Subcultures in Japan: Difference between revisions

Modern Japan is a fast-moving, highly volatile environment, with a strong sense of neophilia amongst the Japanese people. Combine that with the easy adaptability of the youth, and you get a veritable breeding ground for new and altered subcultures based on behaviours, clothes, music, whatever.

 

* ''[[Otaku]]'' - In the Japanese sense, obsessive enthusiasts of a particular hobby—not necessarily anime. Generally follows the same tone as older, more derogatory meanings of the Western word "geek". Still, these enthusiast groups are extremely organized and, at least within their own area of interest, highly social. Recently some otaku have taken to calling themselves ''Akiba-Kei'' or "Akiba style", in reference to the Tokyo neighbourhood of Akihabara where electronics shops, anime merchandising and maid cafes abound. Female otaku, and especially those interested in [[Yaoi Guys|BL]], are called sometimes ''fujoshi'' or ''otome'', the latter because they cluster around Otome Road in Ikebukuro and the former being a derogatory term for a [[Yaoi Fangirl]] derived from an alternate reading of "unnatural woman".

* [[Visual Kei]]: More elaborated upon on its page, musicians (generally of some permutation of rock music ranging from [[Heavy Metal]] to [[Power Pop]]) who dress in very elaborate and artistic styles, often intentionally trying to create [[Viewer Gender Confusion]]. Along with bosuzoku and yankii (which helped birth it in their own ways) one of the older subcultures, being, along with them, pre-Internet with its origins in the 1980s. Also unique in being one of the two first Japanese subcultures (along with [[Otaku]]) to gain true non-Japanese adherents worldwide (Lolita fashion was next). While some non-musicians are involved, usually ''some'' level of artistic or musical interest (if not competence or skill) or at the very least [[Groupie Brigade|interest in the musicians]] is a prerequisite for involvement.

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* ''[[Detroit Metal City]]'' is focused on the [[Heavy Metal]] and [[Visual Kei]] subcultures. It's actually gotten at least one [[Shout-Out]] [[Defictionalization|from an actual]] [[Visual Kei]] act.

* ''[[Super Gals]]'' is focused around a trio of ''gyaru'', with occasional conflicts slash comedy relief from three ''ganguro''/''yamanba'' girls.