Yes, 'otaku' nightlife does exist
Arts & Culture ( 22 )
TOKYO —
There are 130 sweaty “otaku” men in the basement of Ikebukuro’s Live Inn Rosa venue. Most wear shirts emblazoned with bright anime designs and bandanas on their brows to wipe away excess perspiration. Some women are peppered throughout the crowd, as are cosplayers and a few almost naked lads who have overheated from crazed dancing. High-pitched female vocals screech as an impossibly upbeat, saccharine tune blasts on the sound system, courtesy of three DJs dressed in full military regalia.
Welcome to Dempa Song Night, one of the growing number of club events catering to the otaku masses.
It’s no secret that otaku like to get jiggy with it. Just ask Morning Musume, whose fans have for years danced along with their idols. This mass mimicry came to a head at a February 2003 performance by Miki Fujimoto at Yomiuri Land amusement park. Fans went into a dance fever that was filmed and broadcast across Japan.
That day was representative of otagei (aka the “otaku art”), a range of moves performed in rough unison with other fans at specified cheerleading moments in songs. These tracks tend to be of the “dempa,” or “electric wave,” variety: a mind-numbing candy pop that’s twice as addictive as heroin. The otagei dancing and chanting creates a synergy that invigorates the performer and her fans.
As otagei gets more elaborate and popular, otaku no longer even need the idol as an excuse to bust a move. Sure, Dear Stage in Akihabara still has daily live-idol events for some hardcore fans. But Dempa Song Night takes place sans performer in a club where otaku can get their otagei on among likeminded fans.
“This is the front line of otagei,” says organizer Takanori Yabe, 48.
Yabe owns Kamikaze Style, a venerable custom bike and shirt shop in Shimokitazawa. He got into planning dempa events in March 2008, when one of his designers and resident otaku, Himekawa, revealed he was a closet DJ. The shop had a branch in Akihabara in 2006, when “otagei” was all the rage on the streets, so the events seemed like a natural fit.
Sure, there were (and are) other events, like the one known as Mogura that’s held on the third Saturday of each month in Akihabara. But Dempa Song Night is the largest gathering where fans can enjoy uncut dempa songs. The all-night party also includes karaoke and performances by chika idols — “underground” performers who sing songs, provide narration and do dubbing for dating simulator games. What their cult lacks in size it makes up for in sheer intensity, as was the case when Toromi of Popotan fame took the stage at Dempa Song Night 6 in April.
Watching their display, Yabe could only shake his head and describe the crowd as dempa-chan, or supercharged and eccentric folk. He confesses to knowing little about their world, but dreams of holding Dempa Night in Paris. Yet Himekawa is afraid to fly and dempa otaku tend to, as Yabe diplomatically puts it, “hole up” in Japan. But who knows? Maybe someday the sonic boom will make it to a basement near you.
● Live Inn Rosa: B2F, 1-37-2 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku. Nearest stn: Ikebukuro.
www.live-inn-rosa.com
● Dear Stage: 3-10-9 Soto-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku. Tel: 03-5207-9181. Nearest stn: Akihabara.
● Kamikaze Style: 2-25-8 Kitazawa, Setagaya-ku. Tel: 03-3481-6444. Nearest stn: Shimokitazawa.
www.kamikazestyle.com
● Mogura: B1, 3-11 Akihabara, Taito-ku. Tel: 03-6206-8338. Nearest stn: Akihabara.
● The next Dempa Song Night will be held Dec 19 at Live Inn Rosa. Doors open at 11pm and the event goes until the morning. Tickets are 2,500 yen (including one drink). For more info, see
www.kamikazestyle.com/newhp/denpa.htm (Japanese).
This story originally appeared in Metropolis magazine (www.metropolis.co.jp)
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22 Comments
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0
biglittleman
That description sounds more disturbing than anything else. I suggest not shaking anyone's hands if someone decides to go.
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bamboohat
evolution gone mad
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bisoy
Us feeling old.
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sf2k
devolution more like. but if there is nothing positive that society can become, then they made their own society. Considering the fall in population and the bills piling up, see if they can hide for 20 more years. Seems it's their last dance before they realize they have wasted their lives.
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tkoind2
"Seems it's their last dance before they realize they have wasted their lives."
I agree that the dependent ones are in for a big shock down the road. But I don't agree that they are necessarily wasting their lives.
I don't like much of what goes on in the Otaku world and am pretty critical of it. But in the end are their lives any more wasted than the corporate drones who are working themselves to death? Or the shopping mad masses chasing brand items in Japan? Or the working class people who work hard all day and spend their nights drowning their troubles in beer?
Most human beings live their lives day to day with little or no significant impact to the course of human events beyond their work or consumer contributions. Few will give birth to the next Einstein, most will give birth only to the next generation of worker-taxpayers.
Life is short, usually difficult and often disappointing. The only thing you can truly expect is to try to live it to the best of your ability in the way you believe is right. If the Otaku love the life they have chosen, then so be it. One day life will present them with new challenges and most will adapt and live on. So who is to say they are wasting their lives. From the photo above, at least they look a lot happier than the legions of suit wearing slaves who fill Tokyo's commute time streets.
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frank07
why is it that ppl dance facing the d.j. in clubs?
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tomatoflight
"Most human beings live their lives day to day with little or no significant impact to the course of human events beyond their work or consumer contributions."
Yep. As the Matrix described, most people are slaves and they don't even realize it.
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stirfry
more like evolution gone backwards
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usaexpat
After the party they can go home to their blow up dolls and get kinky.
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kyushujoe
@tkoind2:
!! That was awful deep for this site. I need a lie-down now :(
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nandakandamanda
tkoind2 what, you can actually see that photo?
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motytrah
This just in, young people like to rave, old people on J-Today look on with disapproving faces. Activity like this is popular in the west as well. Though the ratio of men to woman is a bit better.
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pawatan
I am most definitely a geek, and I think this is crap. I'd rather hang out and dance to real music.
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norinrad21
I'm happy for them, at least they are doing something they enjoy
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HonestDictator
Well, I'm an anime manga fan myself, but not to the point where I wanna dress up, talk about nothing but anime or devote a large portion of my life to.
I agree with tkoind2 up to the extent that its good to have fun with your interests as long as it doesn't interfere with the necessities of life, like work, family, finances, etc. But I sure wouldn't be caught dead in a den with sweaty men lol. I like clubbing too sometimes but that first statement in this article made sure its another place I really don't want to go, and that places first before any kind of otaku/sci-fi/comic convention.
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