Comiket Terminology Part 3
So it was over. Did you have fun? I did.^^ I didn’t mean to cosplay seriously, so did Kakei Jubei. Also I met up with two young guys who I got to know on mixi, and had an off-kai. Comiket is not only to buy a doujinshi, but to meet people.
There are some more words left, so I shall quickly introduce.
a. 海賊版同人誌[kaizokuban doujinshi]: Yes, pirates doujinshi. To copy a doujinshi with no permission and sell. Lately, the problem should be numerous downloading sites rather than such a book. We don’t seem to find such a book at the bookstore anymore, but on the net we do. I don’t follow a doujinshi, so that I am not quite sure about this. Are those sites free?
b. 無修正同人誌[mushusei doujinshi]: Uncensored. Umm, they are illustrations, so it is not a big deal. Anyway, because of the law such a book is prohibited. I have seen a real one before, but it is ridiculous because they were not good at describing sexual organs at all. Is this a vagina? Just a hole! Has the author seen a real one? What’s the point in censoring such a pathetic hole?
c. 買い専[kaisen]: Those who only purchase a doujishi. It implys you don’t make a doujinshi, but just buy. 私は買い専です。[I am a kaisen.]
d. カラコロ[karakoro]: It is a trolley as a shopping cart. You will see a lot of female otakus carrying this at the event. A doujinshi is thin, but if you buy a lot, it would be heavy. I see male otakus holding big bags, but female otakus are using this. Cosplayers use this as well. カラコロ[karakoro] stems from the sound of dragging it.
e. 企業ブース[kigyou booth]: A booth from a certain copyrighted company. Of course it is not a fan-made, so there is a very long long queue in front of it.
f. 健全[kenzen]: A dounjishi for all age. Not porn. 健全 means sound.
g. 限定本[genteibon]: A limited edition. Otakus are really hooked by a word, 限定[gentei]. So when such a popular circle issues a limited edition, it would cause some troubles. This is the main reason why fans wait overnight.
h. 売り子[uriko]: A vendor. There has to be two per circle, otherwise you can’t go to the washroom.
i. 島[shima]: There are several long square counters side by side inside the hall. Each counter shall be called 島[shima], and basically a 島 puts the same genre circles altogether. Inside a 島, each circle is selling doujinshis.
j. 島買い[shimagai]: To buy almost all the dounjishis on the certain 島 regardless of the circle. Only those who are rich can do this.
k. 書店委託[shoten itaku]: If you don’t want to line up for a doujinshi, or fail to get, just go to the bookstores which handle doujinshis such as とらのあな[toranoana], まんだらけ[mandarake], or メッセンサオー[messensaoh]. You can buy doujinshis if the circle commits its dounjishis to the bookstore. But remember, those doujinshis are more expensive than it should have been because of the commission fee.
i. 妖怪[youkai]: Anyone whom you don’t want to get close…or don’t want to see…Such a painful person, it means. I spotted a pair of C.C and Lelouch cosplayers when I was at the cosplay forum. But both of them were like sumo-wrestlers[相撲取り]. I heard some people saying 妖怪[youkai] behind me…妖怪 means a monster. Besides, I must say there were more crossdressers than I thought. And most of them were done by sweaty ojisans.
l. 撮られたガール[torareta girl]: Such a skimpy female cosplayer. They want to get taken a photo, so that is why they are willing to cosplay such a sexy character like Yoko in Gurren Lagan. Actually next to me, there was a nice Yoko. She was surrounded by a lot of photographers. But how could she be fine on such a freezing day?
That’s all I can think of now. If you get a chance, come to next summer comiket!
And this is going to be the last post this year. I just look back, oh no I had fun so much. I saw some of you in real life, had a private photoshooting, and even cosplayed together. Thank you very much, I was quite happy.
Have a happy new year, and I will keep going next year.
Comiket Terminology Part 2
So it has started. Did you go today? I think I am coming tomorrow, not just because day 2 is for otome. Just to see my friends out there!
Alright let’s start Part 2. This time I shall mention doujinshi sellers, yes we say サークル[circle] to mean a group of sellers who actually make a doujinshi. As you may know, these circles shall respectively sell their own doujinshi at a booth. They are classified depending upon how popular they are.
a. 大手サークル[ohte-circle]: Yes, very popular and famous circles. It is said that those circle might issue approximately 2,000 to 3,000 copies at such a big doujin event. If more, it might be called 超大手サークル[chou-ohte-circle]. Besides, these circles are often placed as near as possible to the wall or the emergency exit in order to manage a long queue, so you can call 壁サークル[kabe-circle] or 非常口サークル[hijouguchi-circle].
b. 中堅サークル[chuken-circle]: Not as much as 大手サークル, but it is hard for one circle to survive in the doujin society. If you are chosen at the winter comic market, it is not sure if you will be chosen at the summer comic market next year. 中堅サークル is such a long-lasted circle.
c. よろずサークル[yorozu-circle]: よろず[yorozu] means countless, anything, or whatever. This is a circle which has no genre in particular. Depending upon the time and the trend, they may change the genre. It may be called イナゴサークル[inago-circle] or locust-circle. Like locusts get to the sweet stuff, those circles shall come to the mainstream. It doesn’t matter to some new fans, but for those who really love the genre are likely to dislike yorozu-circles. Because they might change it quickly into another genre once it is done. In other words, all they think is earn money.
d. ピコ[pico]: A lolita-and-shota looking boy named Pico is going to have a sex with a guy named もっくnIt is still a minor circle which issues less than 100 copies at a time. This pico is a kind of prefix to mean a very tiny number 0.000.00…Anyway, except for 大手サークル, almost all the circle are something like this. Which means 大手サークル is really very rare. Also it is often used for a circle to humbly introduce itself like, “They are 大手, but we are pico[彼らは大手ですが、私たちはピコです].”
e. 赤字サークル[akaji-circle]: 赤字[akaji] means in deficit. Well, doujin is, if nothing else, a hobby. After all, since they love the same work they get together, foam a circle, and make a doujinshi. They don’t really seem to care about how much they can earn. If such a pico circle sells a doujinshi at 300 yen, there would be no profit. Most doujin people are like this. I sometimes hear “I will be a pro-doujin and make a killing” from some of my friends, but I must say such a chance is very slim.
f. 牛歩サークル[gyuho-circle]: 牛歩[gyuho] means a snail’s pace. This circle often deliberately makes it slow in order to make a long queue. By doing so, they try to make their circle look popular. So if you encounter a long line, do not think the circle is actually a 大手. It could be a 牛歩サークル. If it is really a 大手, it should be near the wall.
g. ダミーサークル[dummy circle]: If you can get a booth, you are allowed to enter the venue before general customers. These circles just exist in order to do so. Of course they don’t sell any doujinshis because they don’t have any.
Below is some relevant words.
h. 一限[ichigen]: Actually this is an abbreviation of 一人につき一部限り[one-person-one-copy]. Especially, most 大手サークル do not allow you to buy more than two copies. So even if you want to buy two for your friend, it wouldn’t be possible so long as they insist 一限. Before you join the comiket, make sure you check how many copies they sell per person.
i. オク禁[okukin]: An abbreviation of オークション禁止[auction kinshi]. Yes, it could be a good deal if you sell 大手’s doujinshi at auction. Actually, it is supposed to be 400 yen, but it could be sold at 4,000 yen. Most 大手 forbid to sell their doujinshi at auction. But evil is everywhere. There are some gangs who buy doujinshi to do this in the first place. It is called 同人ゴロ[doujingoro]. ゴロ[goro] means rogue.
j. ごめんなさい本[gomennasaibon]: If you have been to comiket, you might have seen a pile of simple books on the counter. There is a note saying “We are sorry, but we couldn’t catch it.” Since they couldn’t finish it, they ended up making a compensation. Usually it is sold at 10 yen(or for free). On a ごめんなさい本, there are some rough skecth or illustrations.
k. 共同購入[kyoudou kounyu]: I think the young man who I met up with two days ago is coming to comiket with his two friends. That is wise, I guess they must be planning how they do “hunting.” 共同購入[kyoudou kounyu] is to collaborate with someone else to get as many doujinshi as possible. It is better to form a team to work out, and decide who is responsible for the certain area. But as mentioned above, you should consider there might be a possibility of 一限.
That’s all I can think of now. Enjoy another two days.
Comiket Terminology Part 1
I met up with my friend’s friend who came to Tokyo all the way from Singapore yesterday. Coming to Tokyo around this season must imply the certain otaku event, yes the young man is going to join Winter Comic Market for 3 days. I haven’t decided to go yet because it is too cold(really!) now and I actually do not follow doujinshi that much. The only reason why I join Comiket is that I can meet up with some of my friends who I don’t really meet so often.
At any rate, I have not mentioned Comiket so far although there are some words to introduce. Now is the good time, so if you happen to go maybe it will be good to know. However, there are a bit more words than I thought, so day 1 focuses on some odd phonomenon or certain act which are often seen at Comiket.
a. 走り屋[hashiriya]: Normally this means a hot robber[暴走族, bousouzoku], but actually this is a bunch of sweaty male otaku who desperately dash to the doujinshi booths. Usually this happens on the last day(day 3), yes the day for ero-doujinshi. As soon as the gate is open, you can see this is happening near the flyover to East Hall at Tokyo Big Sight. But do not get close to them. If you are invloved in it, you will get hurt or even die. This is also called 男津波[otoko tsunami] or tidal wave of men or エロニーニョ[ERO Ni-no]. That’s well put. I think you already know, but do not run no matter how much you want to get your favorite doujinshi. It is not allowed to run inside the hall anyway.
b. コミケ雲[comikegumo]: You know what I am going to say? This often happens in summer. Caught on? If you have a chance to go to the summer comic market, please look up the ceiling. You might be able to see some white fog around the ceiling all over. It’s like a cloud, and this can be also seen on the last day(day 3). Those sweat of otacustomers changes into vapor and it lifts up to the ceiling. Then it is going to be set as a shape of cloud with the chilled air from the air-conditioner. Now Comiket takes place in Tokyo Big Sight, but before it used to be at Harumi. At that time, the ceiling of the hall was lower than that of Big Sight, so that is why this used to happen a lot. It is also called 晴海雲[Harumigumo].
c. 徹夜組[tetsuyagumi]: A group of people who stays overnight near the venue in order to get in as soon as possible. This is prohibited but there are still people who do so. If something wrong happens to them, the one to be blamed is going to be the sponsors, even if it is not Comiket’s fault. If it goes too far, there would be a possibility that Comiket would never take place anymore. So that is why they strictly forbid customers to wait overnight, but unfortunately it keeps happening every year. Instead of that, there are even people who use a hotel near the venue. Either way, these things are not good to do, though.
Continued to Part 2…
外伝もの[gaidenmono]
Before, Zetsubou-sensei said like 人は本筋以外のところが気になるものなのです[Anything else but the main point actually interests people]. That might be true. Come to think of it, I have seen something like that a lot. The more characters, the more popular other supporting characters would be. Even get more popular than a lead character. Of course, doujin fans sure create countless stories with their own favorite characters from the series, however, when a certain character(not a lead) gets very popular there would be a spin-off story or work…That is 外伝[gaiden] or 外伝もの[gaidenmono] or side story.
We say 二次創作[nijisousaku] to mean such a fan-made story, but unlike this, 外伝 would require an agreeable storyline for the sheer fans. Besides, it ought to unveil something that is supposed to be veiled in the main plot. For example, in the main story, the character was an enemy and died in the battle. But his fans would like to know why he was an enemy and what had happened before he showed. Focused on the character, another story begins…that is 外伝もの[gaidenmono]. It is not uncommon that 外伝 gets more popular than the main story. Speaking of 外伝, I can definitely think of L change the World, which is a spin-off film of Death Note. Needless to say, this film focuses on L, and features another story. Neither Light nor Misamisa shows, so that means it can spare much time for L. His fans are as happy as can be…
My favorite 外伝 is Trunks the Story[トランクス・ザ・ストーリー～たったひとりの戦士] in Dragon Ball. In the main plot, Trunks comes from the future world to save Goku because Goku is supposed to be dead out there. Android no.17 and no.18 massacre people, so that is why Trunks tries to save Goku who is going to die from heart disease. Trunks is not such a big part, but the side story is really nice. It clearly shows what had happened to Trunks before he showed, and features what he had experienced…how pathetic the world he had been in…Because there are basically a few characters in the side story, it could unfold the story more. In fact, there are just Trunks, Bulma, and Gohan most of the times in the episode.
Oh speaking of which, if you follow Ace Attorny[逆転裁判], you would be sure of 逆転検事[gyakuten kenji], which features Prosecutor Mitsurugi Reiji[御剣怜侍]. This time, the lead is him! I wonder how many his fangirls are screaming in joy? Actually, I prefer him than Naruhodo-kun.^^ I bet this upcoming game would do better than the previous series.
中二病[chunibyo]
Since this term has really become popular, I must make a post on this. I guess this is one of the yearly famous words this year.
Years ago, there was a debate show named 真剣１０台しゃべり場[shinken jyudai shaberiba] in which ten or more teenagers discussed something. The theme changed every week, like “Why do people do blah blah…,” or even “What’s wrong with being an otaku?” At any rate, I used to laugh a lot at their discussion because they were truly childish. Even though they pretended be know-it-all, it seemed too painful to see. A boy pretends to be an outcast, a girl pretends to be cynical…or something like that. But after all, they didn’t make any sense.
Anyway, this term came from the radio talk show which was hosted by the certain otaku entertainer, 伊集院光[Hikaru Ijyuin]. In the show, he mentioned his embarrassing past when he was young(14 years old?), and asked the listners to post their own painful pasts. He summed it up as 中二病[chunibyou], or eight-grade-disease. Since that was well put, otaku people started to make a post on the net to write about their own pasts. To get to the point, 中二病 means a ridiculous and painful thought or such a behavior those are frequently seen among 14-year-old boys(中二 is an abbreviation of 中学二年生[chugakuninensei], or 8th grade). Or, those people who have such a thought or do such a thing although they are grown-up. If there is a 2ch-like saying, it should be written as 厨二病.
Simply, 中二病 means something 8th-grade-boys mostly do in order to try to surpass anybody else. But it also means someone pretends to know how the world works in spite of being a kid, or someone who pretends to be special far from others. Meanwhile, they might get cocky all of a sudden, or ironically look down on adults. Yes, in the show mentioned above, most of the teenagers seemed to have 中二病 though some of them were not really 14.
Speaking of 14 years old, I can immediately think of GTO and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Both of the shows feature 14-year-old characters. In GTO, most of the students hate the teachers who are doing a dirty work whereas they pretend to be delinquent. In Evangelion, sometimes what Shinji or Kaworu say might include such contexts. Nagisa Kaworu is actually a last servant and he is really different from others. In other words, he is a really outcast. But Shinji is not. Nonetheless, he sometimes sounds like that. I don’t mean to be rude, but in a way Shinji has also 中二病. (;^^)
Also, 中二病 mostly indicates boys, so what about such girls? It’s 小六病[shourokubyo], sixth-grade-disease since most girls get mature ahead of boys at the age of 12 or so. And those people who look down on 中二病 in spite of having 中二病 are called 高二病 [kounibyo] or soph disease. Oh well, maybe if you look back, there would be one or two things that were too embarrassing to recall. As for me, I used to wear my brother’s suit secretly when I went out. Or else, ordered a coffee with no sugar though I knew it was very strong. Oh no! How could I do something like that!? ><
Well, I just quickly list it out in order to describe how 中二病 is.
a. Claiming to be the God of the new world without Death Note.
b. Claiming that you can change the world without the power of Geass.
c. Foaming a SOS Brigade and searching for misteries on Sunday.
d. Despising your father although you can’t pilot Eva.
e. 戦士症候群 (in a way)
f. Wishing to be a real キルドレ (in a way)
g. Shouting “I am in despair!” all the time.
h. Keep talking about the one thing as if knowing everything of it. (超うざい)
i. Copying Shokotan-go all the time. (痛い！)
These things would look very painful if you do in real life. I just created above, but I am sure you can, too.
OMG, then my cosplay is also 中二病? Don’t say that! But yes, I know. Because I cosplay a stundent although I am not anymore, far from one.
※ただしイケメンに限る[tadashi ikemen ni kagiru]
The first thing I have to say is that this is not actually an otaku terminology, but even general people use this in common. Since I am a man, I don’t quite understand how women actually feel about this. I know this is not important anymore when it comes to marriage for women, but there are three crucial items for a partner called 3K, which means 高収入[kousyunyu], 高学歴[kougakureki], 高身長[koushinchou]. It boils down that income, education, and height should be good. I know the higher the better, but I don’t think women really care about these things although income should be important. After all, the thing is that you can be reassured to have a happy life ever after, I believe so. だと思うんだけどなぁ＾＾
But this might work unless it is about marriage. While young girls can have fun with guys, the important thing could be this. Yes, whether he is handsome or not. ただしイケメンに限る[tadashi ikemen ni kagiru] means But he has to be handsome(イケメン[ikemen] means handsome or a handsome man). This is something women use as a note behind their wish toward an ideal man. Whatever he does, he has to be handsome. Or else, it is really ironic that such ikemen deserves to be happy. But the truth is no. There are a lot of men who has a girlfriend or a wife though they are not ikemen.
スーツが似合ってメガネが似合う男の人がいい！（※ただしイケメンに限る）/ I want a man who goes well with a suit and glasses! [※But it should be ikemen]
In other words, he can do whatever so long as he is handsome, and whatever he wears is fine so long as he is handsome. Umm, anyway, I shall write down comparative forms depending upon his looking.
超イケメン[chou-ikemen]＞イケメン[ikemen]＞フツメン[futsumen]＞ブサメン[busamen]＞キモメン[kimomen]
超イケメン is superative, フツメン is average, and キモメン is worst. ブサ of ブサメン means 不細工[busaiku, ugly], and キモメン is horrible.
Meanwhile, ただしイケメンに限る(you can abbreviate as ただイケ[tadaike]) sure works among female otakus. Particulary, it is really necessary to meet fujoshis’ dellusion. Let’s see an example below.
- So long as his lover is handsome, he can cheat on me.
This is from the certain show in which several fujoshis are talking about love for their own. One of the girls mentions a unique type of love.
- What if my boyfriend fell in love with someone else…
- He would be able to cheat on me if his lover is a handsome man!
- Yes! We agree with you!
That pretty made me laugh. Whoever they pick up for their dellusion, it should be handsome(bishounen). Especially in real life, it must be. Like those beautiful boys from Johnney’s Entertainment.
- What if he was ugly?
- DEFINITELY NOT!
To meet fujoshis’ dellusion in 3D is really difficult. Because they accept none other than bishounen. Otherwise…I am too scared to imagine.
Come to think of it, I saw a tragic outcome here. I don’t really know what to say.
[Intermission] Help me with my English?
I know this topic has nothing to do with this blog, but lately I’ve been thinking that I need to improve my English. It is not only for this blog, but myself. Since I haven’t spoken English at all, I feel I have almost forgotten how to speak.
I have tried some classified ads where people seek for a language exchange partner. But they are all the same, just a place for girlhunting. Because I always get rejected as soon as they learn I am a man. -___-
If you can help me, please speak to me. Even once a week is okay. Maybe about 20 minutes or so at a time. That’s pretty enough. If you happen to be studying Japanese, I will help you in return. ^^ I use skype to talk someone online. So if you have an account, let me know by e-mail. You can e-mail me from the sidebar.
Please know I am wanting a steady partner. I would like a person who can keep being my partner as long as possible.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.^^
Speak to me! You are right.
あのね商法[anone shouhou]
- あのねっ！
If you just download your favorite anime from the fansub, this really doesn’t matter to you, but it does to (Japanese) anime fans who watch anime on TV. Well, if nothing else this kind of way has become remarkable and really irritating in Japan. For example, in a TV show in which some showfolks are doing something, and just before they show the result, a message gets in to keep the audience staying tuned, saying like この後、信じられない結末が！[you will see an unbelievable outcome soon!]. But mostly the result turns out to be very boring. I detest this way, so that is why I do not watch TV a lot lately.
I don’t want to believe this way has even got into anime, but I should after I learned this term, あのね商法[anone shouhou] or You-Know business method. あのね[anone] means you know, and 商法[shouhou] means a business method. To get to the point, this means not to deliberately broadcast the last (or last few) episode of the series on TV, and to sell it as DVD edition. It boils down that you have to buy the DVD in order to watch the final episode.
This phoenomenon is based on the anime, かしまし～ガールミーツガール～[kashimashi-girl meets girl-] which was aired from Jan 11th to Mar 29th in 2006. In the episode 12, on the verge of the last scene a girl named Hazumu says あのね…[you know…] and ends. Yes, actually this anime has 13 episodes total, but only 12 of it were aired. So they promoted the DVD edition which recorded the last episode. This provoked the fans and they named it あのね商法[anone shouhou]. However, it didn’t seem that this anime didn’t conclude perfectly. In fact, the aired episode 12 had a so-so conclusion, not that terrible ending. But as I have said, this irritating way is hated as a matter of fact, and also it took 7 months to the DVD came out.
For example, if the anime has to stop because of the poor rating, it would be very nice of the DVD edition that has the rest of the episodes coming out. Or else, such an OVA which has some more additional episodes would be good if only the basic story concludes. At this point, School Days is a perfect example. The last episode was not aired because of the incident which closely resembled in Kotonoha’s slaying. Because of this, most school days fans got disappointed so that the DVD edition came out. And this is not anime, but my favorite American TV drama, Tru Calling released the DVD edition which has the unaired episodes. Too bad, this drama stopped because of the poor rating although I liked it.
If something like this had happened just this once, it would not have been such a big deal. However, IGPX[Immortal Grand Prix] which was aired from Oct 11th in 2005 to Mar 29th in 2006, almost simultaneoulsy ended in this way. Yes, the 24 of it were aired although it had 26 episodes. Unlike kashimashi, the ending of this anime was not satisfying.
These things not only provoked anime fans, but made them distrust the anime industry. Having said that, I know we should not blame the anime studios because they are seriously lack of money. That is why they have to be shrewed. By using あのね商法 or selling any other profitable goods(like a soundtrack), they have to exploit money from the fans. I think the main reason why they are lack of money is the TV stations. Because nowadays the anime studios have to pay for the timeslot. It seems like the dirty deal is happening around here…
- 絶望した！あのね商法に絶望した！
Japanese words of anime fans, by anime fans, for anime fans 