Kodansha Forum

ICv2 has word that Kodansha will be releasing a new book called The Otaku Encyclopedia this October. Written by Patrick Galbraith (that would be the former Tokyo resident and otaku tour guide, not the tennis player, programmer, nor Otaku USA editor Patrick Macias).

The book is reportedly “an insider's guide to the subculture of cool Japan,” and although it offers a translation of this as a subtitle in Japanese, I don't think it actually has been printed in Japanese originally. Frederik L. Schodt, a manga scholar best known for his works with Tezuka (including his book, The Astro Boy Essays), has written the foreword.

The 248-page book book will retail at $19.95 and features 124 color pages and 150 photos, which kind of makes you wonder what fills all those other pages, doesn't it? The answer to that repotedly being in-depth information on maid cafes, moe, interviews of everyone from Takashi Murakami to Shoko-tan, etc.

Hmm...$19.95 seems a little steep, but I think I'll probably check it out. How about you?

Interviews with Murakami and Shokotan and more kinda makes this worth it to me, but i'll flip through it to be sure.

Glad to see that they've spelt moé correctly.

@spongbros: There is no "correct" spelling of moe, technically, unless you count もえ and/or 萌え. :) I'm not actually a huge fan of the accent mark over the e, because while it does show readers that it's a separately pronounced "e," it also can lead them to try and put stress on that syllable, so it's mo-E, when in truth Japanese doesn't really put stress on any syllable, and if you were going to it would be more like MO-e.

If you want to use the International Phonetic Alphabet for that syllable, it'll actually still be read "moe," but not too many anime fans know the IPA, or that its "e" is always read like the e in "bed." I suppose you could write it "moɨ" for a slightly reduced "eh" sound, but most people will just think it reads like the French word "moi."

Ahh, language...

I might flip through the book if I see it in a bookstore, but it doesn't really sound like it would be worth a purchase at $20.

I habitually stay away from things with bad anime art on the covers. I guess those are about the only anime-related thing I'd be embarrassed to be seen holding in public, unless I'm making fun of it, like several of the How to Draw Manga books. This one isn't terrible, but... yeah. I never realize how much of an elitist asshole I am until I write things like this. XD

In any case, the interviews all sound really interesting. I'd probably flip through it if no one was around. XD