mainstreamology

This paper discusses the recent shifts in trends within the otaku subculture, such as the diffusion of the otaku into smaller, sub-categories, and the effect this is having on mainstream Japanese society as well as within the subcultures themselves. It also provides an expansion with more up-to-date information on the situation I presented in my previous paper last year concerning the rigidness of these otaku subcultures and their refusal to merge with the mainstream within Japan. I wish to stress the importance of the theme of mutual pressure between the subculture and mainstream territories in Japanese society, while also venturing further to explain how what once was regarded childrens media has evolved into an art form for the West (regardless of critique), and trying to map that phenomenon onto the actual situation within Japan, because I feel we are at a crucial stage where this transition is becoming key in predicting where the future for Japans contents industry will take it.