Otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in Manga Burikko. Otaku may be used as a pejorative with its negativity stemming from a stereotypical view of otaku as social outcasts and the media's reporting on Tsutomu Miyazaki, "The Otaku Murderer", in 1989. According to studies published in 2013, the term has become less negative, and an increasing number of people now identify themselves as otaku, both in Japan and elsewhere. Out of 137,734 teens surveyed in Japan in 2013, 42.2% self-identified as a type of otaku.
Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, and a broader use of the term "cosplay" applies to any costumed role-playing in venues apart from the stage. Any entity that lends itself to dramatic interpretation may be taken up as a subject. Favorite sources include anime, cartoons, comic books, manga, television series, and video games. The term is composed of the two aforementioned counterparts – costume and role play.
Project A-ko is a 1986 Japanese action-comedy science fiction anime film that had several sequels and a spin-off. This film focuses on a happy-go-lucky 16-year-old red-haired, sailor-suited teenage schoolgirl, A-ko Magami, who goes on her magical adventure from high school to outer space as she struggles to finish her homework, rescue her friend C-ko, and save the Earth from an evil alien invasion. This series references a number of other works of anime from the 1970s and 1980s, such as Macross, Fist of the North Star and Gundam.
Samurai Pizza Cats is an American animated television adaptation of the anime series Kyatto Ninden Teyandee, produced by Tatsunoko Productions and Sotsu Agency. The series originally aired in Japan on TV Tokyo from February 1, 1990 to February 12, 1991 for a total of 54 episodes. Saban Entertainment picked up the North American rights to the series in 1991 and produced a 52-episode English adaptation.
Kyatto Ninden Teyandee is a Japanese anime series produced by Tatsunoko Productions and Sotsu Agency. The series originally aired in Japan on TV Tokyo from February 1, 1990 to February 12, 1991, for a total of 54 episodes. Saban picked up the North American rights to the series in 1991, and produced an English version called Samurai Pizza Cats. The creators stated that there was going to be a spin-off series, Kyatto Keisatsu Beranmee. The series is known for its cultural humor consisting of Japanese puns, pop culture, and fourth-wall breaking.
Fate/stay night is a Japanese visual novel developed by Type-Moon and originally released as an adult game for Windows on January 30, 2004. A version of Fate/stay night rated for ages 15 and up titled Fate/stay night Réalta Nua, which features the Japanese voice actors from the anime series, was released in 2007 for the PlayStation 2 and later for download on Windows as a trilogy covering the three main storylines: Fate, Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel. Réalta Nua was also ported to the PlayStation Vita, iOS and Android. The plot focuses on a young mage named Shirou Emiya who becomes a warrior in a battle between "Servants" known as the Holy Grail War. Shirou bonds with a heroine through each route and confronts different adversaries participating in the war.
Unico is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Sanrio's shōjo manga magazine Ririka from November 1976 to March 1979 and collected in two volumes. A pilot film for a potential television series was produced in 1979. Two theatrical anime film adaptations were produced by Tezuka Productions and Madhouse in the early 1980s.
Night on the Galactic Railroad, sometimes translated as Milky Way Railroad, Night Train to the Stars or Fantasy Railroad in the Stars, is a classic Japanese fantasy novel by Kenji Miyazawa written around 1927. The nine-chapter novel was posthumously published in 1934 as part of Complete Works of Kenji Miyazawa Vol. 3 (『宮沢賢治全集』第三巻) published by Bunpodō (文圃堂). Four versions are known to be in existence, with the last one being the most famous among Japanese readers.
Kenshiro is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fist of the North Star manga series created by Tetsuo Hara and Buronson. According to Hara and Buronson, Kenshiro's character design was primarily based on the martial artist and actor Bruce Lee, combined with influences from actor Yūsaku Matsuda and the Mad Max film series.
Strawberry Panic! is a series of Japanese illustrated short stories written by Sakurako Kimino, which focus on a group of teenage girls attending three affiliated all-girl schools on Astraea Hill. A common theme throughout the stories is the intimate lesbian relationships between the characters. The original artist was Chitose Maki, who was succeeded by Namuchi Takumi when production of the manga and light novels began.
White Album is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Leaf, and was originally released on May 1, 1998 for Microsoft Windows as a CD-ROM. A PlayStation 3 version published by Aquaplus with several modification was released in 2010. A sequel to the original visual novel, titled White Album 2, was released in two parts in 2010 and 2011. The gameplay in White Album follows a linear plot line, which offers pre-determined scenarios and courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the female main characters.
Hetalia: Axis Powers is a Japanese webcomic, later adapted as a manga and an anime series, by Hidekaz Himaruya. The series' main presentation is as an often over-the-top allegory of political and historic events as well as more general cultural comparisons. Characters are personifications of countries, regions such as Hong Kong, and micronations with little reference to other national personifications. Both positive and negative cultural stereotypes form part of each character's personality.
The White Chamber, stylized as the white chamber, is a science fiction adventure game created by Studio Trophis using the Wintermute Engine. Originally designed as a university project, it was expanded to a full game and released for Microsoft Windows as free download in 2005.
Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere is a Japanese light novel series written by Minoru Kawakami and illustrated by Satoyasu. The series is set in the distant future when Japan has been conquered by other countries and divided up into feudal territories. The series is part of a six-stage chronicle universe, with Minoru's other light novels encompassing the other five. A 13-episode anime adaptation by Sunrise aired between October and December 2011. A 13-episode second season aired between July and September 2012. Both seasons have been licensed and released on DVD and Blu-ray by Sentai Filmworks in North America and Manga Entertainment in the UK. A video game adaptation for the PlayStation Portable titled Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere Portable was developed by Tenky, and was released in Japan on April 25, 2013.
Love Live! School Idol Project is a Japanese multimedia project co-developed by ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine, music label Lantis, and animation studio Sunrise. It is the first multimedia project in the Love Live! franchise. The project revolves around a group of nine schoolgirl friends who become idols in order to save their school from shutting down. It launched in the August 2010 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine, and went on to produce music CDs, anime music videos, two manga adaptations, and video games.
Log Horizon is a Japanese novel series written by Mamare Touno and illustrated by Kazuhiro Hara. It began serialization online in 2010 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō, being later on acquired by Enterbrain and published as a light novel in Japan since 2011. Yen Press began publishing an English translation in 2015. The series follows the strategist, Shiroe, and the other players of the long-lived MMORPG Elder Tale after they find themselves whisked away into the game world following a game update.
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair is a 2012 visual novel developed by Spike Chunsoft. It is the second game in the Danganronpa franchise following Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (2010). It was first released in Japan for PlayStation Portable in July 2012, and a port for PlayStation Vita was released in Japan in October 2013. NIS America released the game worldwide in September 2014; a port for PC was released in April 2016 and a bundle for PlayStation 4 called Danganronpa 1-2 Reload, also containing the first Danganronpa game, was released in March 2017. An enhanced version with the subtitle Anniversary Edition was released for Android and iOS in August 2020, for Nintendo Switch in November 2021, and for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One May 2022.
Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online is a Japanese light novel series written by Keiichi Sigsawa and illustrated by Kouhaku Kuroboshi. The series is a spin-off of Reki Kawahara's Sword Art Online series. A manga adaptation by Tadadi Tamori launched in 2015, and an anime television series adaptation by studio 3Hz aired between April and June 2018. Both the light novels and the manga adaptation are published in North America by Yen Press, while the anime is licensed by Aniplex of America.
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is an action role-playing video game developed and published by Sega for the PlayStation 4. It is based on the manga franchise Fist of the North Star by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara, and features the gameplay and mechanics of Sega's Yakuza game series. It was released in Japan on March 8, 2018 and worldwide on October 2, 2018.
White Cat Project is a free-to-play action role-playing game developed and published by Colopl for Android and iOS. It was initially released in Japan on July 14, 2014. An English version was released internationally under the title Colopl Rune Story and operated from July 23, 2015, to October 7, 2016. A spinoff title, White Cat Tennis was released on both iOS and Android on July 31, 2016, while the upcoming sequel Shironeko New Project will be released on the Nintendo Switch at a later date.
