In college, around 1997, some friends invited me to an anime screening at a well-known design institute. When I arrived I found around 50 people very eager for the screening to begin. Among the wait were several groups discussing the latest anime and manga purchased or watched; The most heated discussions were about series episodes, character fights, or Goku's super saiyan levels.
At the beginning everyone piled up very excited and sat wherever they could. One of the acrylic boards served as a screen for the projection. The presenter tells us about the video, which was a video clip for the song “On your mark” by Chage & Aska, directed by director Hayao Miyazaki (a god for many connoisseurs).
We were all ready to watch the video. At that moment I was arrogant, and as the only Nikkei in the room I thought that only I could know the Japanese group. To my great surprise, the entire venue started singing the song in Japanese. Furthermore, the video was subtitled in hiragana and many already knew and read it. At that moment, I realized that one cannot stop learning and be surprised by the emotions and fervor that Japanese culture can bring.
Cosplayers, lolitas and maids are part of the Peruvian otaku scene. Models: Abril (cosplayer), Nuria (lolita) and Sayuri (maid).
ANIME, NOT JUST “DRAWINGS”
Understanding the fervor for anime is simple, it is not just seeing “drawings” as some adults would say. Anime involves having content for each different audience. For the child, stories full of positive messages, hope and morals. For teenagers, funny stories, dramas about love and the characters' desire to improve. There is also anime with adult content.
A big mistake that occurred in Peru was that, considering it to be a “cartoon,” many free-to-air channels included in their programming series with content not suitable for children at the wrong time. For this reason, some call “Japanese cartoons” immoral.
In 1997, Sugoi magazine, a pioneer in South America, began to appear. It was a magazine specialized in anime, manga and J-pop. The feat of this magazine was also holding its famous meetings at the Champagnat school in Miraflores, in which thousands of fans spent their Sunday watching anime series, movies, video clips, etc.
Currently there are many groups of fan cartoonists who meet religiously to put their stories on paper and then create their dojinshi (manga created by fans). Seeing the ability and desire to improve of these people is highly commendable.
Each manga or anime contains such diverse characters with different characteristics, which generate such fanaticism that we find an incredible amount of products: keychains, stuffed animals, action figures whose prices range from twelve to a thousand soles (edition note: approximately between 4 and 350 dollars)
In Lima we have the Arenales Shopping Center, which has become a mandatory meeting point for every lover of Japanese pop culture. In it we can find different people with similar interests, exchange ideas and products, and make friends. It should be noted that the majority of young people who are fanatics have a so-called healthy vice, because this keeps them away from things like alcohol and drugs.
COSPLAY IDENTITY
Cosplayer Anita seeks not only to look like a character, but to have fun.
By creating Onigiritv, which is an online entertainment medium about Japanese culture, I was able to meet a lot of people who try to divide their time between work and their hobbies. Just as I told you about Peruvian mangaka , we also have many people who love cosplay .
Cosplay is not just dressing up as a character and that's it, it's much more. It is trying to adopt the identity, create the identical costume and learn its poses.
Among Peruvian cosplayers we can find those who can have their costumes created and those who create them from scratch, including working with cold ceramics, using fiberglass, knowing how to sew, and much more. Everything to have the suit most similar to your character. Everyone can spend up to a thousand soles or more.
By meeting Anita Quicaño as a cosplayer, I learned that it is not only about looking like the character, but also about having fun and that many other people can enjoy cosplay , because many of us want to take a photo with our most beloved anime or manga character. So cosplayers also have another role, that of making many people's dreams come true.
We currently have cosplayers who have traveled to events in Brazil, Chile and Japan. Some are ranked internationally and appear in Japanese magazines.
Recently, groups of lolitas have also been created, young girls whose motto is to always wear dresses from the Victorian era. Their dresses usually represent each young woman from very sweet or princess-like.
FROM GOKU AX JAPAN
“Cosplay is not just dressing up as a character and that's it, it's much more. "It's trying to adopt the identity, create the identical costume and learn its poses." Cosplayers: Sara and Milagros.
Since 2008, the events have grown more and more by bringing seiyu (voice actors), bands and J-pop singers to Peru.
Meeting the voice actors in Spanish and interviewing them, hearing the voices that marked us, was something wonderful. Cristina Hernández, who provides the voice of Lima from Saber Marionette , Sakura from Sakura Card Captor , etc. Mario Castañeda, the voice of Goku, MacGyver, etc. Or also Humberto Vélez, with whom I met Homero Simpson and it was the best. So were Laura Torres, Patricia Acevedo and a long etc. They all came to Peru and also told us how they go around Latin America performing at conventions and festivals, about the warmth of the people, many times people cry and tell them the meaning of their voices.
The big leap in the events was in 2010, when they began to bring Japanese artists such as Hironobu Kageyama, who sings the songs of Dragon Ball , Versailles, Kaya ( Visual Kei ), MOVE among others, until reaching the big band of stature. World Cup X Japan.
When conducting an interview with Mirtha Coral, president of the Arashi fan group, I was able to see how her group has moved to be able to bring their beloved Arashi to Peru. But she is not alone, she has a whole legion who wants the same thing.
Arashi's fans don't stop trying to get the attention of the Arashi boys and they really did it, from reporting on Peruvian news to going to American lands to be at the press conference of one of the singers. In addition, they were able to perform at Nodojiman The World , quite a feat and a reward for the constant support of Japanese culture in Peru.
The use of the Japanese language is becoming increasingly necessary for young Peruvians who need to know the meaning of songs or their favorite anime.
By knowing a little more about lovers of Japanese popular culture in Peru, we can understand that it is not a passing fad. Many young Peruvians lead their lives dedicated to the popular culture of Japan.
* This article is published thanks to the agreement between the Peruvian Japanese Association (APJ) and the Discover Nikkei Project. Article originally published in Kaikan magazine No. 61, November 2011 and adapted for Discover Nikkei.
© 2011 Asociación Peruano Japonesa; © 2011 Fotos: Asociación Peruano Japonesa / Álvaro Uematsu
