Time was, people would go to the Akihabara (ah-ki-HAH-bah-rah, meaning “field of autumn leaves”) area of Tokyo to buy some cool electronics, browse a wide selection of computers, or maybe hunt for vintage console game software. Today, “Electric Town” is still the single best place to find cool gadgetry in Japan — although the Internet probably fills this need for a lot more customers than in the past — but the region is also becoming a “Mecca” of otaku culture for everything from anime figures to doujinshi to cosplay pubs and more. Over the weekend I spent a day rediscovering my own otaku roots, waiting in line with a thousand or so fans of Gainax’s “Aim for the Top” series, trying to get tickets to a special mash-up of the original Gunbuster and the new FLCL-ified sequel, complete with the voice actors from both series at the showing. I didn’t get in to see the show, so I drowned my sorrows at a maid cafe and headed home.
ごめん、紀美子。もう、会えない！ (I’m sorry, Kimoko, I’ll never see you again!) Part of my anguish is that Noriko Hidaka, the voice of Noriko, is also the voice of Minami Asakura of Touch fame, who was “moe” before they had a term for it (hell, before the word otaku had been coined, back in 1986 when Komiket only only up to 22 or so). Man, I would have loved to been in her presence even though she’s a 60 year old woman who can play 15 year old girl roles. But it was not to be…
