Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World

Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World

In recent years, otaku culture has emerged as one of Japanâ€™s major cultural exports and as a genuinely transnational phenomenon. This timely volume investigates how this once marginalized popular culture has come to play a major role in Japanâ€™s identity at home and abroad. In the American context, the word otaku is best translated as â€œgeekâ€â€”an ardent fan with highly specialized knowledge and interests. But it is associated especially with fans of specific Japan-based cultural genres, including anime, manga, and video games. Most important of all, as this collection shows, is the way otaku culture represents a newly participatory fan culture in which fans not only organize around niche interests but produce and distribute their own media content. In this collection of essays, Japanese and American scholars offer richly detailed descriptions of how this once stigmatized Japanese youth culture created its own alternative markets and cultural products such as fan fiction, comics, costumes, and remixes, becoming a major international force that can challenge the dominance of commercial media. By exploring the rich variety of otaku culture from multiple perspectives, this groundbreaking collection provides fascinating insights into the present and future of cultural production and distribution in the digital age.
Country USA
Manufacturer Yale University Press
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2012-02-28
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Yale University Press
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2012-02-28
Format	Kindle eBook

Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World

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