Japanese Otaku girl needs your advice.

[koonchu]

Hi All! This is actually my very first post to Animesuki and it's kind of a big deal for me and (I think) the anime community as a whole.

A very close friend of mine is young, cute, Japanese, and has briefly worked in the anime industry (Imagine a girl who looks and talks like Konata of Lucky Star, only with black hair). She came to the U.S. a short while ago with the mindset to study multimedia production and possibly return to Japan. This would have remained a typical story, except for the fact that she fell in love with the U.S. culture.

Maybe out of a sense of embarrassment and shyness, she didn't join any U.S. otaku clubs. However, her love of anime and manga blossomed more and more each day. She eventually began going to the comic convention, visiting comic stores and basically commandeering the manga section at her Borders bookstore. She's slowly realized that anime has played a crucial role in her life, and it shouldn't be anything she has to hide.

It dawned on her recently that she likes to talk about anime (with a few non-Otaku friends), but she would like to share her experiences of it with more people. Now, she's not a walking anime encyclopedia, but she was there during the late 80's explosion and lived through what she calls "the Golden Age of Ranma." This is a girl who will always point out that "Red River" 天は赤い河のほとり is "trashy beautiful!" This is a girl who walked out of "Howl's Moving Castle" and said "I feel bad for Miyazaki. It is obvious he is losing his mind." Quite simply, I have never heard of any Japanese anime fangirl talk so sincerely (even if I don't agree).

I suggested that she use her love of anime and her multimedia skills to start some type of youtube review series. I told her she could speak in Japanese, subtitle it and make friends with a whole new community.

This blew her mind.

She immediately crossed her forearms (making an "X") and rejected the idea using some not-so-nice Japanese phrases.

Months passed and I get a phone call.

"My dream is to make a bridge between Japan and U.S. If I do this, what can I talk about? People don't wanna hear about me or my opinions!" she said.

I didn't know how to reply. Working from my own likes and dislikes, I would LOVE to hear/watch the opinions of what it was like to see Hakusho premiere, or be there during the first promos of Sailormoon.

And so this is what I am asking of the AnimeSuki community:

What would you like to see? What would you like to learn? Is this something anyone would be interested in?

I understand she's scared that the anime community would totally reject her, but I don't think so. I think this is a good risk for her to take. Of course, if I see a strong response, I will show her this thread and encourage her to make Animesuki a place she could regularly haunt.

Though this is my first post, I have depended upon the animesuki community for years and completely believe in what it stands for.

Thank you all for reading. I look forward to any responses. I am crossing my fingers for a HUGE response.
-K

[N-Bomb]

I don't think that this person should bother. The anime market here is probably about as big as it's going to get for the next 10-15 years until the next cycle rolls around. Anything this person does (BTW, konata is one of the most annoying fictional characters I've ever witnessed next to John Leguizamo in The Pest) will most likely only garner the usual limited following on Youtube or whatever, and not be a 'big deal to the anime community as a whole."

To answer your questions: not much, not much, and not me in particular.

I wish this person all the luck, but feel it would likely be a waste of time.

[Vexx]

First... it was rather difficult figuring out what the OP was talking about or asking, but he seemed passionate so I pressed on.

I don't see any "risk" here. If she wants to blog about her views on anime (be it via youtube or just posting), there's simply no risk unless she's unable to stand someone possibly disagreeing with her thoughts.

@N-bomb: it isn't a waste of time if she's enjoying it. People happily blog with no expectation of whether anyone will read it or not.

If she's cute and articulates well --- she'll definitely have a fandom of groupie fanboys and could even be a bit of a net-idol. It will probably not be a huge following. Animesuki is not the entire anime community -- in fact there are only a thousand or so very regular posters I imagine.

The main advice I'd give in regard to any content she delivers is to focus on current series, current trends in otaku land, and related pop material. It might also be interesting to see various views of how Japanese otaku view gaijin fans.

[koonchu]

N-Bomb: lol. Thanks for your opinions. I don't quite think her goal is to expand the anime market. She's not interested in making a dime. Maybe bridging the cultural gap and making a few friends.

Vexx: Sorry, I write for a living and I can get long-winded. As far as your advice, it's wonderful! It's not always an obvious thing to focus on current trends since there are alot of people who are die-hard passionate about old-school stuff.

0utf0xZer0: lol. I'm posting this for her benefit. And no, I'm not scared off yet. I used to do admin work for 4chan back in the day. It's going to take more than one sour view to deter me. Besides, I only just posted this today.

[0utf0xZer0]

Originally Posted by Vexx

If she's cute and articulates well --- she'll definitely have a fandom of groupie fanboys and could even be a bit of a net-idol.

I'm hoping you didn't just scare her off. Honestly, we're not that scary.

I'm quite interested in the differences between the Japanese and western anime fandoms, so I'd really be interested in hearing what she has to say about that.

[oompa loompa]

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

I'm hoping you didn't just scare her off. Honestly, we're not that scary.

I'm quite interested in the differences between the Japanese and western anime fandoms, so I'd really be interested in hearing what she has to say about that.

I agree, I dont know how long this will last, or how well it will work at all, but I would be interested in atleast hearing what she has to say

[Sinestra]

I had to re-read it a few times but i think i generally get whats this is going.
Now i admire your friend for wanting to build a bridge between Japan and the US its very Big of her to want to take on such a task. If she is having fun blogging or just chatting regularly on AS that alone could draw people to her. Most males hear about a female anime lover and they freakin nuts. This could be use to her advantage to attract people to her and allow to share her thoughts.

Blogging anime episodes is very popular and if she articulate and has a personality that just attracts others to her it could be what she looking for. Theres nothing like having a native of Japan share their thoughts on anime, fashion, or just pop culture in general coming out of Japan i would suggest she start and stick with those categories for the time being.

Having Japanese fans and US fans interact would creat better understanding and we can see just where our differences are in likes and dislikes with the whole otaku culture. I would tell her to reach out her hand and touch as many people as possible share her thoughts dont be afraid. Its definitely not a waste of time anything worth doing is not easy nor just given.

Tell her to stop on by AS and just chat it up for a bit but in the grand scheme of anime AS is just a small part even though i for one consider it one of the best but then again i am basis.

[Shadow Kira01]

A long post which I did put the time to read it once. However, I got to admit.. I don't really understand what kind of advice the TC seeks..

So, there is a fujoshi who came to America to study multimedia production and got interested in the US culture. Then, she plans on forming a bridge between Japan and the United States through...what again?

Originally Posted by koonchu

"My dream is to make a bridge between Japan and U.S. If I do this, what can I talk about? People don't wanna hear about me or my opinions!" she said.

If she is that un-confident, then why would she come up with the bridge idea? I don't get it. And I won't be answering those 3 questions in bold, because it may sound somewhat discouraging.

Edit: I just realized that my honest response may have came out slightly harsh. My apologies. Actually, I am willing to lend my aid if it is within my capabilities.

[Supah Em]

If she doesnt want people to know her opinions and some facts about herself, then she shouldnt probably go on with this and instead try going into the world of writing/blogging, etc.
Doing that thing inevitably gets people's attention and it will eventually lead some to ask questions about her (hobbies, personal data and whatnot) and if she doesnt want people to know (although, I understand privacy and such), then it would be a problem (minor or major, it depends on the situation).

And how can you make bridges between countries if you don't want people to know what that "bridge" is all about. Now I'm not shooting you down here or even trying to be mean, its just that your friend needs some shots of confidence to take on that humongous task of bridging cultures (with barriers such as beliefs, traditions, and most importantly, language).

Another scenario is that if she presses on with that, criticisms would inevitably come into the fray (you can't please everyone, they say) and the pressure may get into her system and do more damage than we could possibly imagine. I suggest doing some trial runs to see if its effective and animesuki would be a good test site (due to its rep as one of the most 'formal' anime forums on the net) and people here generally don't bite, well unless you're taking on their favorite series (Nanoha comes to mind ).

[koonchu]

By no means am I put off or deterred. Heck, I LOVE all the constructive criticism!

To summarize:

An authentic Otaku princess wants to start a Youtube series about how growing up otaku affected her life. She has an insane amount of talent as a multimedia person, so these videos wouldn't be Magibon 2.0. From the way she described her ideas, she'd be sneaking into the Borders manga section and raiding the local comic shops while attempting to record her thoughts. She's worked on a Japanese music video recently (not an AMV, I'm talking Universal Japan), so she'd know how to make a professional looking vidcast. She has AWESOME opinions about everything anime. I think her goal is to connect to the U.S. otaku scene.

What I'm trying to do here is use this forum (full of excellent anime fans) to convince her to take the plunge.

I've never known anime fans to be unwelcoming, especially when it comes to anime's typical target audience: Japanese.

[One_To_Protect]

She should go for it. By the way you sound she is talented and just needs to get going. Fresh new anime is always exciting. Well I hope she goes for becuase I would love to see her work in the future.

[FateAnomaly]

Originally Posted by koonchu

By no means am I put off or deterred. Heck, I LOVE all the constructive criticism!

To summarize:

An authentic Otaku princess wants to start a Youtube series about how growing up otaku affected her life. She has an insane amount of talent as a multimedia person, so these videos wouldn't be Magibon 2.0. From the way she described her ideas, she'd be sneaking into the Borders manga section and raiding the local comic shops while attempting to record her thoughts. She's worked on a Japanese music video recently (not an AMV, I'm talking Universal Japan), so she'd know how to make a professional looking vidcast. She has AWESOME opinions about everything anime. I think her goal is to connect to the U.S. otaku scene.

What I'm trying to do here is use this forum (full of excellent anime fans) to convince her to take the plunge.

I've never known anime fans to be unwelcoming, especially when it comes to anime's typical target audience: Japanese.

Frankly, i have trouble understanding the first post as well. But this summary is pretty much clear.
I say go for it. If she have fun in the creation process it will be worth it, irregardless of the results. However, i am sure there will be people who will be interested in it. Just don't have too high of an expectation. Not many people succeed on the first try.

[nines]

I say go for it, just tell her to not get upset if theres people on youtube who make stupid remarks or saying she sucks or is dumb. It does seem like a weird concept but she seems really excited about it and something she wants to do...Thats pretty much how everyone on youtube is as long as she feels happy and wants to do it who cares what anyone else thinks. Go for it unamed person

[Deathkillz]

Originally Posted by koonchu

An authentic Otaku princess wants to start a Youtube series about how growing up otaku affected her life.

So a kind of youtube celeb catered for otakus of the west huh

I very much like this idea though like FateAnomaly said it is probably hard to expect too much, though the fun of it should be sharing experiences and not to become some "big headed" star of youtube (which I have seen way too many of ). Being popular should come as a plus if that isn't her aim.

Personally though I think bloging is also another way to go about this as I am really interested on how things actually are in Japan and since she is Japanese then she should be able to get close and personal with "otaku news" that takes time to get to the west. This could be a nice way to expand on our interests of Japan since some aren't as fortunate enough to go there or have the knowledge of the language
(Hence one of the reasons why I go to Sankaku )

[Rembr]

Originally Posted by koonchu

She has an insane amount of talent as a multimedia person, so these videos wouldn't be Magibon 2.0.

Doesn't Magibon's videos command a pretty respectable amount of following? Your friend must be a damn good multimedia-ist.

That aside, though, I don't see what is holding her back if she really wants to do this. She shouldn't be worried about building bridges, because that's just unnecessary hyperbole.

[Shadow Kira01]

Originally Posted by koonchu

By no means am I put off or deterred. Heck, I LOVE all the constructive criticism!

To summarize:

An authentic Otaku princess wants to start a Youtube series about how growing up otaku affected her life. She has an insane amount of talent as a multimedia person, so these videos wouldn't be Magibon 2.0. From the way she described her ideas, she'd be sneaking into the Borders manga section and raiding the local comic shops while attempting to record her thoughts. She's worked on a Japanese music video recently (not an AMV, I'm talking Universal Japan), so she'd know how to make a professional looking vidcast. She has AWESOME opinions about everything anime. I think her goal is to connect to the U.S. otaku scene.

What I'm trying to do here is use this forum (full of excellent anime fans) to convince her to take the plunge.

I've never known anime fans to be unwelcoming, especially when it comes to anime's typical target audience: Japanese.

Although I couldn't understand the first post, this summary seems to clear things up. If she is very talented, why don't she find a career that relates to her field of expertise? That could be a double win: 1) she enjoys her field of work and 2) she also survives the recession with ease. Most of all, I think her biggest weakness based on this summary would be her confidence. Regardless of how much talent she possesses, what she needs most right now would be time to consider what she really wants to do, how determined she is, and she also must become at least a little more confident. How can she considered failure without even trying first?

[Solafighter]

Koonchum, the girl, thats actually you, right?



Well to build a bridge between japan and usa ..

A bigger one?

Mh.. From my point of view, the connections and communications between japan and usa are quite good.

And to answer: What would you like to see? What would you like to learn? Is this something anyone would be interested in?

Well, for me, there is nothing right now, since there are many, many people investing some time and work to sub and translate a lot(and lot and lot) anime, mangas and so on.

But well~...
If you guys can get me all 8 volumes of the Hanbun novel, that are difficult to get, why not.

[Shadow Kira01]

Now that you pointed it out..

Koonchu-san might be talking about herself.

I didn't realized that.

[koonchu]

lol, no no. It's not me.

The otaku girl I'm referring to doesn't have a mastery of English. Her English is good, but its very, very Engrish."

That's why I suggested that she make a weekly youtube show. Because she'd be able to naturally speak about herself and her hobbies (in Japanese). She'd be able to subtitle it in English for everyone else to understand.

This is also why starting a blog is not a good idea. It would take her forever to organize her thoughts into words and then translate her Japanese into English. Plus, in all honesty, her writing isn't as good as her Osaka-laced way of speaking.

[Solafighter]

I think her english should be ok, if she studied in the us...