tokyo s willing cog, in an enormous machine requiring long hours, low pay, total dedication. and sometimes, what s called karoshi, death by overwork. here in a society of tight spaces and many expectations, the pressure s on. to keep up appearances, to do what s expected. to not let the interior life become exterior. but at night, things are different. what do you need to know about tokyo? deep, deep waters. the first time i came here, it was like it was a transformative, experience. it was a powerful and violent experience. it was as if it was just like taking acid for the first time. meaning, what do i do now? i see the whole world in a different way. i often compare the experience of going to japan for the first time, going to tokyo for the first time, to what eric clapton and pete townsend must ve gone through, the reigning guitar gods of england, what they must ve gone through the week that jimi hendrix came to town. you hear about it, you go see it, the whole
in america, where i come from, we are told at a certain age to put aside childish things the action figures, dolls, the creatures of our imagination, to arm ourselves for the brutal realities of the real world, real combat, real sex. in japan, increasing numbers of people don t. they continue to live a life inside four walls, inside their mind, the life we call of the computer geek, the nerd, as avatars. there s a name for it, a whole subculture of what s called otaku. once a derisive term, now, a proud identifier of the geek, one who has turned his back on the real world to find satisfaction elsewhere. manga, or comic books, hold a
creatures of our imagination. to arm ourselves for the brutal realities of the real world, real combat, real sex. in japan, increasing numbers of people don t. they continue to live a life inside four walls. inside their mind, the life we call of the computer geek, the nerd, as avatars. there s a name for it, a whole subculture of what s called otaku. once a derisive term, now, a proud identifier of the geek. one who has turned his back on the real world to find satisfaction elsewhere. manga, or comic books, hold a different place in the cultural landscape here, and address different needs. there s yaoi, for example, otherwise known as boys love manga, extremely popular with teenage girls. stories change, but the core themes are sexually ambiguous boys getting very friendly with each other. what legions of young girls and
come from, we are told at a certain age to put aside childish things. the action figures, dolls, the creatures of our imagination. to arm ourselves for the brutal realities of the real world, real combat, real sex. in japan, increasing numbers of people don t. they continue to live a life inside four walls. inside their mind, the life we call of the computer geek, the nerd, as avatars. there s a name for it, a whole subculture of what s called otaku. once a derisive term, now, a proud identifier of the geek. one who has turned his back on the real world to find satisfaction elsewhere. manga, or comic books, hold a different place in the cultural landscape here, and address different needs. there s yaoi, for example, otherwise known as boys love manga, extremely popular with teenage girls. stories change, but the core
anthony: in america, where i come from, we are told at a certain age to put aside childish things. the action figures, dolls, the creatures of our imagination. to arm ourselves for the brutal realities of the real world, real combat, real sex. in japan, increasing numbers of people don t. they continue to live a life inside four walls. inside their mind, the life we call of the computer geek, the nerd, as avatars. there s a name for it, a whole subculture of what s called otaku. once a derisive term, now, a proud identifier of the geek. one who has turned his back on the real world to find satisfaction elsewhere. manga, or comic books, hold a different place in the cultural landscape here, and address different needs. there s yaoi, for example, otherwise known as boys love manga, extremely popular with teenage girls. stories change, but the core