Now this is really strange - as yesterday I posted up about "Fujoshi". An alternate version of "otaku femme" you describe?

(Pardon the big lump of pre-posted bloggery text!)
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Literally meaning "rotten girl" (OLOLOLOLL!!), this term "Fujoshi" covers all, from yaoi-buying fangirls to those who like to visit females-pretending-to-be-bishounen-male butler bars (a stab at the maid cafe's, no doubt), and includes those who cosplay a lot and go to geek meets.

Personally I don't think I am quite fujoshi, even though it is a term for geeky girls, I think it's aimed at rabid BL fluff-fans.

It's common for traditional otaku to just be consumers, and I really find it a shame when talented yaoi doujin-makers just make sex versions of their favourite comic series - they never really go off to develop stories, characters and scenarios of their own, and ride the coat-tails of other successes.

Also I thought the literal translation was a bit mean. I mean, "rotten girl"? Otaku comes from beng a stay-at-home, being on the internet all the time or watching anime. I guess a few of the girls really are rotten, what with their shota-complexes to rival guys' Loli-complexes XD But still, it seems like a strange label, but some of the girls in the videos are quite happy being labelled "rotten girl"s.

YouTube links;

BL Fangirls in Ikebukuro
Fujoshi in Ikebukuro - cafe, meets
Cosplay, BL, Cafe

(all subtitled!)

...A female backlash to the immense amount of moé that is around in Akihabara?? Seems Akihabara ("Akiba") is for the guy otaku... and Ikebukuro for the female otaku/fujoshi~!
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A response I got was,

"I read about this inSatsuki Agaraki's column in the January 2007 issue of Newtype.

Apparently there is a trend wherein two words are joined together, creating a whole new word. In the case of FUJOSHI we have the words "Fujo" & "Joshi" which by themselves mean "woman". However, the 'fu' is written with the character that means "rotten".

Also, when a girl becomes totally obsessed with boys' love, she then becomes a KIFUJIN, which ordinarily would mean "noblewoman," but when written using the other 'fu' character, it becomes something like "elite depraved girl."

Your comments regards Otome are interesting because it expressed exclusivity for women, but I do wonder sometimes about how damaging the culture is in general and how tougher it makes it for original works by new artist/writers, when such famous series continually get almost always "sexified" at ComiKet to sell copies..?

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Oh, thanks for posting that. :D I have come across the term "fujoshi" on other blogs/forums, though not in the media. That's part of the reason why I hesitate to use it, apart from the fact that it is definately a negative term. Language is a mutable thing, and I didn't think it's fair for the term "Otaku" to have lost its negative connotations in the west, whereas "fujoshi" literally means "rotten girl" (in kanji), so it's not a term that is likely to lose the negative connotation. I also think that "Otome" describes how the fangirls see themselves, rather than how other people (fans?) see them.

And I don't think the culture is any more damaging than the "moe" culture and avalanche of H-manga you see coming from the guys, in terms of fandom anyway. But in terms of original artists getting the shaft, yes it IS incredibly damaging. Not so much in Japan, but in other parts of South-East Asia like Taiwan and China, where there are alot of talented artists who's greatest ambition is to become the #1 BL Queen (aka doujin artist). I don't want to diss people who draw fanworks for fun, but at the same time, I can't help but feel that the fan culture is pulling everything down the drain. When the rabid fans have such a narrow interest, it ends up hurting the main market as well, because the big companies only want to make money.

In fact, you're already seeing this in Japan. When I mentioned companies wanting to tap into the Otome culture, they often recruit from the ranks of popular doujin artists. I saw some of their manga from the folks at work, and GODDAMN they are AWFUL!! Doujin-kusai is the right word - because these artists haven't been trained by the apprentice system, the art is very subpar, and the whole thing lacks polish. In terms of a "professional", they SHOULDN'T have made the cut. But they are, and that's why we're seeing a drop in artistic standards in some fringe manga.

But at least these are original works, if BL stuff...

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ComiPress posted a wonderful article about the influence of Fujoshi on Shonen Jump, and their reactions when it skews too much towards them [they prefer not to be overly catered too :)]..... I liked the self-deprecating aspect of the term, more in line with Otaku. I even named a new character from my Animaritime Mascot cast after it.

Though Otome is the better term overall.

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Do you have a link to that article? I should mention "Fujoshi" in my article to make it more balanced, though I really don't like the term (but then I'm not a yaoi fan at all). :P

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http://www.comipress.com/article/2006/08/24/624 Part 1

http://www.comipress.com/article/2007/01/01/1263 Part 2

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Thanks! It's a good article from a fan's point of view. It also appears that "fujoshi" is a term that mostly applies to girls obsessed with BL manga, which doesn't quite cover the entire range of female fandom there is.

I, for one, would like to visit the Butler cafe, though I definately don't qualify as a "fujoshi" (I would hate to be called that term). But what girl wouldn't want to be treated like a princess? :P

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Wow, so close to done on volume 3! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!

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I am so excited for the Dreaming Vol. 3. The story is so wonderful, it's such a difficult wait. History has shown that it's worth it though =)

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Yeah!! Thanks for being so positive about it!! :D

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Otome, huh?

Now theres a term I can actualy get behind! I've been avoiding the term "otaku" for years now. But I can deal with a princess reference.

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Haha, I agree. :D I don't mind being called an "Otome".

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I can't wait for volume 3!!!! Any plans in place yet for what you'll be doing next?

And Yummy. I'm lovin' the art! Did you use a brush pen for the larger black areas?

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Yep, the brush pen was a zebra one. They're really expensive outside Japan, so I've hesitated to use brush pens for a long time. I'm actually okay at using them, but... arrgh, damn you Australia!!

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Well, you do a wonderful job, and I'd love seeing more art where you get the chance to use them. Those spot blacks really make your art pop from the page. :) :)

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Good job on volume 3 Queenie! Also I like those last illustrations alot.

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On a completely different note, there's a snippet of you in Sydney Morning Herald's Spectrum today! *thumbs up*

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Thanks. :D I was quite surprised they gave me a separate section. So nice of her!

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is that how you really look like? :P

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No... :P But I'd like to look like that.

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From what I see around at my school and in bookstores, I'd definitely agree that there is a totally new and different subculture of 'otome' becoming popular. I definitely have friends that are otome (probably not as extreme as described), but there also seems to be another, less prevalent subculture developing under the two otome-otaku subcultures. It's mostly overlooked because they tend not to be major consumers, and therefore their subculture isn't commercially brought to the forefront.

These people are the general manga/anime lovers, but do not tend towards either a hentai or BL trend. I know comparatively few people that are like this, but I know that at least I'm not really into BL, and definitely not into hentai (I'm a girl-ew to hentai). I am a pretty big anime fanatic, although you couldn't tell from just looking around that I am because I don't own any manga fan stuff (just a few volumes of manga). But I absolutely love watching it and especially drawing it (but very, very, VERY rarely do I draw fanart). If you look around deviantART, this sort of subculture seems to be more visible because you can easily pick out which anime/manga artists do not draw fanart and doujinshi. I don't think this sort of subculture is near as prevalent as the otome and otaku, but I still think there's a major group of people that would fall into this category.

It's sort of awkward to explain to someone that you love anime, but are not... well, a total unmerciful fangirl of such and such anime. Especially after encountering a completely obsessed otome during summer school and trying to avoid any conversation that would lead to her talking about her FMA and Naruto obsessions. Ack.

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These people are the general manga/anime lovers, but do not tend towards either a hentai or BL trend.

Actually, I believe there are more of these people than Otaku/Otome put together. What you're describing is something more along the lines of a casual/serious fan. Personally, I don't define the average "fan" as Otome/Otaku, because I believe those terms are solely for the obsessed. If you love anime but isn't obsessed with it every moment of the day, and you don't feel compelled to buy every anime DVD out there, then you probably don't qualify as an Otaku/Otome, but just someone who really likes anime.

The thing about terms like Otaku/Otome is that they're meant to describe the irritatingly obsessed, and hence the negative connotations with the original word in Japan (though in Japan, they're more likely to call the "Otome" Fujoshi, meaning rotten girl). The west has slung these terms around more loosely and widely, hence my use of the term "Otome" over Fujoshi, but they're really meant for the average fan.

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...really NOT meant for the average fan.

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Er... eh, I think it's a bit of a generalization to say: hardcore male Otaku = moe/hentai fanatics; hardcore female Otome = BL fanatics. Or at least, I hope we can have a better trend than that.

Really, as a self-professed obsessed female otaku/otome, I really wish that some female fans could let up on the whole BL thing. It's kind of an unrealistic opinion, but can't girls and women be attracted to characters/ series for having strong female characters, and not the porn factor? (In the same vein, it'd be nice if certain male fans would lose their whole yuri/moe sexual fantasies... but I guess that's not the issue addressed here...)

Nice article, BTW.

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It IS a generalisation, but then I define "Otaku" and "Otome" as "hardcore" from the very beginning. I'm afraid in my mind at least, these terms only describe those who talk about nothing but their core passion, which always happen to do with porn. If you're a big fan but not obsessed, then you probably don't qualify as a "hardcore Otome", maybe just an ordinary or a non-Otome at all (aka. an ordinary fan). I, for one, read BL a fair bit, but am not obsessed by it, so I definately not qualify as a hardcore Otome either (or even an Otome. I think of myself as just an ordinary fan).

That said, I wish the fangirls would let up on the porn factor as well...

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Wow did those youtube vids just rekindle my need to travel to Japan! ….Or e-bay more doujins I’m not sure which……

Anyway I was a little taken back when I read the SMH article saying that the female market was about 60% of the anime fandom in the west, but then there it is again in those vids! What a shame we couldn’t just show that at animania, as it would open a nice round table of discussions of females in the anime fan culture. Thank also to the person who posted the links!

Meanwhile con’grates on the dreaming and the SMH article and nice portrait. :P

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omg is that self portret (god i cant spell) rilly what you look like or you protraying your self?

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I WISH I REALLY look like that... eh. But nah, the portrait is beautified 900%. So if you were to ask me whether this is what I really look like, I can only say... "sort of".

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Whoa have I not been here in a long time.

Just here to say I can't wait for the final volume of the Dreaming to come out. But I have to wait till November. (though I still have hope that you might draw all the characters together in a panel near the end of the book) ;.; And the self portrait of you is really nice. :O

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Hey hi. Is that a hint? That may be a good idea, drawing all the characters. I need to do a double page "thanks for reading" spread, and I may do it for that. :)

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It is. I've seen some artists to it in several other mangas and after they draw all the characters they put tiny little notes about them. It might be a good idea though. :O

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I'm afraid that won't be possible... I'm capped for the number of pages, and with the double page spread, that's all I'm allowed. :( But thanks for the interest anyway. :)

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Aww. :< How many total characters were there that actually had an effect on the story? Maybe you could put just them in a panel. :O

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I'm putting every single character (with a name) that's appeared in the story in the "thanks for reading" page. :D

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YATTA! :D!

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Could you please advise where we can buy your book in quantities at wholesale prices so that we can onsell it to the general public from our Collins Booksellers shop in Cairns.
Regards, Andrew Brown (collinsb@cairns.net.au)

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I think that claiming all hardcore female anime fans are BL obsessed is rather ridiculous. Or that they're all shoujo fanatics, but that's a whole different can of worms. I know quite a few hardcore anime fans who don't like BL doujinshis at all, if for nothing more then disliking seeing their favorite characters taken out of character. (personally, I'd rather stab my own eyes out then have to read another disturbing, badly written, and just plain wrong BL doujinshi...Ed and Al do not want to molest eachother, fangirls! They're brothers, for the love of god! XD)

While it's certainly nice to have a different term for female anime fans...it seems like it has just as many unpleasant connotations as Otaku, just different.

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I don't read BL doujins either, and I don't consider myself an Otome/Fujoshi at all. If a female fan is not into BL (or not much), then they don't really qualify as Otome/Fujoshi. They're just your regular fan. Personally, I think "hardcore" is a term that's thrown around a bit too easily.

And "unpleasant connotation" is the whole point of terms like Otaku and Fujoshi/Otome...

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Uh,it IS your birthday,right? June 6th,right? Because that's what anonymous Q said. OH YEAH! Hey,it's me,chelsea! ^^ Man,can't wait untill the 3rd volume. Even though I'm nine,i secretly take 1 and 2 with me to school,and read it when it's reading time! ((I'm in fourth grade,school almost over)) Your my fav. manga artist,so happy birthday if it is!

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Hey, thanks. :D Nice of you to remember.

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your welcome!

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