Picture Perfect Paranoia

As if anime fans don’t get enough lovin‘, here’s Answerman’s take on a how-to dating tips for otaku guys picking up… well, you know, other otaku?

I’m not sure why you would write to a heterosexual male for advice on how to pick up dudes, but then again, you sound like you’re actually having trouble shooting fish in a barrel so I’ll do what I can to help you out.

Picking up otaku guys is easy. Here are the general qualifications you need to meet to pick up a (straight) fanboy:

• Female

Once you’ve got that down, the rest is easy. Be yourself, be friendly, strike up a conversation when the moment’s right, don’t play hard to get, yadda yadda, all the things that make you appear available and interested. If you’re friendly and outgoing around the guy you like and he reciprocates, you’re on the right path. And remember, what I said last time applies to you as well: simply having one thing in common does not a solid relationship make. If you’re chasing a guy and it turns out that the only thing you have in common is a love of Japanese cartoons, then there isn’t enough there to build a relationship on. Friendship yes, romance no. Just keep that in mind.

If you’re still having trouble after all that, though, here are a few foolproof dating tips to help you navigate the fanboy jungle and find your Purinsu Chaamingu.

1. Some fanboys can be shy when it comes to women, so consider dressing like a man; wear a fake beard, buy a few plus-sized Gundam shirts to conceal your chest, and ingratiate yourself to his friends. In a few months, when you’ve bonded over Mario Kart tournaments and Newtype centerfolds, find the right quiet moment and kiss him. Then pull off the beard, and reveal that you were a girl the whole time! Be careful, though; if he asks you to put the beard back on and kiss him again, you’ve taken it too far.

2. If you’re dating a guy who’s really in to lolicon, and you’re over 10 years old, you’re already at a big disadvantage. Consider anti-aging makeup, and a wardrobe overhaul that includes lots of frilly dresses. The bushes next to the grade school playground are an ideal spot for a first date.

3. In the fanboy world, there’s nothing hotter than a girl who likes video games. If you don’t like video games, just fake it. If you’re no good at faking it, just buy a Super Mario costume, cut the crotch out and pose suggestively on his bed. He’ll be putty in your hands.Yeah you heard me right. Get your inner yaoi feelings ready for some advice from a man known to pick up his fair share of otaku chicks, lol.

In Singapore, it looks like the whole ODEX debacle has slowly shifted from the emotional towards the intellectual, with Impz and his ilk leading the movement. I commend their efforts to rationalize the situation that has somehow disturbed and somewhat polarized the global anime community for weeks.

From what I understand, it started with the announcement from ODEX itself launching a crusade against illegal downloaders, who are blamed for the distributor’s poor sale record. But as investigation continued, it was more than that, as comparisons of product quality surfaced among the various pockets of the Internet. Also, the court order raised the stakes even higher, with the anime community in Singapore raising their arms in the air (in this case, flaying their fingers on their keyboards), fearing that their identities be exposed, and money be dispensed from their pockets.

I’m aware that, compared with other countries, fines in Singapore are quite harsh, and the “pirates” and downloaders are paying the price.

Of course, the distributors, like ODEX, are suffering as well.

With their lowering profit due to these illegal downloaders, as they pointed, it will come at a point where the quality of their products will continue to dive down as well.

Now that I offered more of my own 2 cents on this issue, we should look at both sides of the coin, so to speak, before we take action.

Here’s the discussion pool, for those who are curious.

Here’s a guide to lawsuits involving filesharing (which does include this whole debacle).

Here’s the investigation and impression on the identity of the people behind ODEX, as well as the cause for their “careless” action.

With the Finals over and done with, it’s time I do what I do best with my hobby: ENJOY! (^o^)/

And a wallpaper change (finally!), courtesy of Moyism, the God of Spending. XD

via CuteProxy

So in my absence, there was this whole discussion on relationships between hobbyists (or in our case, fellow otaku) of the opposite.

With Hidoshi starting the discussion, others soon followed, often with ridicule, and a few with serious mindsets.

Here’s Answerman’s response on the whole debate.

I’ve been working in this industry for a long time now and - although I’m hesitant to admit it - have dated my fair share of otaku chicks. Here are a few rules of thumb to remember:

1. The odds are good, but the goods are odd.
2. By and large, they are bi and large.

Okay, okay, I’m joking. Seriously, otaku girls are just like the girls in any other nerd hobby; generally they’re easy to get along with, probably a little daffy (in a good way) and likely are more attracted to guys like you. Here are my A+ dating tips for reeling in your dream nerd girl:

1. Wear as many ironic, faux-vintage Nintendo shirts as possible. Girls love a guy in a “Don’t make me go Zelda on your ass” tee-shirt. It lets them know that you are willing - nay, eager - to go Zelda on their ass.
2. Play a lot of World of Warcraft and/or any other popular, recognizable MMORPG. EVE Online might be a little too obscure and nobody plays Ragnarok anymore, so you’ll want to go with something dependable like WoW. Bonus Tip: nerd girls are more likely to put out as their level 63 Night Elf Ranger. Try and join their guild. Brush up on your sexy emotes, and they’ll go wild.
3. The best place to take them on a date is to the 9:40 PM bargain theatre showing of Transformers. When Optimus Prime tells Shia LeBeouf to cram the All Spark into his chest cavity, grab her breast and stare right into her eyes.
4. Neckbeard, Neckbeard, Neckbeard.

I don’t get the reference to the last item, but I went ROFL on the 3rd one. Score one for harassment (as well as our amusement).

Next week is Finals Week.

And that means, “what” to the anime community.

I’ll be unavailable. Busy raising my grades up since this week, and I ain’t slacking off even moreso on this week.

Just when I thought it was Hell’s second coming over, classes were suspended over a brewing supertyphoon, as PAGASA puts it.

I don’t know. I don’t even want to know.

In other news…

Mom sentenced for posing as son’s wife - Yahoo! News

LOL at potential incestual angle.

Gals refresh body and soul by ‘recycling sex’ with old beaus - MSN-Mainichi

Oh sorry. My mind was gone for a second. What was that? “Recycled sex”? ROFLMAO

The Nintendo Super Famicom now VISTA powered!! - AkihabaraNews

And speaking of recycled, the NES is back… in your Windows Vista? God nostalgia is awesome. The entertainment of old meets the computing of the new. :O

Also…

Ex-Prime Minister Koizumi visits Yasukuni Shrine - MSN-Mainichi

Meet recycled hatred for the war efforts of Japanese veteran soldiers.

AsiaMedia :: SINGAPORE: StarHub must give names of illegal anime downloaders

Where the crossroads stand. Come out of your shells, you illegal downloaders, for the sake of clearing the name of all otaku!

Just when the celebration of a 5-day vacation has come to an end, this happens.

Looks like another hiatus week for this blog. orz

Parents get shock letter: 9-year-old downloads Japanese anime illegally - The Electric New Paper News
Court forces ISP to reveal culprits: Netizens cry foul: How did company track downloaders? - The Electric New Paper News

Y’know, it’d be a scarier thought if the OMB, or in fact, any licensor of anime and other forms of Japanese Media here in the Philippines, were to pursue these methods.

But wait, let’s watch the cookies crumble while we’re at it (oh and this is my personal stab at the whole ODEX debacle)

Seriously, ODEX, nice going killing your “juicy” and “profitable” market. Now that you’ve pulled the plug on your fanbase of potential buyers, you’ve metaphorically shot yourselves in the foot (see title). IF you want to attract customers to your merchandise, do be sure that they are of high quality. Don’t cop out. Have trained QC’s check the media you’re presenting to the anime sphere of Singapore. By following this so simple request, you’re doing yourself a favor.

Oh, and don’t forget the thousands - no even millions all over the global Internet - of praises you’ll get by this simple move.

So ODEX. Listen to your customers. They do know best, right?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

And with this whole brouhaha off my chest, it’s off to enjoy what I do best with my hobby.

Idol Densetsu Eriko (TV) - Anime News Network

EDIT: I had to make my face and palm meet with a slap. According to my research this anime existed way back in 1989. I didn’t got my facts straight when I made this post, so my apologies.

So there’s a new anime being produced an anime already produced, about an idol so “legendary” she tells her tale of perseverance and aspiration to reach her dream.

Eriko Tamura is Kousuke Tamura, the chairman of Tamura Productions (reknown music company) and Minako Tamura’s (former famous idol singer) only daughter. Having talent for singing since birth, she has always loved her parent’s media world. Then one day tragedy strikes when her parents get into a horrible car accident, which kills her father and leaves her mother in coma. She is left in her father’s best friend, Mr. Uchida’s care. Now Eriko must take the path of singing, a path her parents did not want her to pursue. Then her uncle is out to destroy her career. But in spite of all the hardship, she becomes an idol and wins hearts all over Japan.

Oh, and here’s a side comment from the page:

Modeled after a real idol Eriko Tamura (田村 英里子).

Right now only one fansub group is on this: Next. Haven’t heard of them. Must be new.

Wonder how this’ll go. What do you think, guys? :\

And don’t forget that this is the Summer season.

Thanks to the loyal lolicon souls (lol) of abq, I’m back to reading Kodomo no Jikan (also known as Nymphet in the US of A), scanlated. I first read it alongside Naisho no Tsubomi (since on Volume 2, Chapter 4, IIRC), and noted the funny situation the two main characters, a grade school teacher and his mischievous (dare I say precocious) student, who is by the way slightly tsundere. (see contention of the term) get themselves into.

I have read the first 3 chapters via Akatsuki Manga, before they announced it (then) licensed by Seven Seas. Then came the news that it got under fire for “questionable and disturbing content”. With correspondence among the manga-ka, Kaworu Watashiya, Seven Seas founder Jason DeAngelis (see his responses on ANN here and here), and Anime News Network, it looks like the issue (and epic debate, IMO) wouldn’t be resolved. Therefore, the American licensing has been cancelled.

Then there was the word among “various pockets of the otaku internets” (to quote pedolicious) that a well-known (among the elite group of otaku) scanlation group called SaHa has been scanlating the subsequent chapters for a long time now. I’ve yet to read the (up to now) 28 chapters, and I’m aware I’m way behind in following the various situations (perverted or otherwise) our schoolteacher (envied by lolicons around the world ROFL) gets himself involved (or is forced to).

Kudos also to Agent Zero for his links.