know any earlier anime or manga mentions of "otaku" (as fans), feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. Thanks!

A different perspective on Japan's "Otaku Boom"

2006-05-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I came across the following article on the Mainichi Daily News site, in the WaiWai section (which generally features tabloid journalism): Self-professed 'real otaku' rips into 'moe' fetish fakers.

While the article, featuring harsh commentary by manga artist Mimei Sakamoto, is clearly meant to ruffle feathers and create a stir, it provides an interesting perspective on otaku identity politics in Japan. The article brings up some points that I'd like to discuss.

Non-otaku in the mainstream Japan criticizing otaku culture is nothing new. Less common are those people who are deep into otaku culture who have a problem with either a) certain subfactions of otaku, and/or b) mainstream perceptions of otaku. Previously, when otaku were still heavily discriminated against (in the years following the Miyazaki incident), we had well-known figures such as Toshio Okada and Takashi Murakami speaking up in defense of otaku culture. Now, however, as otaku have become more mainstream and accepted in Japanese society, we have otaku such as Toru Honda and Mimei Sakamoto speaking out against the current "otaku boom", but each with a very different message.

As I wrote about in an earlier blog post, Toru Honda is a hardcore otaku who speaks in favor of otaku culture, but is not pleased with the sterile and cutesy image of otaku that now dominates Japanese media. Instead, Honda prefers to emphasize the darker and more dangerous side of otaku (i.e. the extreme otaku who prefer stylized 2D female characters over real life women). Mimei Sakamoto, who also considers herself an otaku, is likewise displeased with the new glamorization of otaku culture. In direct contrast to Honda, however, Sakamoto's main criticism is that celebrating otaku who are unstylish and interested in moe has the unfortunate side effect of justifying the darker side of otaku obsessiveness (a side she definitely disapproves of).

In particular, Sakamoto rails against moe as being "pedophiliac fetish" and "nothing more than perversion", and also criticizes otaku for being "incapable of recognizing reality" and being "incapable of being in a normal loving relationship". In response to this, I feel compelled to defend moe in principle because I don't think there is anything wrong with or perverse about enjoying well-drawn characters and finding them attractive, any more than it's wrong to feel attracted to an interesting character in a novel or television show.

It is true that some anime and game characters designed to be attractive to otaku are very young looking (clearly drawn to look like minors, in other words), a fact that has certain moral implications to be worked out by the individual who chooses whether or not to like them. So far, in the United States, even when such drawings are explicitly pornographic (and most of them are not), they have been deemed legal and protected speech, in that they do not directly harm real life children (unlike actual child pornography which is widely agreed to be a form of child exploitation and abuse).

Sakamoto's argument against moe on the basis that it is "pedophiliac" suffers when one considers that a) not all moe characters look like children, b) moe characters are not always portrayed in a sexualized manner, and c) those who appreciate young characters do not necessarily view them in a sexual way (in fact, some people define moe as having nothing to do with sexual feelings).

That said, I do understand somewhat where Sakamoto is coming from. While there is plenty of innocuous moe stuff out there (a lot of it is just really cute), one cannot deny the existence of some moe that portrays young characters in less than innocent ways, and whatever you think about such images, it's not surprising that Sakamoto is upset by them. The bigger issue is whether or not such images should be banned completely. According to an Anime News Network poll conducted last year, about 39% of American anime fans do not think they should banned, 20% think they should be banned in certain situations, but not others, while only 29% think they should be banned completely (the remaining 12% were undecided). When debating the issue, many fans defend such images on the basis of free speech (and a perspective that denies the existence of thought crimes), though they also respect that not everyone has to personally like or approve of such images, and certainly noone should be forced to look at them.

Sakamoto brings up a related issue that is even more controversial--the "idolizing" of young girls in Japan (which is more than just an otaku thing). U-15 (under 15) idol stars appear to be gaining in popularity in Japan, but not without some serious concern and criticism. Like Sakamoto, I see this (the popularity of sexualized young idols) as a disturbing trend; it seems very close to being (or maybe just is) a form of child exploitation. Young models exist in the US as well, but they aren't as mainstream here, and they too are surrounded by a fair bit of controversy.

In contrast, Sakamoto's complaint about otaku liking "women wearing spectacles" seems unimportant, akin to complaining about men liking women who wear swimsuits at the beach. Being angry at those who fetishize glasses-wearing seems unnecessary at best, intolerant at worst, similar to her displeasure regarding those "guys walking around in thick glasses and checkered shirts". (I've never been a master of fashion, but my wife likes me just fine, thank you very much.)

Sakamoto is not necessarily wrong to question otaku who are "incapable of recognizing reality" and "incapable of being in a normal loving relationship", assuming that most of us agree that reality and healthy relationships are important. There are some otaku who really are like that, and maybe they could use some help. It's important to note, however, that not all (or even most) otaku are thus afflicted; hopefully, Sakamoto realizes that.

While I think Sakamoto is overly harsh and often overgeneralizes, I do appreciate the fact that she is willing to speak out against specific things she does not like about otaku culture, and the specific way it is being popularized in Japan.

To me, not all moe is as bad as she makes it out to be. Likewise, not all otaku are incapable of healthy social relations. On the other hand, I do think it's somewhat of a shame that when talking about otaku, the Japanese media focuses so heavily on moe and otaku who have trouble socializing with non-otaku. Light-hearted news segments about 'weird otaku' and business reports regarding the massive amounts of money moe generates for the Japanese economy have overshadowed any serious discussion of the deeper sociological (and moral) issues surrounding otaku culture.

From my perspective, there are so many interesting things about otaku that are almost never talked about. Sakamoto touches on one of those things in her complaint that "otaku are caught up in this money making cycle and all they're doing is spending their hard-earned yen". The way that otaku choose to consume and engage with media and other technology is a topic close to my heart. Maybe the situation is different for otaku in Japan (since Japanese otaku are the direct target audience for many anime), but I feel that otaku in America have a long history of having a certain amount of control over their media consumption, that they are able to consume on their own terms, whether by maintaining vast fansub networks that exist outside of mainstream distribution channels, or by maintaining close relations and open dialogue with American anime publishers. (My forthcoming PhD dissertation will discuss this further)

Finally, I can't quite make sense of the final paragraph about "real otaku" shutting themselves away from the world. Perhaps the translation was poor. Reading that paragraph, I wonder if Sakamoto has some significant self-esteem issues, if she feels conflicted about her otaku identity. While the mainstreaming of all things labeled "otaku" is not necessarily good for society, her solution of locking oneself up seems even more destructive (and reminiscent of Japan's hikikomori problem).

Apple TV commercial disses geeks?

2006-05-11T22:30:00.000-07:00

Well, not precisely, but close enough. I consider myself an Apple fan, but I'm not a huge fan of the commercial ("Network") in question.

If you haven't seen it yet, here it is.

The important part to note is the Japanese dialogue spoken by the digital camera woman. After some basic pleasantries, her last line can be translated to "he looks kinda otaku-ish".

Now, regular readers of this blog or people familar with my writings and research in general have heard me talk about otaku over and over. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, I'll point you to my most commonly-cited otaku essay: "The Politics of Otaku" (which has links to more information). To make a long story short, it's not wholly inaccurate to translate 'otaku' as 'geek'. There are some important distinctions between 'otaku' and 'geek', but they are very closely related ('anorak' might be even better, but only British readers will get that).

So why am I bringing this up? I have to say that I was somewhat surprised to see 'otaku' used in the Apple ad that way. Of course, most Americans watching the ad won't know what she said, and the main point of the ad is simply that the PC guy doesn't know how to communicate with the Japanese digital camera woman, leading to an awkward moment for him. It also appears that the Mac guy and the digital camera woman are sharing an inside joke, chuckling while the PC guy is forced to look on, feeling excluded.

Of course, with the internet, it's very easy for television viewers to find out what she said, and as it turns out, she was mentioning how the PC guy looked kind of like an otaku (or a geek, or nerd if you prefer), and then laughed about it with the Mac guy.

Why did they have her say that? Yes, it's true that otaku are not always looked upon very highly by certain segments of Japanese society, but did Apple really want the protagonist of their commercial to engage in or sympathize with outright mocking of otaku/geeks? It seems a little distasteful. After all, don't we affectionately consider Jobs and Wozniak to be geeks? Furthermore, in the last year, otaku have enjoyed a wave of positive media attention in Japan [see my article The Evolution of Otaku Concept for more discussion of that].

Another weird thing about the statement she made is that the PC guy doesn't look anything like an otaku. Now, I'm not a fan of physical stereotyping, and I know that otaku come in all shapes and sizes, and are not restricted to any particular "look", but given the PC guy's conservative and business formal attire, I can't figure out why she would say he looks like an otaku. She might be referring to his general build, haircut, and/or glasses, and if that's the case, it's even more shocking that Apple would have a commercial making fun of those things. Maybe the guy doesn't have the look and presence of an action movie star, but so what? What ever happened to the philosophy behind the Apple Switch ads featuring regular looking people as the stars?

Just like in the US, there are people in Japan (many of whom might be considered otaku) who are really into Apple Computer products. Why would the company risk alienating its otaku userbase in Japan, not to mention all the PC-using otaku? Apple is all about passionate, free-spirited, and iconoclastic users, so such an ad is an odd contradiction and possibly a foolish move.

There are the plenty of Americans (anime and manga fans, mostly) who call themselves 'otaku', as well. This ad doesn't speak very well to them, either.

To me, the most ironic thing is that this commercial might very well be the most widely broadcasted use of the word 'otaku' in American television history. Let's hope Apple (or whoever else) does it better next time.

[Thanks to Lillian for providing the translation]