Crap cans of coffee are on me…

I came to Japan more than 39 years ago, way before the Japanese car invasion of America and JAPAN had exploded into the international phenomenon it is today. Back in the 70s, managers and business majors were being sent from Japan to the USA to create the connections needed for exporting their goods to the USA. Little did they know that they would be so successful. The bubble began and (unlike me) learning Japanese was suddenly the requirement for every opportunistic DICK, Tom, Harry, Mary, Linda, Joe…

When I started learning Japanese in the Armed Forces back in 70, Japanese was spoken by nobody, except for the Japanese and a few Japanese hands that is.  I was never into Japanese culture or doing business with the Japanese but I was totally aware of the Japanese female. I was just a XXXX then.

Then there was the learning English boom. As with most exponential increases you didn’t see it coming until it was too late. Native English speakers in the states who could fog a mirror were now old enough to get a flight over to Tokyo and go nuts all over this country. Eikaiwa came out of the closet and then Japan was swarming with office ladies and salarymen being serviced by an army of gaijin ‘English Teachers’ with skills as advanced as their interpersonal communication skills are retarded.

And here I am, a really old fart with a glass of Hoppi and shochu who simply doesn’t get it. You can tell my age by the fact that I fondly remember the Cool Five, Kingtones, and Mayuzumi Jun.

Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but I remember when Akihabara was a place to buy stereo equipment and electronics. Personal computers weren’t even on the horizon, let alone cosplay!

AND although I never gave it much thought until I read the last paragraph in your excellent essay, deep down inside I always thought there was something wrong with adult fixation on Cosplay, Anime and Manga.

I agree with you 100%.