Forum - View topicBrain Diving: Fujoshi and the Pussycats
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P€|\||§_|\/|ast@
 Posts: 3498 Location: IN your nightmares |
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Personally I like slice-of-life, otaku-centric anime and can't seem to get enough of them. Probably because I'm relatively open about my hobby despite not having much of an ego at all. Anime of this type tends to contain lots of references to pop-culture and in-jokes about many different shows. This fills the void with me not really wanting to talk about anime with other anime fans (because I find many of them too egotistical and obsessed with specific things), preferring to talk about anime with non-fans.
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captainbanana
Posts: 191 |
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I was a big Densha fan back when it all happened (I have a copy of the novel, which I unwisely bought even though it mirrors the actual 2ch logs which are available for free in English) and I'm inclined to believe the story. What isn't real about Densha is the movie, TV series, and manga adaptation (all being grandiose embellishments). What is true is that a nerd did show up on 2ch, get help with courting a woman he saved from a drunk on the train, and eventually dated her (outcome unknown). Obviously it could have been some delusional guy, or just some outright liar, but he doesn't come off that way in the postings, and that doesn't really detract from my enjoyment. The people that made the claims that there were corporations behind the entire story are kind of naive to me, because when you actually read the logs, there isn't a whole lot there. Densha Otoko, as a media event, started when the creator of 2ch (the name of which I've forgotten) decided to shop the story to every media outlet he could find. It's much easier for me to believe that the events either happened, or that Densha is delusional, than it is for me to believe that a corporation hired an otaku, set him loose on 2ch (The unedited logs are equal parts Densha shooting the breeze about otaku related affairs, and Densha fretting over Hermes) and then turned it into a media sensation.
Edit: I should add that even if Densha was a corporate plant, or a delusional otaku, it doesn't detract from the heartfelt campaign by regular 2channers to help a fellow otaku in need. I know that the same wouldn't have happened on any of the US based boards, and that alone makes the story (in all of its forms) worthwhile for me. I'm still a believer though, since I have nothing to lose from it. Having said all of that, the heartfelt and web 1.0ness of Densha's story does tend to color everything after. It's hard to believe that, seeing the success of Densha, other companies didn't or wouldn't hatch a plan to create a similar sensation. Whether or not that detracts from my enjoyment is yet to be seen, but I'll probably give the book a try. Last edited by captainbanana on Tue Nov 30, 2010 1:35 am; edited 1 time in total |
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KENZICHI
 Posts: 1101 |
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My best friend told me how funny the novel was a few weeks ago. I came across it a few weeks before that and found it sort of interesting until I saw the contents and then the price. I was seriously not going to pay 16 something dollars for a book that only has a couple of words on each page. so I left it on the shelf.
Though I still wanna try it out since she liked it so much, but maybe when I get a coupon 
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mufurc
 Posts: 612 |
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Looking at the reviews at Amazon.jp the general consensus seems to be that "Tonari no 801-chan this is not." Many reviews point out the same things you do, call the characterization of the girl unrealistic, and say that it'll just deepen the stereotypes about female otaku and fujoshi in both otaku circles (where there's already a lot of enmity against fujoshi) and in the "normal" world. One reviewer who seemed to "just enjoy" the novel said "don't think too deeply about it," but then what's the point? Just another man pointing at women with a hobby he doesn't understand, saying "look at them, aren't they weird"? (provided the author is male, of course.) Or is it another round of the "lol my girlfriend/sister/wife/etc. is an otaku/maid/fujoshi/etc." gimmick?
Interestingly the manga adaptation has way better reviews, maybe it did something right. |
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Kyaa the Catlord
Posts: 300 |
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mufurc: The point is the same as any mass market media: entertainment.
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kel aka gandy
 Posts: 77 |
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wuh? Where were you trying to buy it? The suggested retail price is 10.99 for the novel. |
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FMAvatard
 Posts: 195 |
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Oh man, honestly, I love this novel. As a fujoshi, I think it kind of helped me understand how not to behave around 'normal' people, like my boyfriend, who is an otaku. While I was reading this, I can't count how many times I laughed and said, "That's so true!" or "This sounds oddly familiar."
Of course, spoiler[I would never make him read doujinshi out loud to me. Butler cafes, yes, but I'd at least even the field and say we'd go to a maid cafe another time.] |
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FaytLein
 Posts: 1260 Location: Williamsburg, VA |
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Y'know, its stories like this that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The comparison to Densha is pretty obvious, and I can only hope that there is some nugget of truth in there, since that makes me feel like I might not be the sole anime fan in my corner of VA, and that their might be a female fan out there for me somewhere. ( Call me naive, but I can dream can't I?)
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maaya
Posts: 976 |
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The term "fujoshi" has recently changed its meaning, to a larger one. It's no longer only "female BL fans", but any "female nerd" that only cares about her hobby and not about the other stuff girls usually care about (fashion, love etc). That's the way the word is used in the new series Kuragehime / Princess Jellyfish, which has to be one of the best manga/anime about otaku ever. Highly recommended. |
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