Response to Colony Drop post on Akihabara
Sean at Colony Drop wrote this terrifically uninformed hack job on Akihabara over on a blog called ColonyDrop:
http://is.gd/5hqZP
My thoughts on his piece below:
Sean,
I see that you dislike Akihabara, but your attack piece amounts to little more than uninformed opinion.
>Akihabara embraced personal computer enthusiasts in the early 1990s
Technically the area started attracting computer nerds a bit earlier. In 1976 NEC launched its low-cost TK-80 microcomputer assembly kit for hobbyists (considered Japan's first home computer), and they opened a Bit-INN Service Center that same year on the seventh floor of the Radio Kaikan building in Akihabara to provide technical support to customers.
You seems to be really hung up on discrediting the place as simply a haven for smut and sex (although you can only cite a single venue for sex, which no longer exists...)
Seems to me the only person obsession with sex here is you yourself. I'm reminded of this brilliant statement by Stephen Fry regarding the Catholic church's same obsession:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUOUMqyimhA#t=8m17s
The truth is that Akihabara is a unique part of Tokyo, a place unlike any other city in the world, with an interesting past and a varied and vibrant culture which encompasses all sorts of hobbies from model cars and planes, DIY electronics, audiophile systems, to video games, and of course anime and manga.
To deny that Akihabara is neither a subcultural hotspot, or that it even has a subculture, sounds like evidence that you've never been more than an outsider looking in on the place.
There is no doubt that the people who regularly enjoy Akihabara tend to have similar hobbies and interests, styles of dress, patterns of behavior, and they share an in-group jargon...all the elements which define the very nature of a subculture.
http://is.gd/5hqZP
My thoughts on his piece below:
Sean,
I see that you dislike Akihabara, but your attack piece amounts to little more than uninformed opinion.
>Akihabara embraced personal computer enthusiasts in the early 1990s
Technically the area started attracting computer nerds a bit earlier. In 1976 NEC launched its low-cost TK-80 microcomputer assembly kit for hobbyists (considered Japan's first home computer), and they opened a Bit-INN Service Center that same year on the seventh floor of the Radio Kaikan building in Akihabara to provide technical support to customers.
You seems to be really hung up on discrediting the place as simply a haven for smut and sex (although you can only cite a single venue for sex, which no longer exists...)
- It’s the sex and pornography that keeps Akihabara going
- ...the sex comes in other forms as well...
- ...arguing against the implicit sexual undertones of the maid cafe phenomenon is simply naive.
- ...in a country where actual sex for money is commonly offered in many forms.
- ready to spend serious money on their own sexual fulfillment
- 2D sexual fulfillment
Seems to me the only person obsession with sex here is you yourself. I'm reminded of this brilliant statement by Stephen Fry regarding the Catholic church's same obsession:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUOUMqyimhA#t=8m17s
The truth is that Akihabara is a unique part of Tokyo, a place unlike any other city in the world, with an interesting past and a varied and vibrant culture which encompasses all sorts of hobbies from model cars and planes, DIY electronics, audiophile systems, to video games, and of course anime and manga.
To deny that Akihabara is neither a subcultural hotspot, or that it even has a subculture, sounds like evidence that you've never been more than an outsider looking in on the place.
There is no doubt that the people who regularly enjoy Akihabara tend to have similar hobbies and interests, styles of dress, patterns of behavior, and they share an in-group jargon...all the elements which define the very nature of a subculture.
Labels: Akihabara, colony drop
posted by whiterabbit at
12:53 PM
3 Comments:
Nice counter point, To dwell on the sex/porn aspect of Akiba completely misses much of the culture. I don't live in Japan and only know a little of the history of Akiba.
The maid cafes are just one small part of Akiba, while it is there (the sex aspect) it is simply one small part of the whole.
Which is the point of Sean's article that got lost in his sex-obsession. There are many things which drive the flavor of Akiba. It is a fun place and a must visit for anyone claiming a shred of otakuness.
I lived in Tokyo in the 90s, even lived and worked on the Hibiya line so Akihabara was convenient to me, and I went there at least monthly.
I left Japan in 2000 so I don't know what Akiba is like now, but it's my general impression that the fuzoku-lite stuff is pretty peripheral.
Akihabara to me will always be T-ZONE, the multitude of Softmap stores, dedicated Mac, FM-Towns, and Sharp storefronts, that crazy Aum-run PC store, and the surviving 1970s pre-bubble vibe of many of the storefronts that were still in business in the 90s.
Thank you for your comments!
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home