Cruising the Anime City: An Otaku Guide to Neo Tokyo

by Patrick Macias, Tomohiro Machiyama

If you're into anime (and manga ), there's no place like Neo Tokyo. Here otaku dress-up cos-play style for real, 100,000+ fans attend cons to buy and trade, and anime soundtracks are performed in concert halls. Neo Tokyo is where anime has become both urban fashion and cultural zeitgeist, and this is its first street-smart guide in English. Featuring interviews with tastemakers, it covers studios, toys, museums, games, film "locations," music, plus where to hang and how to cruise. Four-color, with maps and index. Patrick Macias , a specialist in Asian film and Japanese pop culture, is the author of TokyoScope . Tomohiro Machiyama is a movie critic and journalist who writes and publishes in Japan. Both authors live in the San Francisco Bay Area. "Useful guide for pop-culture tourists, it's stil an enjoyable read even if you never visit Tokyo." -- Fortean Times "The perfect accessory for geeks who've saved up enough for a plane ticket to Japan and a few hundred thousand yen of walking-around money." -- Wired "Although not for the easily disturbed, for every other anime fan/dilettante with a desire to visit, Cruising the Anime City is fun, fun, fun!" -- Library Journal

Genres: Nonfiction, Japan, Travel, Reference, Anime

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2004

Reviews

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Along with Patrick Macias a friend of mine wrote this book, Tomoniro Machitama - and I know for sure he's the king of otaku knowledge. This is a great book to use as an introduction to the underbelly of 'Otaku' Tokyo.

For those who don't know, Otaku is a term meaning someone who is totally obsessed with a certain subject. More likely they can't discuss stuff in public like weather or politics. Their world just consist of particular films, manga, or books. And places, and this book is a great guide book to those 'places.'

Pretty much a 'must' if you are into that world. Tokyo is one big well-lighted (with different colors) playground. Do enjoy!

[Aya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun guide to otaku culture in Japan. Like most travel guides, Cruising the Anime City, provides travelers with a variety of different unique destinations while providing little known tips/hints that most vistors might not be aware of. This guide not only caters to anime fans, but also fans of Japanese technology and Cosplay/harajuku fashion. I would recommend this guide as it provides many practical tips for navigating through Tokyo. Whether your traveling with a tour or planning your otaku fantasy vacation, I would defiantly check out this book. The only negative is that this book was written in 2004 so I'd recommend double-checking any travel plans beforehand.

[Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Macias is editor'n'chief at "Otaku USA", and living part of the year in Japan knows of what he speaks. This book has some great illustrations and such. Great commentary, about being fen. I initally read a library copy when I lived in Chicago 'Burbs. Later bought copy of my own.

[Ray Else · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strangely formatted book - feels out of date.