In episode 6 of Japan Podshow, we interviewed Patrick Galbraith, author of the brand new Otaku Encyclopaedia from Kodansha International.

Patrick was interested in Japanese sub-cultures long before he first came to Japan, having seen an untranslated Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind as a 6-year-old. Enchanted by this, he began to study Japanese with his brothers, and sought to find out as much as he could about this mythical place called ‘Japan’.

Years later, he finally made the trip over, and was surprised to find that the world of weird robots, cute anime characters and tentacles wasn’t ‘Japan’ – it was Otaku.

Since then Patrick has been documenting Otaku culture – amassing a huge volume of information that has now been whittled down to the pure gem that is The Otaku Encylclopedia.

In this interview, in addition to talking about his own Otaku journey, Patrick explains the concept of ‘Moe’ – that amorphous thing that otaku might feel when they see a cute maid, and goes on to give recommendations for visitors to Japan wanting to experience Otaku culture.

Patrick writes for both Otaku2.com, and Tokyo Metropolis Magazine.

You can book an Otaku Akihabara Tour with Patrick Galbraith here.