[Cosplay] Katei kyoushi Hitman REBORN!
Speaking of JUMP anime series, what would you think of? In America, Naruto and BLEACH are popular, and in Europe, it’s D-grayman. Death Note are everywhere. Too bad, my favorite series from JUMP are less popular out of Japan…yes, I really love Gintama and Katei kyoushi Hitman REBORN![家庭教師ヒットマンREBORN!]. For some reason, in China and South Korea both are famous, I heard.
Among cosplayers, those two series are very popular because there are many characters so that you can form a group easily. And then they always seek for someone to join at an upcoming cosplay event. If you happen to cosplay Gintoki, and want to have fun with other cosplayers, you just go to an event or you will see a lot of Gintama groups for sure. Most of my cosplaying friends can do someone in Gintama or KHR. I can cosplay Hijikata from Gintama, but I hadn’t cosplayed anyone from KHR, so I decided to cosplay him.
He is Hibari Kyouya[雲雀恭弥], who is the leader of Namimori’s Discipline Committee, or Prefects, whose members happen to be a group of delinquents loyal to him despite his lack of care for them. Though he mostly speaks in a calm tone, Hibari is an excellent but violent fighter himself, who uses a pair of tonfa as his primary weapons. Though he uses his status to harass others, he actually has great pride in his school and has a soft side toward animals. However, students are not the only ones who fear him, teachers and other town residents know of him as well since he enforces his form of order throughout the entire town. He prefers to be alone, usually beating up those who crowd near him.
Sounds cool, and the reason why I like him is that he is not sure of his own age. I mean, he forgot it so that he can be any age as he likes it, he insists. Sometimes he shows up around the first year students’ territory or anywhere. OMG, that’s me! Because I forgot my age, I can cosplay anybody. From a 14-year-old boy to 34-year-old guy, no one knows my real age. Even I don’t know(笑). なんちゃって、嘘です。ホントはただのアラサーレイヤーでーす、よろしくー♪
A while ago, I already uploaded the 10-years-later him but the school uniform version had to come first, darn it. I actually cosplayed already, but I did it again because I didn’t like any of the pictures. Read the rest of this entry »
メンズナックル語[Men’s Knuckle go]
Being young is good, you know. Whatever you do, no matter how stupid it would be, everything is going to be a nice memory in your life. Someday when you look back, you could enjoy remembering your precious memories. Oh no, what am I talking about? Why so sentimental? Never mind.^^
The reason why I sound like above, is because I feel that way when I browse a certain magazine at a convinience store. That is メンズナックル[Men’s Knuckle], or a monthly fashion magazine for young boys. Seemingly, it is a boys’ version of 小悪魔[koakuma] ageha. True, some models in this magazine are not only stylish boys, but gorgeous hosts[ホスト] from night clubs. When I was a high school student, some of the classmates used to read Men’s egg to not only follow the trend, but learn how to appeal yourself in front of girls or something like that. Although I was(am, of course) an otaku at that time, I was trying to follow the trend in order not to be isolated in the classroom. I feel it was ridiculous, but I didn’t understand it at all. So when I look back those days, it gives me a bitter smile(苦笑).
I am too old to follow this kind of thing, but when I see this magazine in a book shelf, I always laugh at a line on the cover page. It always says such a too-romantic line or even sounds like a line from an otome game. Later, I learned that is メンズナックル語[Men’s Knuckle go] or Men’s Knuckle language.
Yes, it seems like the writers must be fujoshis, anime fans, or otome game players, even ネオロマンサー[neoromancers (those who love otome games by KOEI, like Angelique, primo passo, or Harukanaru toki no naka de)]. Let’s see some examples.
神はモテ過ぎることを禁止していない。[No matter how many girls love me, God never forbids.]
オマエだけを護る守護者が欲しくないか？[Do you wanna a Guardian for only you?]
そう、オレこそが乙女心の暗殺者。[Yeah, I am an assassin of Maidens’ hearts.]
一夜の愛を永遠の想い出に変える錬金術師。[An alchemist is gonna make one night stand into an eternal memory.]
俺は貴族なんだ。正確には伯爵だ。[I am the Lord, actually the Earl.]
このBlackはダークマターより神秘的。[This black looks more mysterious than dark matter.]
コスモが俺をエロスへと導く！[Little Universe takes me to Eros!]
なんだそりゃ（笑）This makes no sense, but it is okay, I think. Because such a line for young people are supposed to be like this, I mean, it always exaggerates to get more people. Though it makes me laugh when I read those lines, I wonder how the readers feel about this. At any rate, I guess it is a really hard work to come up with such a fabulous line every month.
The most famous word coined by this magazine is 伊達ワル[datewaru]. 伊達[date] means fake or pretty looks like something, but not really. ワル[waru] is bad. It boils down that 伊達ワル means a young guy in such a street fashion so that he looks like a bad boy. Before, there was a saying ちょいワルオヤジ[choi waru oyaji]. This doesn’t come from this magazine, but another mens’ fashion magazine, LEON. ちょいワル[choi waru] means a bit evil, and オヤジ[oyaji] means a middle-aged man. Who’s a good example? Well, Jack Bauer, Robert De Niro, or Jean Reno…
Anyway, why does it have to be so rude? According to the manager, it is important to be positive and aggressive. Trust yourself, and don’t be beaten by anyone else. Pick up what you really want to wear, not care about others. That’s why those lines are always like a strong order. This is totally different from 草食男子[soushoku danshi], but I think it is interesting.
I don’t subscribe this magazine, however, it seems that what I like to wear has something common in this magazine. We sum up this kind of style お兄系[onii-kei] or キレイメ系[kireime-kei]. They tend to wear slim-fit clothes so that it makes a body look slender, and colors are most likely to be black, brown, or such a dark color.
こんなビジュアル系は嫌だ
By the way, these narcissistic lines remind me of some lyrics from the songs by Visual-kei[ビジュアル系] rock bands. Come to think of it, visual-kei is still popular among fujoshis even now whereas it is not in general. Then there must be writers who are actually visual-kei fans…
Speaking narcissistic, there is a big talk cerebrity. He is Manabu Oshio[押尾学]. Whatever he said in public are so rude and sounds narcissistic. There is even Oshio Sayings[押尾語録 or お塩語録（笑）]. Let’s check out some examples.
俺がテレビに出てない時はどっかでロックしてるんだ。[I am doing rock somewhere while I am away from you.]
バイクは好きだね。っていうか、バイクが俺を求めてる。[I like motorcycles, I mean, they need me.]
どいつもこいつも俺を見てやがる。[Everybody is looking at me, you know.]
押尾学の「学」は俺が学ぶんじゃなくて、お前らが俺から学ぶんだよ。 [My name, Manabu stands for learn. I don’t learn, but YOU must learn from me.]
After those sayings, he was arrested because of drug possession a while ago. Big talk didn’t last so long, and the tragic ending was waiting for him. To trust yourself is a good thing, but we have to be aware of the danger of overconfidence. We can make a mistake because we are learning that way.
脱オタク[datsu-otaku]
It’s so simple, this just means to stop being an otaku. That’s 脱オタク[datsu-otaku]. 脱[datsu] means to stop doing sth. For example, there is a typcial saying, 脱サラ[datsu-sara] or stop being a salaryman. It’s an abbreviation of 脱サラリーマン. If you are a salaryman, and stepping down to start a new business, you can say 脱サラする[datsu-sara suru].
But 脱オタク doesn’t go that way, I mean, it seems like it means to stop being so geeky, and try to be neat. Sounds like you should not carry such an otakish goods(like a T-shirt printed an anime character) with you, and be more like a general person. I don’t want to say like this, though…あんまりこういう事は言いたくないのだけれど。To be honest, I don’t like the way people regard otakus as an otaku. What’s wrong with carrying a keychain of Lelouch with me?
We have to know how a word, otaku[おたく] was considered when it was born. In 1980’s, this word was born and at that time, there was a famous nerd 宅八郎[Hachiro Taku] who used to carry a figure with him. His looking was really otaku-like, so that is why people think about him or a looking like him when it comes to otaku(please find his picture yourself if you want to see). And then otaku became a kind of negative label, so people even used to be scared of being an otaku.
Even if you like to play tennis, but you have to stop, we don’t seem to say 脱テニス[datsu-tennis]. Because tennis is just an outdoor sport, and doesn’t have such a negative image. But you can use 脱 for such a bad habit such as smoking, gambling, playing around women or something like that. So being an otaku is something you shouldn’t follow forever, that’s how people interpret. But why?
Tennis, golf, or whatever, people can enjoy it as a hobby while they are having a steady life. Comparing to it, otaku people are really enthusiastic to follow what they love. Sometimes they go too far, leaving such a steady life. うっ、それって俺の事じゃん（苦笑）They don’t love somebody, don’t marry, and purchase weird stuff(looks that way from people) or follow a 2D girl. There are really otakus who are in a strong obssession like me.
Besides, there was a landmark incident called M事件[M-jiken] which a geeky man kidnapped four little girls and killed in 1988. He turned out to be a figure otaku, and was obssessed with a little girl. Because of this, the press strictly insulted otaku people, so that more and more otakus couldn’t come out of the closet. So 脱オタク was actually born in the otaku society. To leave what they love behind and have a steady life, or to go on being an otaku and try to be neat, that was a desperate decision…To be an otaku, or not to be an otaku, that’s the question.
Don’t take it so seriously, please. The meaning of 脱オタク has changed since the hit movie 電車男[densha otoko] in 2004. This is a love story between a geeky man and a young lady. The otaku acted by Takayuki Yamada shows in a geeky fashion first, but he tries to change his looking, like buying neat clothes and going to the hairdresser’s. Because of this scene, 脱オタク seems to mean to improve your looking so that no one thinks you are an otaku.
If you have watched 電車男, you would know how the hero looked in the movie. That is a typical image we have towards otakus. I don’t think someone like him still exists in this world even now, but there are…still, but few.
There is nothing wrong to be an otaku, but if you are an adult with a common sense, you should be neat so that people don’t feel uncomfortable. It’s not difficult at all. Keep your hair tidy, shave, and wear a clean shirt and shoes. That’s it.
Me? When I was a student at school, I looked like a densha otoko. So I don’t want to look back then. Maybe only my old friends know how I looked. I am a cosplayer now, so I have to try to make myself look like a character I cosplay as much as possible. To do so, I mustn’t be like a nerd…oh I don’t know. I know my place, I mean, whatever I do, I can’t do 脱オタク. Because…I enjoy my cosplay life! When I do 脱オタク, I would have to close this blog and say good-bye to you.
なんちゃって、そんな日が来るのかなぁ？ いや来ないな（笑）
さようなら…
[Intermission] Summer Comiket!
I am sorry that I left my blog for a while, but I have been too tired and busy to blog lately. However, I shouldn’t ignore the mega otaku event, comiket, should I? This time, I went there with two cosplaying friends of mine. It was too hot, but I really enjoyed because I hadn’t cosplayed for a while. You know, my battery of moe nearly ran out, but now it’s full! Let’s charge your moe if you are tired with this heat!
If you don’t follow a doujinshi(fan-made comic), but cosplay, you can pass the venue, 国際展示場[kokusai tenjijou] through, and go to the next building, TFT where cosplay events often take place. I must say the level of cosplayers are really high at this place, so it is worth going even if you don’t cosplay. Yes, there are a lot of photographers even though non-cosplayers have to pay for a more expensive admission ticket(2,500 yen). I was a bit nervous because it was my first time coming there…
I cosplayed Kakei Jubei in GetBackers since the costume is easy to wear and comfortable in summer, and my friend did Gilbert in Pandora Hearts. After we got dressed, we walked around to see other cosplayers. I spot some really nice cosplayers, so here you go! Charge your moe! But don’t save any photos, please. Read the rest of this entry »
兄貴[aniki]
Ask anyone about this term, or you will see what kind of person he/she is depending upon the answer. If you ask me, I will answer like below.
To be more simple, 兄貴[aniki] means a big brother, and sounds a bit cooler than お兄ちゃん[oni-chan]. However if you say 兄貴, it wouldn’t work that way depending upon a context or a situation.
I am an anime fan, so speaking of 兄貴, I would definitely think of 水木一郎[Ichiro Mizuki] who is best known for his work on theme songs for anime or tokusatsu. Although he is still active even now, he used to sing a lot of anime songs 1970 onwards such as Mazinger Z or Babel Ⅱ. He is really a passionate vocalist, and the way he sings beats your heart for sure. So most anime fans worship him as 兄貴 or アニソンの帝王[anison no teiou or Emperor of anime songs]. Some of the anime songs I used to love are sung by him like Pro Golfer Saru年は聞くなよ, so I do adore him as 兄貴. Come to think of it, there is one more 兄貴, he is 影山ヒロノブ[Hironobu Kageyama]. His most famous song is absolutely CHA-LA-HE-CHA-LA which is the OP theme song of Dragon Ball Z. His singing voice is very soulful and it sounds like flying in the sky. If I have to mention more, I would say きただにひろし[Hiroshi Kitadani] or 遠藤正明[Masaaki Endou]. They sang the theme song of One Piece and Aba-ranger(アバレンジャー) respectively. Anyway, if a person mentions above singers upon hearing 兄貴, he/she is an anime or tokusatsu fan.
Have you ever watched any yakuza(Japanese Mafia) films? In the yakuza’s society, 兄貴 is used to address a senior you work with (replacement of 先輩[sempai]). Usually, they work as a pair; one is younger, and the other is experienced. The younger calls the other 兄貴. It could be written in katakana, アニキ. Nah, it doesn’t mean he/she is that kind of person if the person answers like this. Rather, I guess this answer would come out the most because this connotation has been generalized.
One more. If a person answers like below, he(not she) would be possibly…
There is a shooting game named 超兄貴(メサイヤ)[chou-aniki-Messiah-]. See these two muscular guys? I don’t know why 超[chou] comes ahead of 兄貴, but well, maybe it might mean a more muscular guy since 超 means super- or hyper-. Yes, 兄貴 means such a muscular and manly man in the gay society. At the same time, 兄貴 could be an elder and experienced(yes, that way) like Abe-san. Also, there is another way to say such an 兄貴, that is ガチムチ[gachimuchi]. You can combine the two as ガチムチ兄貴[gachimuchi aniki]. Gachimuchi is more preferable to say among fujoshis although most BL fangirls do not like such a genre. I am pretty sure there are few fangirls who follow ガチムチ.
Why ガチムチ? I guess it could be divided into two parts, ガチ and ムチ. ガチ seems to come from ガッチリ[gacchiri] or hard, and ムチ[muchi] from ムッチリ[mucchiri] or muscular. We also say ムキムキ[mukimuki] to mean a beautiful muscle.
It seems like ガチムチ is preferable among gay people whereas it is less popular among fujoshis. In other words, there is a separate looking that is acceptable by each society. Look at below.
He is a Japanese pop singer, Ken Hirai[平井堅]. Which society do you think he is more preferable? The answer is, yes, gay society. Short hair, mustache, and a strong face. These things are must-have items(笑). A looking like him is so-called イカニモ系[ikanimo-kei]. I don’t know why it is written in katakana, but いかにも[ikanimo] is a kind of adverb and the meaning is…うーん、難しいな。It seems to be sth or it looks like sth if nothing else. Or, a person who has all the appearances of gay even if he is straight. 系[kei] is a type of person. So the full context is like いかにもゲイみたいな人[ikanimo gay mitaina hito] or a person who really looks like gay.
I already explained why most gay people dislike BL before, but this is a reason, too. So for fujoshis, イカニモ系 is not acceptable. Besides, there is a certain type called デブ專[debusen] or ポチャ專[pochasen]. Both mean a person who loves only fat people. Here is a line between fujoshis(and fudanshies) and gay people. When I was chatting with two fujoshi friends of mine…
a(me): Do you like 兄貴？
b(fujoshi 1): Absoultely not.
c(fujoshi 2): Me neither. Looks too sweaty, you know.
b: But a friend of mine follows ガチムチ. She has a minor taste, and she loves to see dark, handsome, muscular guys.
c: I don’t dislike such a muscular guy. Just seeing is okay, but I can’t use my yaoi filter with those guys. My eyes!
a: Then do you like イカニモ系?
b: Well…I don’t think so.
c: Like Ken Hirai? Oh his face is very strong! 濃い！
b: bangin, BL is BL, not gay, don’t you know that?
a: Y-Yes, I do know that. I learned from you girls.
c: You are not a type of person who gay people like.
a: Oh yeah?
b: Yeah, because you are too skinny.
c: And no mustache.
b: You are kind of ヤオイ体型[yaoi taikei].
a: What is it?
b: I made it. I mean, a person who seems to show in BL. Since there is アキバ体型[akiba taikei], I think it has to be a word like this.
c: Oh that’s well put. Any guys in BL have to be skinny, mustn’t be that muscular, but more feminine.
b: And nipples shouldn’t be large.
c: Shouldn’t be dark. So you meet these items!
a: Hey, come off it.
b: Someone like you are going to be an uke[bottom] after all. Whoever you pair up with.
a: This is sexual harassment! (((;゜д゜)))
ヤオイ体型って何だよ（苦笑）
弱気ヒーロー[yowaki hero]
If you happen to love any sports anime such as Major, Prince of Tennis, or something like that, what is the hero like inside you? I mean, what kind of person is he? Arrogant, yes could be. Ambitious, true. If you ask me, I must say there has been a lot of positive and aggressive heroes in this genre. For example, Echizen Ryouma in Prince of Tennis. He is really talented, but he is arrogant and sounds so rude sometimes. Sukuragi Hanamichi in Slam Dunk is a tough guy and passionate. Ohzora Tsubasa in Captain Tsubasa is an active soccer boy. See? Almost all the heroes in sports anime are tough or wild, so how can you believe such a timid hero in this genre?
However, you can find such a hero in this kind of anime. If you have watched Ookiku furikabutte[おおきく振りかぶって], you would see what I mean. The hero, Mihashi Ren was the previous ace pitcher in his middle school’s baseball team, but it seems that he only got the position because his grandfather was the owner of the school. His teammates (especially the team’s catcher) hated him, and they always lost their games. Mihashi is thoroughly convinced that he is a lousy baseball pitcher and he graduates to high school with extremely low self-esteem. He then transfers to Nishiura high school with plans of quitting baseball, because he does not believe he is good enough to succeed at baseball. However, he is dragged into Nishiura’s baseball team by their coach. Assisted by his new teammates (and especially the catcher, Takaya Abe), he grows in stature, confidence and skill, helping his team excel with his own abilities.
Such is a prologue of this anime. At any rate, I must say it is really rare that we have such a timid hero in a baseball anime. だって野球ってもっと汗臭い男らしいスポーツじゃない（笑）Comparing to other sports like tennis or golf, baseball sounds very manly. Is there someone like Mihashi in a baseball anime? There are a lot of baseball anime or manga such as Touch, Dokaben, or Kyojin no hoshi年は聞くなよｗ, but he is the only one I can think of. But why here? So I asked some girls who follow this anime why they love him. One girl said, “Mihashi is cute! And I really enjoy watching how he grows up and becomes strong. I think I tend to like such a 弱気ヒーロー[yowaki hero], you know.”
弱気[yowaki] means timid, negative, or pessimisitic. In other words, it’s such a wimp or a sissy. Before, it seemed like heroes in anime must be stronger than anyone else, but things changed. Nowadays, we can see such a wimp is becoming popular as well. Like the fangirl said, the reason why they are popular is that fans feel like watching over them. As a story goes on, the hero changes himself and becomes stronger than the beginning. That’s the point they love. Upon hearing this, I can think of Ikari Shinji in Neon Genesis Evangelion. He is also a 弱気ヒーロー, isn’t he? Most of my friends say he is a wimp. Yes that’s true. But to protect Ayanami Rei, he decides to be strong. Having said that, people can’t change so fast. It sure takes much time and courage. We are sometimes seen how 弱気ヒーロー suffer from the dilemma or nervous breakdown. Shinji is talking to himself, “I mustn’t escape!” Those things could make fans feel like watching over. Now he is a wimp, but after a few episodes he will grow up. Seeing such an improvement is enjoyable.
Come to think of it, there is another 弱気ヒーロー, he is Sato-kun in Welcome to NHK! He is a good-for-nothing, and can’t do anything himself. But in order to protect Misaki-chan, he becomes strong and tries to get a steady life.
What makes fans love 弱気ヒーロー is that, I guess, empathy. If you come across a character who is like you when you watch anime, don’t you empathize him/her? We are not necessarily strong like heroes in anime, so that’s why we feel like empathizing such a 弱気ヒーロー as though we see ourselves inside the character.
There is a word that is hard to explain, 強くなる[tsuyoku naru]. Above characters I mentioned are going to be stronger in the end than the beginning of the show. 強い[tuyoi] means strong, tough, or wild. But when we say 強くなりたい[tsuyoku naritai] in this context, it does mean not only I want to be strong physically, but mentally. Depending upon the situation, it might mean the latter only.
I like a strong character like Lelouch, but don’t dislike 弱気ヒーロー unless they are cowards forever.
Japanese words of anime fans, by anime fans, for anime fans 