In the coming years, brands that appeal to otaku will have a significant advantage over ones that don’t. This will not be limited to Japan. It will be worldwide, but especially in the United States. We’ve already seen this happen. Miku Hatsune is not Vocaloid. She is not the mascot character for Vocaloid, wasn’t part …
We’re in a subculture where people literally proclaim that a brand is their “waifu.” Miku Hatsune is listed on 1,562 users’ waifu list, according to mywaifulist.moe, a relatively niche website. Miku is a mascot character, meant to promote a brand a sell a product. In some ways, however, she is the product, or at least …
Western otaku are failing fundamentally at one of our core responsibilities. We have a responsibility to take ownership of our subculture. Instead, we’ve consistently relied on outsiders to serve otaku culture fairly. Much in the same way that otaku have no political allies, businesses not built with the subculture in mind can’t be 100% relied …
