▪	RELEASED BY:		SEVEN SEAS
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		JIRO SUZUKI
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE / B&W
		▪	PAGES:		182
		▪	RATING:		T
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		10/31/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		12/26/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		SCOTT CAMPBELL

Move over, Comic Party! There’s a new fandom comedy just come into town! I, Otaku: Struggle in Akihabara is hilarious and completely entertaining for an anime and manga fan’s point of view. Here’s a guy, who thinks he’s “too cool for school”, has a nice girlfriend, and also just happens to be an obsessive closet otaku. He’s told no one - nobody knows but him, but what exactly happens to a cool guy when everyone around him finally realizes what he’s into?

So with that said, please meet closet “otaku” Sota, a seemingly normal high school student with a secret obsession for the dog-eared anime character Papico. During one fateful trip to Akihabara, Sota’s life takes an unexpected turn when the crazed owner of a collectibles shop forces Sota to “come out” in all his fan boy glory. The only problem is that as he “comes out” in a howl of fury for his need of a rare figure that the shop owner is taunting him with, his girlfriend just happens to be standing right there. Now he’s got some explaining to do, and some growing to do - as will she - if she’s actually willing to put up with his antics. This manga is a humorous look at fandom, what it does to different people, and the effects it has on the people around fans, who just aren’t ever going to “get it.” Anyone who enjoyed Genshiken or Comic Party should give this one a try - but really any true anime fan should be able to relate to the goings on of this manga!

The art style is really a lot of fun. It’s goofy and crazy and detailed - it’s over the top to say the least. Characters and their expressions are all over the place - it’s not a serious manga for one moment! All the little details - crazy or otherwise - are hugely enjoyable. Each page has a lot for the reader to look at and try to take in. Clichés and jokes fly off the walls here - and then bounce back a few times - if you get my drift. It’s all so humorous and all so easy to relate to in one way or another, if not for many multitudes of reasons.

As a welcome extra at the end of the book, there are plenty of character designs and extra art, as well as an explanation of many of the cultural references that may have reader’s heads spinning. It’s very educational and really adds to the book, as well as perhaps to fandom in itself. This is a good start to a nice little manga that’s great for some laughs and plenty of eye rolling - eye rolling resulting from knowing just what the artist/author is getting at and knowing there’s a little bit of otaku in each of us.

IN SUMMARY: 
I, Otaku is a book about fandom and what can be so hilarious about it, as well as what can be so painful about it. Anyone who would say that anime and manga are in their top five “I love these things” list should read this book. It’s got a little something for ever type of fan!