I, Otaku: Struggle in Akihabara
| I, Otaku: Struggle in Akihabara | |
| 壮太君のアキハバラ奮闘記 (Sota-kun's Struggle in Akihabara) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Jirō Suzuki |
| Published by | Square Enix |
| English publisher | |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Magazine | Monthly GFantasy |
| Original run | 2003 – 2007 |
| Volumes | 6 |
I, Otaku: Struggle in Akihabara (壮太君のアキハバラ奮闘記 Sōta-kun no Akihabara Funtōki, lit. Chronicles of Sōta-kun's Struggle in Akihabara) is a Japanese manga series written by Japanese author Jirō Suzuki. The manga is serialized in the Japanese shōnen manga magazine Monthly GFantasy. It has been licensed by Los Angeles-based company Seven Seas Entertainment for distribution in the English language.
Plot
The story follows the seemingly normal high school student Sota, who is popular and even has a girlfriend, but is in fact a closet Otaku obsessed with Papico, a fictional anime character created for the manga. He has been in love with Papico since grade school and is an avid collector of everything Papico. He is a closet otaku because of a traumatic incident that happened when he brought a Papico action figure to school as a child. He is more or less able to keep his obsession a secret until he meets and then is forever harangued and followed by Mano Takuro, the crazed owner of an anime collectible shop in Akihabara. Mano attempts to change Sota's life for (as far as he's concerned) the better, by trying to bribe Sota into dumping his girlfriend Eri, a lowly "3-dimensional" and not a perfect 2D character like Sota's beloved Pico. Takuro often follows Sota, at one point dressing up in a giant Papico doll outfit, trying to get him to convert. Sota eventually finds a fellow Papico maniac and dubious ally in his school friend Kenji, who has a passing penchant for cosplaying in Papico's frock, to the point where he wears his Papico outfit under his regular cloths at all times.
Cast
Main
Enatsu Sota:
- A popular, 18-year-old outgoing high school student who is a closet otaku because of a traumatizing experience when he was younger. He has an obsession with the anime "Papico" (a fictional anime within the I Otaku universe) which he attempts to maintain a secret from everyone. He is going out with Eri, another high school student who is trying to understand his obsessive hobby.
Eri:
- She is Sota's girlfriend. She has been Sota's girlfriend for over a year now, yet until a recent event at the Otakudo shop does she finally learn of Sota's obsession with Papico. She tries to cope with Sota and finds herself drawn into this new side of Sota. She is stalked by her underclassman Maniaku Nia, a lolita lesbian.
Kenji:
- Sota's best friend. He is also a closet Otaku who has only recently revealed his obsession with Papico with Sota recently. He is more obsessed with Papico then Sota is, as he is always wearing his premade Papiko cosplay outfit underneath his street clothes.
Mano Takuro:
- The eccentric store owner of Otakudo. He creates a lot of problems for Sota trying to make Sota reveal his otaku obsession. It seems he has great connections for he always seems to have what Sota is looking for. He is a rival of Doujin, manager of MangaCave.
Doujin:
- The manager of the MangaCave and an ex-friend of Mano. He went to college with Mano, but has hated him ever since he turned the girl Doujin had a crush on into a hard BL fan. He is a Mecha otaku.
Nia-chan:
- An underclassman of Sota and Eri. Nia is a freshman girl in love with Eri. She often stalks her, and is very mean to Sota because he stands in her way and she thinks he's an idiot. She is also a masochist.
Kanariho Momoe:
- The editor-in-chief of the magazine Boy's Heaven Monthly and college friend of Doujin and Mano. She is the girl that Doujin had a crush on before Mano converted her. She is a very powerful woman who is not afraid to push people against their will to get what she wants.