Skip to content

Tag: Otaku Culture

These works explore otaku culture or feature characters that take part in and enjoy otaku culture. However, these works may also act as a way to criticize otaku culture or may portray it in a negative light.

Manga Review | Love Stage!! by Eiki Eiki

Title: Love Stage!!
Author: Eiki Eiki
Artist: Taishi Zaou


Izumi doesn’t fit in with his family. His mother was a model and is now a famous actress, his father was a stage actor and founded the SenaPro talent agency, and his older brother is the frontman for a famous band. It would be an understatement to say he has talent running through his veins. However, no matter how much innate talent he may have in the entertainment industry, Izumi has no interest in pursuing a career in that field. Instead, Izumi has dreams of becoming a mangaka, just like the creator of his favorite series Lala Lulu. There’s just one problem: he’s terrible and has no idea.

That’s the least of his worries, though, as he is now faced with a new issue. His mother wants nothing more than to act alongside one of the hottest actors of the time: Ryoma Ichijo. Fortunately, the opportunity arose as she asked to reprise her role in a wedding commercial she, Izumi’s father, and Ryoma starred in a decade ago. Unfortunately for Izumi, he’ll only take the role if the original cast returns. He hopes that he’ll get to meet the little girl he worked alongside in the commercial, as he’s been in love with her since they met all those years ago. Unbeknownst to Ryoma, that little girl was none other than a cross-dressing Izumi.

After some convincing and bribery with Lala Lulu merch, Izumi agrees to take the job. How will he handle Ryoma’s advances? More importantly, though, how will Ryoma handle finding out the woman he’s held a torch for all these years is actually a man?

Manga Review | Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku by Fujita

Title: Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku
Author: Fujita
Artist: Fujita


Narumi and Hirotaka have been friends since childhood when they bonded over their love of nerdy hobbies. For Narumi, she loved manga and anime. For Hirotaka, his love of video games dominated everything else in his life. However, as their carefree childhood days flew by, Hirotaka soon realized that he cared for Narumi almost as much as his video games. Unfortunately, though, those idyllic days of childhood bliss faded away, and so did Narumi and Hirotaka’s friendship.

As adults, Hirotaka and Narumi end up working at the same office. While they don’t immediately kick off as friends again in adulthood, they find solace in each other’s company once they reveal that their previous obsessions have only intensified. Able to be 100% herself with Hirotaka, Narumi spends a lot of her time complaining and confiding in him, whether it be about her fujoshi-related hobbies, work concerns, or even her failing love life. Hirotaka, still infatuated with Narumi, faithful stands by as her shoulder to cry on. One day, though, listening to another tale of woe from Narumi due to her various love interests leaving her because of her otaku hobby, Hirotaka takes the plunge. He asks Narumi:

Why doesn’t she just date him instead?

And so begins the struggle of love between a closeted fujoshi and a game-obsessed, antisocial otaku. What could go wrong?

©2022 - 2023 Eve Healy. All Rights Reserved.