Akihabara is well aware of its nerdiness. It revels in it. Before I got there, I had wondered how it was going to be – would there be posters of anime all over the place, advertising the latest shows? Would there be maids standing on the street handing out flyers? Would the crowds suddenly burst into Hare Hare Yukai?

Yes, there were posters, and it was marvelous. All the latest series were advertised, and when I would go into a store, there were displays out that struck my fancy in all sorts of ways. You even reach the point where an anime-based videogame is parodying an anime film. The streets of Akihabara proudly proclaim that you are in Akihabara, in case you ever happen to forget it while staring at the flashing lights and TV screens.

Akihabara really is a paradise for the otaku of America. The area revels in the life of an anime nerd, and offers just about everything that you could need to satisfy your cravings for being an anime enthusiast. You can easily buy body pillows, notebooks, shirts, and just about anything else you could think of, relating to your favorite series. Like, if you’re so inclined, you can find a tin of Aizen’s special blend coffee (it’s actually a cloth and pins), or go for a shirt that details all the molds from Moyashimon (I did).

And yes, on the street, there were people wearing maid outfits handing out flyers for maid cafes, manga shops, and even AU. The stores and the people working there really fit the image of Akihabara that’s been built up from photos and stories taken in the area. All of the cosplay shots, though, are those of young people. In the middle of a weekday, cosplayers are not going to be out and about. Cosplaying is something reserved for high schoolers looking for a way to spend their weekend, and thus it only shows itself then. The rest of the time, the people dressed up are there for work or some similar reason. I was there on a Tuesday morning -- a rainy one at that -- and it was just a mass of people, instead of a mass of people dressed in silly clothes.

Akihabara is really about offering the latest, greatest, and priciest version of a product. Special editions, alternate prints, and all sorts of assorted merchandise litter stores once you enter into them, and as you pierce through the heart of seven and eight story buildings, that sort of nerdiness prevails. The Moyashimon T-shirt is a good example of what's out there on the market in Akihabara: look back within the past year of shows, and that's the majority of the merchandise out there. Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei, Kodomo no Jikan, Lucky Star, kimikiss, etc. 

Yet, when it comes down to it, I feel as though Akihabara is trying really hard to bill itself as the otaku mecca. Stores need to be on top of the latest titles, and in order to compete with every other store in Akihabara, they need to have their own little niche or gag to attract people to their store over someone elses'. Much like a journalist trying to cover everything going on in an industry, or a fan consuming massive quantities of anime for extended periods of time, it can lead to burning out. I never got to talk with the fans in Akihabara, since they were busy studying in school, but I wonder how often the patrons of Akiba went at first, and how that compares to their current visitation pattern.

Oftentimes, I did in fact find myself bored with shops, because while they were different places, there were only slight subtleties in the difference in merchandise. Like, for example, one store focused more on DBZ gashopon (half a floor, it seemed), compared to another that focused more on Bleach. Otherwise, most of their stock was similar, and both of 'em had slightly jacked prices. Life in Tokyo isn't easy, it seems. You pay a premium on just about everything.

Previously:

A Day in Den Den Town: An introduction
A Day in Den Den Town: Osaka's videogame spirit
A Day in Den Den Town: The hunt for some sweet PVC
A Day in Den Den Town: Retro paradise at Retro TV Game Revival
The Great Retro Quiz! .27: Secret Den Den Edition
Osaka After Hours: Picking up doujinshi in the heart of Kansai