#otaku feels

[christadeguchi]

i'll let phie-san say it:

[bixels]

The Ryoko Kui interview's reception is such a disaster over a pretty normal (yet still flawed) interview between a non-Japanese fan and Japanese artistic. This is discourse for discourse's sake, and it's no surprise that almost every Twitter user I've looked at who's using this interview to parade Kui around as a goated mangaka standing strong against Western ideology is anti-trans.

Like, I do think the interview was kinda wonky with its focus on fandom culture, which Kui clearly didn't have much interest in. But sometimes that happens. Sometimes interactions between two people, especially a fan and a creator, two people who view and interact with a piece of media in completely opposite perspectives, don't click. Does this really need to get blown up into a "West vs. East culture war" issue.

Anyways, Kui saying "I don't consider my audience's interpretations when writing. I leave it to their imaginations, but I have my own read on things too" is the healthiest, most normal thing an artist/writer who wants a non-parasocial audience could say. Artists and writers use this line all the time. If Kui didn't enjoy autistic Laius or Farcille headcanons, she would have probably voiced/signalled her discomfort, like she did on the topic of Senshi fanservice. Overall, Kui handled the interview really well. Props to her to sticking to her guns and keeping a healthy disconnect from the fandom. While I think the interviewer could've/should've been more tactful and restrained, the flaws in their questions is not a symptom of the woke mind virus trying to wriggle its way into the pure Japanese psyche. It's the sign of an over-eager fan who sees a piece of fiction differently than its creator.

[wonboos]

if you were with me i'd help you gather items, or level up, or even go out with you whenever you wanted to. i'd even wait for you if you were working late. i wouldn't disappoint you, or make you cry, or give you any reason to say you made a bad choice.

jeon wonwoo as nifuji hirotaka [inspired by @jeonsupershy]

[blkkizzat]

saw this and thought about your otaku gojo look

LMFAO CRYINGGGG because I literally just made this edit (switched texbooks to manga dhjasdjkhcks). Bunny really gonna risk it all on some deranged otaku dick. rfgfshgsjdkjsdh. (i mean shit i would for the bag too). Otaku!gojo really be terrorizing my thots...

[5-pp-man]

this whole ep was like a fever dream.

[beneaththetangles]

One of the most charming series of the summer 2024 anime season is Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian. The title gives you the basic setup—tsundere speaks of her adoration for the MC in Russian, which she assumes no one understands (wrongly of course)—but the quality of the voice acting, animation, and characterization has been excellent.

And now, y’all have a chance to read the full array of light novels from which the show is adapted!

We’re giving away volumes one through 4.5 of the series—all the LNs currently released of Alya by Yen Press! That adds up to five volumes in total as it includes a volume 4.5 as well. And it’s so easy to enter!

1) LIKE this post 2) REBLOG this (though make sure to tag us so I can be sure to see it!) 3) Double your entry by COMMENTING below: Which language do you wish you could speak?

Here are the other rules:

You must be following us to enter

We’ll accept entries up to 11:59 p.m. ET on July 24th

International entries are welcome

BtT staff are not eligible

Spam and contest accounts are not eligible

[i01-xcl]

[smahell]

otaku fm sinful sounds - the disappointing reply to the fans' outcry.

this morning i wake up to a notification from the obey me! official channel - a new otaku fm episode? celebrations. fantastic. i'd been waiting ever since i saw a photo of kada and yamashita back in the iconic studio. we hadn't received a new otaku fm episode for roughly two years, and of course, when a new one is announced there's going to be expectations surrounding that. expectations that will originate from the previous seasons and episodes.

so after watching the one which came out today, i was just genuinely disappointed.

"that's it?? that's the episode?"

you might even notice that the episode doesn't stay loyal to its usual 35-45 minutes format. in fact, anime and chill had the longest episodes, and is what I'd call "peak obey me™". these episodes are half that length. and i'm expecting the newer ones to be even shorter.

sinful sounds (ss).. was never advertised to be as short as almost the otaku fm mini series with the side character's vas-

even worse? the twenty minute time frame was meant to be shorter. they went overtime.

i'd totally understand if it was labelled 'otaku fm mini - sinful sounds', but this was meant to be a return to formula. with the abundance of paid content coming from solmare recently, this was meant to be something that those without dispensable income could actually enjoy. yes, it was also stated that listening to the asmr would "make the episode that much better", but assuming that i'd enjoy it regardless is an overstatement. whether you listened to the audio drama or not, this was just a disappointing way of coercing people who don't use twitter to listen to it. and another disappointing reminder of what obey me has become.

be warned - i talk about the actual episode here. so maybe go listen to it first before reading on.

yes, hearing the voice actors come back.. of course i'd love that. that's one of the main reasons i wanted it to come back. they even acknowledge how long it's been since the last time they did, but then it goes straight into "what is ASMR??"

like.. the fanbase is full of deluded white women /j .. i think we all know what it is!!! i guess it's helpful nonetheless, but then they're like:

"let's listen to a clip!!!"

hey...what?!?

(and said clip takes up a good chunk of the episode..)

my point is.. it's not really them gisting about anything. the whole thing just feels scripted and stiff. i don't feel that liveliness that i feel from rewatching previous episodes. sure, yes, asmr is meant to be calming and relaxing.. but that's not what i think of otaku fm. they're spoonfeeding me a product like it's baby food.

it's just a 20 minute ad. really.

some could say "well duh, that was the point of otaku fm, to advertise obey me and give more fan content!!"

then tell me, genuinely. did this episode give you any fan content of the vas or character that you've either already heard before OR content that really satiated you.

let's use anime and chill as an example. the anime and chill series was made to advertise the anime, but they didn't spend all the time talking about it. and you didn't exactly need to have the money to watch the anime to enjoy the whole thing. the voice actors themselves are performers. they're used to taking the reins on a project and creating an entertaining experience, which is why even though a segment is based on asking one question, we learn so much about them on a personal level. if a radio episode can make me feel like i'm chatting with two friends, then its done its job. this episode felt like watching two unskippable ads in a row on youtube. end me.

for me it's bringing up the question - all this paid content might just turning more fans away rather than bringing more in. i'm suspecting they've ben losing money since the decline in popularity after lockdown.

it's just making me think, well, five years in the future, will obey me as a game even survive? because trust me, after this disappointing episode, i'm starting to turn to ex and bee as my lord and saviour.

this isn't a diss at the voice actors at all. they were told and paid to do this, and they've done it perfectly well. this is more at a poke at the higher up executives calling the shots for this. because it always is- /hj

think i'm the only one who hates it? read this other post from another person on youtube who's also another avid fan of the voice actors. i might be repeating one or two of their points, but i saw this before i ever listened to ss, and trust me, it was a red flag for what was to come.

again, i'm not making this post because "arghhh i hate solmare i hate the vas".. no. i'm doing this because i can see that in another universe, this new series could've been amazing. it just falls flat. and i feel like it will continue falling flat until the developers and higher-ups behind this game acknowledge the scraps and and shreds of a fanbase the game has left.. i'm disappointed.

before you even begin praise this episode, listen to every single episode featuring sumi shinya, miura ayme, and/or takuhei yamamoto, laugh your heart out, then come back to this post. and mourn what has been taken from you.

[mysticdragon3md3]

Tadaima🥹

[isagaiia]

come on otaku hot girl !!!

[whos-hotter-jjba]

Hottest JoJo Character Bracket - Match 2-19

[blcssom]

some yearning/pining plots i’ve been obsessed w/ lately..... 

she’s been watching a lot of slice of life/shojo anime so i don’t wanna hear it :’ ) 

( mutuals only: PLS feel free to dm me if one calls out to u !!! literally i’m ready to read it and weep )

☼ childhood sweethearts reunited except muse a was the one in love with muse b growing up while muse b dated muse a’s best friend !!!!!! like they literally resigned themselves to being the permanent third wheel ( sounding board for both of them, couples therapist, maybe even in their wedding party depending on the muses ??? ) but now muse b and the bestie are divorced/broken up and both seeking comfort and even tho muse a is still friends with the ex they cant help but shoot their shot with muse b ???? right ????

☼ mentor x mentee ship except for the longest time its just the mentee pining while the mentor sees them as more of a kid sibling ???  but then something happens or time passes and suddenly they start to see their mentee as a ~ romantic interest ~ and are v fucked up abt it !!! and maybe the mentee has moved on or maybe they’re still pining but their mentor is as confusing as always xxx

☼ i love a raincloud x sunshine ship where the sunshine muse is positive that they’re slowly chipping away at the ice around raincloud’s heart just for the walls to go up again and discourage them but it iS actually working and lil raincloud is fighting for their LIFEEEEE

☼ ice prince(ss) who thinks they’re incapable of love and the golden retriever who sees the good in them anyway :’ ) obvi with lots of angst with the retriever trying to get them to lighten up and the ice prince(ss) trying to drive them away so they don’t get hurt !!!!!!! we love an angst of misunderstanding

☼ i’m so obsessed w/ the idea of two people who are clearly in love with each other but their pride is getting in the way so they’re trying to get the other person to admit their feelings first………………… idk it just hits y’all the psychological warfare is g o l d !!!!

[brbgensokyo]

i love watching old shit that literally noone has heard about i feel like im a part of a secret club for idiots who spend too much time in databases

[asaka-lucy-dr-rc]

what would you say are some intresting differences between japanese and english speaking fandom spaces?

I find it interesting that the topic of gender and sexual orientation of characters is often discussed in English fandom. This is a topic that is rarely seen in Japanese fandom, so I was a bit surprised at first, but now I think it is an interesting topic. 🙂

I would like to add here that it is not that Japanese people do not talk much about gender and sexual orientation itself, but rather that we do not discuss the gender and sexual orientation of anime or game characters using general terms. For example, when we talk about a real-life person's sexual orientation, we use general terms like "he's gay," but we almost never use the word "gay" for a character unless that word appears in the story. Instead, for example, they say "ホモい(homoi)" to a gay-feeling boy character, or "百合百合しい(yuriyurishii)" to a lesbian-feeling girl character. * The word "ホモい(homoi)" was coined by adding the "い(i)" at the end of many adjectives in Japanese to the homo-sexual word "homo-". The word "homo" has a history of being used as a discriminatory term, so it is probably not used much these days.

There are many ways of saying this when Japanese otaku talks about such topics. For example, when boy characters seem to have a very close relationship with each other, they sometimes say "BLみを感じる (feeling BL-ish)" to refer to such a state. An anime with many scenes in which the girl characters are close and friendly to each other is sometimes referred to as "百合成分多め (full of yuri ingredient)". We do not say these things to real people. There is a possibility that we could talk about idols or other people in the entertainment industry using such words, but that is because we think those people are some kind of fantasy existence.

In this way, Japanese otaku are quite divided in the language they use for fictional characters and for real people, so I was surprised to see the English fandom discussing or expressing the gender and sexual orientation of characters using the same words and flag colors they use for real people. But I find it interesting that some of these discussions make sense and I think, "Oh, sure, I can see why this character would look like that".

I don't know why there's such a difference between Japanese fandom and English fandom, but I suspect it's simply because Japanese otaku tend to be as secretive as possible about their fan activities, not just on topics like this, so they use such special terms or wording so that non-otaku can't understand what they're talking about. (The way Japanese fans talk about their favorite characters is almost like it's a coded message. 😄)

In fact, I'm curious if people in the English fandom have ever been approached by someone they had no intention of talking to because they were using common terms to talk about their favorite characters. 🤔 To those who have read this post, I would love to hear your experiences or opinions in the comments or through an ask!

[guilibagelz]

stomach is upset after eating this :(((

[beneaththetangles]

First Impression: Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian

Alisa Mikhailovna Kujo: student council member, Russian beauty, admired by the entire school. She’s practically perfect—or she would be if she was just a wee bit friendlier. It seems that the only person Alya talks to regularly and in a somewhat friendly fashion is Masachika, who sits next to her in class and is practically the exact opposite: he’s careless, lazy, and of course doesn’t speak Russian. So he doesn’t understand what Alya means when says things below her breath in her native tongue. Oh wait, actually, he does. Masachika speaks Russian too, but things have gotten a little too far along for him to expose his secret, especially when everything Alya says is about how much she likes him! And their relationship might be getting even more intimate, as Alya becomes jealous when discovering that she’s not the only girl on the student council he has a relationship with and finding out that he might be joining himself!

(Read More)