Please note that this is the incomplete essay since I didn't have time to cover everything I wanted due to my deadline, but the essay WILL be updated when I have the time.
Mabel Escobar
World Literature
03/17/14
The Otaku Community
There's
a lot about the otaku community that one can cover, but rather than doing so,
we shall go over the effects that anime and manga have on the community. Anime
and manga have long since been the escapism of many social outcasts,
but through their love of this unique form of art, they have learned to achieve
social skills in a safe format as well as connect with each other regardless of
their gender, sexuality, or even race. They don't let distance dictate their
love for the genre or their friendships, but rather the passion that they hold
for it. In here, we shall look at the several layers of anime and manga, the
sub-communities that lay within them, and the importance it is to the
overall global community. But first and foremost, a little history to explain
what is anime and manga.
The Beginnings of Manga and Anime and the War That Shaped It:
It's
1945, World War Two is coming to a close, and Japan has surrendered to the
United States. To insure that Japan stays under control, the U.S. made a base
on the island and took over temporarily. In the years that followed, comics
that had once been heavily censored and forced into propaganda art flourished
in a more open censorship regime. Suddenly the giant publishing companies
working for the government were left in ruins, and a new form of manga, called
akahon (literally "red books") was produced at an extremely cheap
price. One of those artists of the akahon mangas would be Osamu Tezuka,
considered the father of modern day manga. One of the roots of manga, though,
can be accredited in part to kibyôshi and gôkan. Kibyôshi were
woodcut illustrations with stories written on top of the
illustrations that ranged from a wide variety of genres. Gôkan were
multiple volumes of kibyôshi.
But
the main root of manga, surprisingly, were the four panel comic strips from the
US and Europe that had reached Japan. Many of early manga artists imitated the
style of the four-panel stage directory comics until Tezuka changed the style
of manga to it's now classic cinematographic design, where the panels
take pages and an emphasis on facial expressions and movement were given. This
would be the birth of the modern day manga.
Japanimation: The Great Migration to the Western World:
Anime
and manga had a good twenty years or so to develop its iconic style before it
had spread towards the US—and the rest of the Western World. In the 1960's
Tezuka's hit manga and anime Tetsuwan Atomu (Mighty Atom) was
broadcasted in the US under the name Astro Boy. This would be America's first
taste of what would later be a world-wide phenomenon: anime. Manga soon
followed in pirated and translated versions that made its’ way across through
Europe and eventually the Americas. There, it found itself a niche amongst
people who would later make the community flourish.
But
the transition was not an easy one. Japanese censorship differed greatly from
American censorship, so when magazine produced legal copies of mangas to sell
off in the US, they received many complaints from parents talking about the
excessive violence and the sexually charged topics. Due to such complaints,
manga had heavy restricted access, and would cut off the types of mangas they
would translate. But this would offshoot a new breed of manga magazines: shoujo
mangas.
Shoujo
mangas were generally mangas aimed and produced by women, and veered off from
violence and headed more to an emotional, romantic, and sometimes psychological
approach. Many shoujos were considered “slice of life”, where it would go
through the lives of their protagonist as they have to deal with whatever came
at them. But the most popular of shoujo mangas, both in Japan and in the US,
where the “Magical Girl” mangas, where a group of girls would transform into
superheroes and fight against supernatural enemies and for the greater good.
The manga that would set this in motion is one that nearly all know by now:
Sailor Moon.
In
the early 80, MixxZine magazine (now known as Tokyo Pop) built up hype over the
new release of the first few chapters of Sailor Moon, and girls everywhere ate
up the chance to see female protagonists in a positive light. Due to budget
constraints, MixxZine put together not only classic shoujo mangas, but highly
anticipated shonen mangas in one thick volume to compete with the current
top-dog Viz Media. Because of this marketing scheme, many people bought the
magazine for a certain manga, only to discover new mangas and styles that would
hook them deeper into the community and keep them coming back. This was the
beginning of the US craze of manga and anime.
In the Closet: Anime and Manga's Influence in the Sexuality
Circles:
Gay
manga known as yaoi was initially created in fan-circles as doujinshis, or fan
made comics, by women who thought it would be great to have extremely masculine
men do out of character activities that included sleeping with other men. What
had started as a joke quickly spring formed into a whole new genre that spread
across the fan-circles, quickly became professional and legitimate mangas. But
it must be said that yaoi is not aimed at gay men, but rather women who tended
to be heterosexual. Gay men had their own form of manga and entertainment, and
usually did not follow the angsty distinct style of yaoi.
Soon
thereafter, another form of manga was reached: yuri. Yuri, literally meaning
water lily, was coined from a magazine aimed at gay men to include lesbians of
Japan. But as the genre grew, so did its audience. Suddenly yuri was aimed at
men just as yaoi was aimed at women. Though the extent of this shift was not as
extreme as it sister genre, this would later cause a rift in the community.
Yaoi
would jump from Japan to the US, where it would grab a hold and never let go.
Suddenly the Western world was caught up in the craze, and because it was
considered "legitimate" mangas, a new problem happened: the
fetisization of the queer community. On one hand, many women and men who read the
"gay mangas" would later on discover their sexuality in a safe
environment, they would then have to contend with people making erotica based
solely on their sexuality and marketing to a whole different group. This caused
a giant backlash in the US, where queer otakus would turn their back on the
community when the very same community began turning them into nothing more
than fetishized erotica.
Bishoujos: The Women in Manga:
Woman had small roles in the making of mangas as well as in actual mangas. Most
of the time, the role of women were to give the male protagonist a goal, or a
reason to pursue a goal, while female mangakas (manga artists) were few and far
between. But as sudden as the increase popularity of manga became apparent, so
did the increase of manga aimed at women became increased.
At
first, the mangas tended to be written by men who wrote about relationships
between mother and daughters or romance that young women experienced. But soon
thereafter, the girls who grew up on those mangas pursued careers as mangakas,
creating their own distinct style and creating the genre we now know as shoujo.
Because of this new profound diversity, mangas outreach took to new heights,
especially in the US, where girls had little say in the comic industry despite
being a surprisingly large consumer of them.
Many
female mangakas and shoujo manga reject Confucianism view of women meekness and
obedience, instead preferring to have fleshes out characters and three
dimensional personalities. This caused a boom in feministic mangas, and an
increased effect of introducing many more females to the movement.
Otaku: Reclaiming the Name and Western Outlook:
The
label otaku has many negative connotations in Japan, mainly stemming from the
Otaku Killer, a serial killer with a lolicon complex who happened to be an
otaku. He would kidnap young girls, abuse and mutilate them, and eventually
kill them. Even though he had only three confirmed killings, it was through him
that the stigma was enforced. Otaku is a Japanese word literally meaning
"in one's house," or to be "shut in one's house". The
closest English term one could give would be geek or nerd. The problem with
that is that geek and nerd are very specific. Nerds tend to obsess over academia
and math, while geeks tend to obsess over fandom related topic. Otaku, on the
other hand, refers to someone who is obsessed with something to the point that
their whole lives revolve around it. And while it's usually linked with anime
and manga, a person can be an otaku to anything. For clarity reasons, whenever
the word otaku is mentioned in this essay, one should assume the definition of
one who is obsessed with anime and manga.
In
recent years, many people have reclaimed the label otaku and reject the
stigmatization aligned with it. This mainly in part to how large and diverse
the community is and also to the fact that Westerners do not have the same
connotation of otaku for themselves. As such, many western anime/manga fans,
especially those in the US, claim to be otakus, despite having no real
knowledge to what the label means or signifies. Still, for many Westerners who do known what the label means
continue to use it with pride to show that they have reclaimed the label as
theirs.
But
the western world was not completely free from the stigma of loving anime and
manga. When it initially was brought to US, hentai (or stylized porn in manga
format) was the first to make it through customs, bringing with it the stigma
that all anime and mangas were about sexual deviancy. Still, the community
pressed forward, trying to disprove the myths that surround it.
The Philosophy of Naruto: A Fresh New View on Religion and
Philosophy:
Philosophy
and religion hold a surprisingly important role in manga and anime. Most of the
time, the protagonist has an inner turmoil or conflict going on as they battle
their outside conflicts. Other times, the show the scope of human nature and
how far a person can be pushed. One of these example is the hit manga and anime
series Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden (literally meaning Hurricane Chronicles).
The
manga started in 1998 as your standard humor/adventure shonen manga. But after
the first few chapters, the manga gained wild popularity and Masashi Kishimoto,
the author of Naruto, would then shift away from humor in the now world famous
manga and delve deeper into human nature and psychology. He showed the effects
of nurture vs. nature when he created the foil character Gaara to Naruto (the
titular character). He displayed the effects of ostracization and persecution,
and how one can overcome those effects. Throughout the whole series, the
consequences of ones actions, how they react to life, and the paths they take
are covered, to form the interesting philosophy of Naruto: that the path you take
is your own, but that with perseverance one can achieve their goals. It's about
bettering yourself and giving it all you got. It's about no matter how bad life
gets, you have to retain hope and keep on going.
Many
people feel affected by this philosophy and tend to take up the lifestyle it
suggests. The popularity of Naruto and its widespread reach also has effects on
many communities outside of Japan, chiefly the US and England, which are
considered hotspots for anime and manga in the Western world. With its
relatable characters, and empathetic look on the down trodden, the philosophy
of Naruto has prevailed in much of the community, and many mangas that share its
popularity also have a similar outlook on life and religion.
The World Wide Web: How the Internet Transformed the Otaku
Circles:
In
the 1990's, the Internet was created, and suddenly manga became readily
available to anyone around the world. People would buy copies of manga in its
untranslated form (called raws), scan them, and then translate them in the new,
designated language. The process is called scanlation, and gave many people a
chance to learn Japanese and immerse themselves deeper into the culture. With
these new scanlated copies, the world had quick, and most importantly, free
access to mangas that once where only available to middle and upper white
class.
But
the effect was devastating towards manga magazines who made money by
translating official legal copies and selling them as hard copies. To keep up
with their new competitors, many magazines turned digital, creating websites
where people could buy volumes of manga and anime and preview upcoming works.
But there was one effect no one anticipated: the globalization.
Before
the internet, many people only found out about anime and manga through friends
or accidentally stumbling upon it in some specialty book stores. But
afterwards, all it took was a quick word search to be introduced to the world
of anime and manga. Suddenly people who initially had no one to talk to about
their newfound interests had access to talk to people around the world, helping
them socialize and make lasting friendship. By then, the community had been
formed into a large, working entity.
The Weaboo Phase: Becoming Self Aware:
Weaboo
is to Westerners as otaku is to Japanese. But it takes it a step further.
Weaboo used to be known as wapanese, AKA Wannabe Japanese. They were
considered, by some hardcore otakus, to be "fake fans". The term
wapanese mutated to weaboo as a form of insult, due to the fact many weaboo
pretend to know Japanese. The word was created to sound more "Japanese
like" and, linguistically speaking, holds and interesting history.
But
the slur held a different consequence than initially expected. Many people who
would be labeled weaboo (which strictly a Western term, as there is no
"weaboo phase" in Japan), would then look at their actions
retrospectively, and grow to the mature, and sometimes hardcore, otakus. This
would help the community strengthened its unity as it was felt as an
"initiation" process of sorts, and help solidify people's love for
the community.
Interviews of an Otaku: The Outreach of the Culture:
Many
people who've claim the label of otaku and consider themselves part of the
community were first introduced, non-surprisingly, by family members. Most
claim that they because of their love for anime and manga, they were able to
make friends with people who have similar interests and help bolster their
confidence. Manga makes them feel part of a wider, global community, and helps
them feel like they fit in within society.
Globalization
has never been more apparent until now, and it's through the love manga and
anime that a worldwide community has been made, creating lasting friendships,
helping people reach out and socialize, and eventually, help them better
understand themselves. It’s an interesting concept to say the least; a usually
anti-social community helping its members socialize and thrive in everyday
society. Whatever label you put on it, there is no denying the impact it has
made upon the world. And while it’s true that the community is relatively new,
it has proven time and time again, to withstand any pressure and still prevail.
Only time will tell where this interesting subculture will lead.
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