“Wink to a Japanese Fad”?
June 25th, 2008 at 7:35 pm (Articles, Miscellaneous, Take)
Another Japanese Import - Maids Who Take Orders in Restaurants - NYTimes
“The concept started off as a club for the loneliest guys in the world,” said Patrick Macias, editor in chief of Otaku USA magazine. “Here at last was a place where single young otaku men could go and interact with kind women, and also get lukewarm hamburgers and lousy cake.”
Tout a fait.
Royal/T has less to do with fantasy play than with paying homage to certain eccentricities of modern Japanese culture. One wall of the cafe is stacked with anime DVD’s and manga comics, and most of the space is given over to the impressive Japanese art collected by Susan Hancock, who owns Royal/T. Works by contemporary artists including Takashi Murakami, Yoshimoto Nara and Hideaki Kawashima are displayed behind Plexiglas walls intended to recall figurine cases at shops in Akihabara. A boutique near the entrance sells prints by top Japanese artists and toys that are nothing if not “moe.”
Tout au contraire.
There’s the incomparable resemblance to those found in Akihabara, and in the motion to dilute the concept of moe for the American population unfamiliar or show disdain for the moe factor in such maid cafes, well, let’s just say it’s like setting up Hooters here in the Philippines, where you see none of the big-breasted women with captivating facades.
Also, it’s a Japanese version of Anna Miller’s. Make no mistake about it. It’s more “for the waitresses, rather than the food”.
omo said,
June 26, 2008 at 12:27 am
Wait, Hooters at Philippines is like AM’s? Actually, yeah, lol. Philippines Hooters. Thanks for that mental image. And contrary to popular notion of what Hooters is about, it is a family restaurant where you can take your family. So yeah, more like Anna MIller’s is like Hooters (in the US).
The NYT article however takes the high road and recognizes the American import is also a permutation; almost a cheeky homage/satire.
Ronin AnimeLover said,
June 26, 2008 at 9:05 pm
omo said:
Ah, I can see that. No “pretend girlfriends” for the lonely guys in the West.