Movie Documentary
Look into the life of Japan's obsessed...
Akihabara is a neighborhood of Tokyo, Japan known as "Electric Town" for its rows of one-meter wide discount computer and electronics stores. In more recent years, Akihabara has evolved into a full-blown Mecca for computer enthusiasts, anime and manga fans, doll or "figure" collectors, video gamers and "Otaku" of all kinds. Because Akihabara caters to interests outside of mainstream Japanese society, it captivates an entire subculture of devotees. Join us as we peruse the shops, streets and Maid Cafes to present an engrossing day in the life view of Akihabara, and focus on the unique people who are passionately plugged into this town.
Japan Japan
Similiar movies
Always - Sunset on Third Street
Leaving her provincial home, teenage Mutsuko arrives in Tokyo by train to take a job in a major automotive company but finds that she is employed by a small auto repair shop owned by Norifumi Suzuki. Suzuki's hair-trigger temper is held somewhat in check by the motherly instincts of his wife, Tomoe, and his young son Ippei immediately bonds with Mutsuko as if she were his older sister. The Suzuki shop lies almost in the shadow of the Tokyo Tower as it rises steadily above the skyline during construction in 1958.
Darkside Blues
The Persona Century Corporation has purchased nearly every parcel of land on earth. Dissension is not tolerated within the corporation's borders and those who oppose Persona are dealt with swiftly. Of those few places not yet under Persona's control is the free town of Kabuki-cho, also known as "The Dark Side of Tokyo". Within the town, under the leadership of a woman named Mai, is a small resistance group called Messiah. Into this world steps a man who takes the sobriquet of Kabuki-cho: Darkside. Sealed up in another dimension eighteen years ago by Persona Century, Darkside now returns to aid Messiah using his unique mystic power of renewal.
Akihabara@DEEP
Set in Tokyo's otaku mecca Akihabara, "Akihabara@DEEP" tells the story of five otaku who drop out of society and end up founding their own successful IT venture called Crook. But Nakagomi, president of an influential electronics company called Digital Capital, will do anything to get his hands on Crook.
Tokyo Godfathers
On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.
Focus
A short, direct and to-the-point media-commentary thriller. A sleazy TV producer trying to exploit a quiet otaku (an obsessive hobbyist) whose hobby is electronic eavesdropping ends up getting a lot more than he bargained for when they eavesdrop on the wrong conversation and he prods said otaku into helping him "investigate" the lead, only to find out that some things (and people) are not always as they seem, when a minor altercation causes things to take a rather nasty turn....
Tokyo Idols
This exploration of Japan's fascination with girl bands and their music follows an aspiring pop singer and her fans, delving into the cultural obsession with young female sexuality and the growing disconnect between men and women in hypermodern societies.
Love & Loathing & Lulu & Ayano
A timid young woman who lives with her domineering mother accepts an Adult Video scout's offer to "become somebody else" by performing in porn videos. As she rises in popularity, the boundaries between her two lives begin to disintegrate.
20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End
In 1969, Kenji, an elementary school kid and his friends built a secret base during their summer holidays. They fantasized that they had to fight villains who were out to conquer the world and wrote them in the Book of Prophecies. Years later in 1997, Kenji becomes a convenience store manager and leads a regular life after giving up his dreams to become a rock star. His boring life is suddenly turned upside down when his old classmate dies mysteriously and an entire family in the neighbourhood disappears. At the same time, a religious cult and its mysterious leader, Friend emerges and a strange chain of events duplicating exactly the events described in the Book of Prophecies follow. Is this the beginning of the end of the world? Who is Friend?
Kisarazu Cat's Eye: World Series
After terminally ill Bussan finally passes away he misses hanging out with his still living friends and decides to return to Kisarazu. In his ghost form however only his most trusted friends can see him, and his meddling in the lives of the living results in the return of Ozzy and a long dead team of American baseball players who drowned off the shores of Kisarazu. It's down to Bussan and the Cats to save the day and restore the town to order, but can Bussan bring himself to say bye-bye once and for all?
Air Doll
A life-size, inflatable sex doll suddenly comes to life one day. Without her owner knowing, she goes for a walk around town and falls in love with Junichi. She starts to date Junichi and gets a job at the same store where he works. Everything seems to be going perfectly for her until something unexpected happens.
Pretty Maid Café
Geeky Hideki can't seem to catch a break, so his friend brings him to a café to cheer him up. But Hideki finds more than good service at the café; he falls in love with his waitress, Misaki, who is dressed in a maid's uniform and caters to his every whim. He gets up the courage to ask her out ... to go fishing. Will his inexperience chase Misaki away? The third installment in the "Akihabara trilogy". Each of these stand alone films are set in the famed Akihabara shopping district in Tokyo which is a popular destination for hardcore fans of anime, manga, video games and model kits. This city-sized shopping area provides a colorful backdrop and plays an integral part in the storylines for each of the three movies.
Happy Mail
An otaku manicurist, an ordinary office lady, a doctor with no love life, and a 30-something still obsessed with an indie idol group all meet through a matchmaking site.
Otaku Unite!
Otaku Unite! is a feature-length documentary on the history of Japanese animation fandom in the United States: from the importation of anime in the early 60s to the current boom in both the visibility and accessibility of its accompanying fandom.
Similiar TV Shows
Genshiken
Sasahara Kanji is a college freshman who decides to join a student society to share his hidden thoughts on manga, anime and gaming. As he participates in club activities such as visiting dojin shops and anime festivals he opens his mind and resolves that he will make his way into the otaku world.
And Yet the Town Moves
Clumsy Hotori Arashiyama is a girl with a love for mysteries and a knack for getting into trouble. Hotori works as a waitress in an unsuccessful coffee shop when the manager comes up with a plan to increase its fortunes by changing into a maid cafe. Unfortunately, no one knows how to make a successful maid cafe other than dressing everyone in a maid outfit. What follows is a wacky series of incidents involving Hotori’s many friends, mismatched love stories… and ghosts and aliens.
Di Gi Charat
DiGi Charat is a series of shorts created as advertisements for "Digital Gamers," a store in Akihabara. The series follows Dejiko, princess of DiGi Charat planet, and her companions, Puchiko and Gema, as well as Dejiko's rival, Rabi~en~Rose through daily ordeals they encounter while working at Gamers.
Tokyo Mew Mew
On her first date with the cutest boy in school, Ichigo is zapped by a mysterious ray that scrambles her DNA with that of the endangered Iriomote wildcat. The next day, Ichigo discovers that she has developed the agility (and occasionally the ears and tail) of a cat, as well as the power to transform into a pink-haired superheroine, Mew Ichigo. She and four other girls, each endowed with the genes of a different "Red Data" animal, have been selected for the top-secret Mew Project, which aims to protect the Earth from an alien menace known as Deep Blue.
Oreimo
Oreimo follows the daily life of an ordinary high school boy named Kyousuke Kousaka. Kyousuke’s younger sister Kirino is a pretty fashion model, but also hides a dark secret of being an otaku of adult games. Kyousuke is the only person to whom Kirino reveals her hidden obsession and other issues.
Otaku no Video
A mockumentary featuring an animated tale of an average person who slowly becomes an otaku (obsessive fanatic) and eventually becomes the "Otaking"! Between story segments, live action interviews with fictional die-hard otakus take place.
Akihabara@DEEP
Akihabara is a Tokyo district full of manga, anime, electronics, video games, figurines, etc. It is a place that gathers fanatics of such themes, people who are commonly referred to as otaku. Page, Box, Akira, Taiko, Daruma, and Izumu are six otaku each with his/her own troubles and sought relief through a website called "Yui's Lifeguard." When site owner Yui died of a mysterious death, the six who are each experts in their own fields gathered to form "Akihabara@DEEP", a "trouble shooter" group that vows to protect Akihabara and solve the problems of its inhabitants.
Super GALS!
Sporting designer clothes, make-up, and nails, Ran Kotobuki is the very picture of a trendy, young Shibuya girl, but don't let that fool you. This girl comes from a family of cops, and she’s ready to lay you out flat if you even think about causing trouble in her town! At least, she will... when she’s not distracted with karaoke, shopping, and dodging her homework. Join Ran and her friends as they defend the streets of Shibuya and attempt to shop their way into the history books as the most famous Gals ever!
Tokyo Ghoul
Ken Kaneki is a bookworm college student who meets a girl names Rize at a cafe he frequents. They're the same age and have the same interests, so they quickly become close. Little does Kaneki know that Rize is a ghoul – a kind of monster that lives by hunting and devouring human flesh. When part of her special organ – "the red child" – is transplanted into Kaneki, he becomes a ghoul himself, trapped in a warped world where humans are not the top of the food chain.
Denki-gai
A blush-inducing, coming-of-age comedy about manga-loving book store employees!! The unique cast of characters -- all hard-core manga fans and maniacs of some sort -- work at comic shop “Uma no Hone.” On a daily basis, they display new releases, shrink-wrap comics, shudder at their lack of feminine qualities, question their love for porn literature…and basically have fun while working hard (?). Girls and guys call each other by nicknames and some begin to develop close relationships! It’s non-stop humor and romance in this book store rom-com!
Pan de Peace!
The "cute and soft bread four-panel manga" centers around Minami, an air-headed girl who is starting high school and who loves eating bread for breakfast. Baked goods bring happiness everyday to her and her classmates the reliable Yuu, the pastry-baking Fuyumi, and the independent Noa.
Tokusatsu GaGaGa
The series is based on the manga Tokusatsu Gagaga, a comedy manga by Tanba Niwa. Tokusatsu Gagaga series follows Kano Nakamura, an office lady played by Fuka Koshiba, who is secretly a tokusatsu otaku, a toku-ota. She lives her life by the code of tokusatsu heroes and often envisions herself as one as a means to make it through her daily struggles.
Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!
Shinichi Sakurai’s one wish is for a little peace and quiet. But Hana Uzaki — his boisterous, well-endowed underclassman — has other plans. All she wants is to hang out and poke fun at him. With the help of her chipper charm and peppy persistence, this might just be the start of a beautiful relationship!
My Dress-Up Darling
Wakana Gojo is a high school boy who wants to become a kashirashi--a master craftsman who makes traditional Japanese Hina dolls. Though he's gung-ho about the craft, he knows nothing about the latest trends, and has a hard time fitting in with his class. The popular kids--especially one girl, Marin Kitagawa--seem like they live in a completely different world. That all changes one day, when she shares an unexpected secret with him, and their completely different worlds collide.
Otaku Elf
Koito Koganei works as the teenage shrine maiden at the Takamimi Shrine, catering to the whims of its resident: a centuries-old elf who loves video games as much as she hates going outside! Line up your offerings for the otaku elf—some energy drinks, chips and video games will do nicely—and watch her new friends scramble to keep up!
Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku
An effervescent musical about one of the most unlikely couples seen on screen: two Otaku intent on hiding their nerdiness from their colleagues!