Japan Ai: A Tall Girl's Adventures in Japan - Softcover

Steinberger, Aimee Major

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1933617837 ISBN 13: 9781933617831

Publisher: Go! Media Entertainment Llc, 2007

Synopsis

In Japanese, "Ai" means "Love" — and if you love Japan, get ready to dive head-first into the incredible world of Japanese pop-culture! Join Aimee Major Steinberger (a professional animator with a passion for all things cute) on the ultimate otaku vacation! Visit fantasy restaurants, maid cafes, and the world's most exclusive doll store! Cosplay on the infamous Harajuku Street! Attend an outrageous all-female Takarazuka musical! See beautiful shrines, hot springs, stores full of manga, and so much more! Aimee captures it all in a manga journal that is both adorable and breathtaking.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

Aimee's a six-foot-tall cosplaying fangirl who visits Japan, land of her favorite hobbies. There, she visits historical Kyoto, shops, dresses as a geisha, visits a hot spring, goes to Tokyo and shops some more. The cute, cartoony sketches present a travelogue by an out-of-place but observant gaijin who is keen to absorb the intricacies of a new culture. Much of the story has a fairly straightforward went here, saw this, went there, saw that pace—few incidents are given any dramatic weight. When her luggage is lost, it's a two-page incident, with the problem magically solved with no involvement on her part. Similarly, the developments from one of Aimee's companions being mistaken for a yakuza and being revealed as a narcoleptic are swiftly passed by in a one-page sequence. However, the cute characters cannot help becoming sympathetic, and Aimee missing a chance to go to dinner at a factory that makes her favorite dolls has real disappointment. The book resembles an illustrated travel sketchbook more than a manga, but the otaku subject matter—and endless enthusiasm for the details of Japanese culture—is of built-in interest to readers of the latter. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Accompanied by two friends, Steinberger, a professional animator and devotee of that special brand of cuteness that hails from contemporary Japan (think Sanrio’s Hello Kitty and similar artistic and commercial ventures), provides a charming recapitulation of their visit there. Steinberger’s height (she’s six feet tall), along with such things as the language barrier, immediately marked the trio as tourists, but their devotion to such Japanese-inspired pastimes as cosplay (dressing up as manga, anime, and fantasy characters) and Steinberger’s interest in Japanese Volks dolls gave them several avenues into popular culture, where they found considerable enjoyment. Steinberger tells their story largely in black-and-white, manga-style line drawings, with the occasional application of bright colors. Manga and anime fans will appreciate the gentle travelogue, and even readers unfamiliar with Japanese culture today will like Steinberger and her pals and be intrigued by their observations on what it can be like to be a tourist. Grades 9-12. --Francisca Goldsmith

About this edition

• Publisher: Go! Media Entertainment Llc
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1933617837
• ISBN 13: 9781933617831
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 183