I am quite astonished with how anime fandom has changed so rapidly in the US. When I first came home I didn't know what to expect. When I came back to NYC to see what has changed. To my disbelief that a number of my favorite places went out of business, such Asahiya and smaller book stores.

When I attended Otakon last month I taken aback with how well crafted the American cosplayers' costumes were made. Some of them are up to the caliber of Cosplayers at Comiket (I have been to quite a few).

I guess it will take me a while to get used to how things are changing back in the US.

I am kind of in a writing rout right now so the ideas are flowing like concrete.

I am quite inspired with the new crop of artists who are getting their taste of the spotlight.

I am reminded of an article I wrote that didn't get published. I don't know if anyone is reading my blog, but if you are, thank you.

This is just a rant I wrote a year ago. For your reading pleasure:
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Be careful what you wish for...

In Japan, the mobile phone and the web are the gateway to almost everything. The Japanese obsess about everything. They turn to the web for their daily enjoyment. The web is saturated with all of these voice actresses, actors, tv stars who want to share fun facts about themselves. Mundane stuff like their blood type, their favorite place to eat, and what other people they like. For the casual observer this is just white noise. This makes them the envy of all their fans. Their status relies heavily on fans.

Their status comes at a price. With fans interested in what they do and then go on with their daily lives. There are some fans who want to know everything about them. These obsessive fans wants to know everything about their favorite celebrity. This can intern unfortunately lead to stalking.

The web is no different. Be careful about sharing all of life to the public. In a recent article in the weekend addition of Japan Times, Patrick Macias of Otaku USA magazine wrote an interesting article on j-pop star Shokotan (Shoko Nakagawa). His article was well written and gave incite in Ms. Nakagawa's life.

It is quite troubling to see how Ms. Nakagawa is so open about her life. She really needs to stop some of that closeness for her sake. There are a lot of fans who would obese too much about her every waking day and start stalking her.

Ms. Monica Rial is a voice actress from the US. She did a number of anime and is quite popular with North American fans. Recently she stated in her blog that she is shutting it down. The reason for her closing her blog is that she wanted more privacy and talk with other industry people. This is what some actors have to do in this age of high techness.

A few years ago Mari Iijima, the voice of Lin Min May, from the series Macross (Robotech) had a concert in Shibuya's Club Quattro. Many long time fans of Ms. Iijima came to see her. In the mix of fans were several Otaku fans in the crowd. Any moment these rabid fans could lung out in the stage and try and hug Ms. Iijima. Thankfully it didn't happen and the concert went with out any trouble.

An anime that perfectly illustrates how some obsessions can lead too far is Satoshi Kon's "Perfect Blue." For those who haven't seen the anime, the basic story is about a j-pop singer who decides to become an actress. While her fans are quite sad that she is acting, there is one obsessed fan so determined to have the actress go back to singing. There are some many twists and turns it would make Alfred Hitchcock blush in his grave. I won't give away the ending. It kind of parallels today's web driven society in Japan.

For the casual fan from North America or Europe coming to Japan. Please be discreet if you see your favorite J-pop singer or Voice actor walking in the streets of Harajuku. The Japanese in nature are quite skittish when meeting people. The celebrities are no different. If you do see Gackt or Namie Amuro you will probably see their body guard first. Japanese celebrities are no different than their North American or European counterparts.

If you do get a chance to see them. Just be polite and bow politely to them. 9 times out of 10 if you speak to them in English, they would most likely say "Bye Bye" and walk away. Don't get annoyed, that's just how they are when they are in uncomfortable situations.

Before you start obsessing about the latest j-pop singer or actor, just remember that they are human and they do what they love to do. Be a fan and like their work. Just don't go further down the rabbit hole or you won't come back.