Hello and here I am again with my strange studies. This time, I’m looking at the local community and try to understand what makes Philippine anime fandom. I realized that in order to address some issues on localization etc. in the Philippines, it’s best to understand where fandom stands today. I have looked at old articles but somehow, the way I saw things in conventions I’ve attended, there seems to be something with Filipino fans that make Filipino fans different. I can’t say what I think about it but perhaps I’ll hear what my fellow Filipinos have to say.
I hope my Filipino readers will have the time to read this and I hope that you can spread it among your friends. You have all my love and affection for this!
I just can’t believe that even five years later, I missed my own blog anniversary. AGAIN. OTL. WHY DOES LIFE HAVE TO MAKE ME SO BUSY!?! >A<)9
It’s been five years since I started this blog and while I had started this with the intention to just link to my friends manga and anime that interest me, it has grown closer to a place where I can openly discuss and dissect one of the things I love: manga.
From this blog, I’ve learned a lot about manga, met a lot of amazing people who are just as passionate, and found a personal cause to incorporate my life and passion. I was just a college senior when I started and hundreds of manga later, I’ve become an academic who uses every excuse to write about manga. And strangely, I even get to go abroad to talk about it.
I’m forever grateful for all the things that happened in my life and I am proud to say that a good part of who I am today is all due to manga. I’ve been inspired by brave, strange and eccentric heroes and heroines who give me hope that things can get better if I just give things a try.
I can’t believe that it’s been five years although I must admit, I’ve been a delinquent writer for a while and I’m slowly but surely getting back into the swing of things. Of course, in those five years, a lot has changed not only with my life but also with manga’s presence in the Philippines.
A few months ago, someone asked me in Formspring, “For a non-American I wonder why you seem to only discuss U.S/Japanese editions. Is there a sizable large manga market by a local publisher in Philippines? In what language (Tagalog/English)?” I thought it’d be great to give this person an answer now.
Many thanks to the people who responded to Otaku Champloo’s Moyashimon giveaway and honestly all of you have lovely stories on how you came to learn about Japanese food through manga!
In the end it was hard to choose but I suppose, even if his entry was old, the passion and the effort he placed in those entries moved me to the point that I believe he embodied Itsuki-sensei’s culinary curiosity.
Hence, Derik, congratulations!
You will receive a copy of a volume 2 of Moyashimon from me! I’ll be contacting you soon for your contact details!
Since it’s my fifth anniversary month, stay tuned for another manga giveaway! This time, it pays to think “negative.”
This research began with an observation after some conversations with friends in a bookstore. Many of us admitted that we read scanlated material more than we would read licensed materials. And while we had strong opinions about scanlations, I wondered if this was common opinion among fans. Hence, after doing some groundwork and some research about people and places on the net and all over the world, I thought it’s about time that I open the same conversations I had with my friends on how much of Japanese culture do they actually learn just from reading scanlations to other people.
I hope you can spare a few minutes of your time to answer my questionnare below. This survey will be closed by the 15th of September. Kindly spread this around to your friends as well who you think might be able to have an opinion or two about the topic as well. I need as much respondents as I can.
Yes! For once, I was not to busy to forget this very special day!!
Fujoshis! Run amock! Go wild! Buy some lovely BL and snicker behind every nasty page you’re reading! You deserve it!
Over the last year, I’ve also crossed a fun fujoshi who I don’t mind pimping to everyone. If you guys haven’t read Hazukashii kedo…, then as a fujoshi it’s about time you do so. Fuuko’s a lovely fujoshi who is not afraid to squee over her BL. She’s got some of the latest news from Japan since, she’s admittedly, a fantastic stalker (of the legal kind of sorts) to her favorite BL mangaka. I suggest you guys follow her blog and read through some titles which we can hope can get licensed someday. If you guys enjoyed Men of Tattoes (Shisei no Otoko) then Fuuko has tons of Aniya Yuiji manga for recommendation. I have been getting BL recs from her and I haven’t felt disappointed. <3 Fujoshi-chan, it’s time you get on with the program.
Of course, 801 no hi is a reminder not only of this blessed day to be a fujoshi but on this particular 801, Otaku Champloo will also start its month-long 5th anniversary celebration! \o/ I can’t believe it’s been five years since I started this blog! I’ve got things lined up for this month and I hope you guys won’t mind that I bring out my fujoshi side! At the same time, I’ll be raffling off some manga every weekend! Call me crazy but I’m feeling quite generous after five years and I know I owe it to some of my readers!
Hence! With great gusto, let’s all celebrate being a fujoshi by shouting our beloved oath, “Gentlemen! I like BL!”
Gentlemen, I like BL
Gentlemen, I love BL
I like Kichiku Megane
I like underage assaults
I like naughty assaults
I like gakuen monogatari
I like riiman
I like parallels
I like gachi muchi
I like crossdressers
In parks, in schools
In companies, on streets
In harems, in deserts
In darkness, in daylight
I love every aspect of boy’s love that takes place on this earth
I like quickly shooting the customer with the cash register while packing up the merchandise
When new publications on the stand decrease at amazing speed, my heart dances
I like operating the computer and responding to customer inquiry quickly
When new books arrived at the cash register, my heart leapt
Gentlemen, I desire BL, BL that is like hell
Gentlemen, my companions in the battalion, who follow me
Gentlemen, what do you desire?
Do you desire BL as well?
Do you desire PC games and commercial magazines that strike the wallet with no mercy?
Do you desire doujinshi that stretch the limits of iron, wind, lightning and fire to the limit, one that will kill all the delusions on this planet?
“BL! BL! BL!”
Very well, they are on the 3rd, 4th floor
Guest on 
d4rkn on 
Ash on 
