Figure moe zoku

nihongo|Figure moe zoku| _ja. フィギュア萌え族|Fuigyua moe zoku|extra=literally "figure budding tribe", or, closer to the true meaning, "figurine lover gang" is a Japanese term which refers to "Otakus who collect figurines". Japanese journalist Akihiro Otani claimed that this group was composed of potential criminals. Originally, the term wasn't related to lolicon, but instead to necrophilia, as the figurines were not alive.cite web|url=http://www.paradisearmy.com/doujin/pasok8h.htm|title=フィギュア萌え族(仮)|language=Japanese|work=同人用語の基礎知識|date=2005-02-17|accessdate=2008-02-28]

ummary

In Japan, the term "figure" can refer to figure skating, dolls, statues, and other collectible figurines. Figures based on anime, manga and dating sim characters are often sold as dolls in Japan. Collecting them is a popular hobby amongst Otakus. The term "moe" is Otaku slang for the love of, or fetish for, characters in video games, anime or manga, whereas "zoku" is a post-WWII term for tribe, clan or family.

Japanese journalist Akihiro Otani coined the term "figure moe zoku", and claimed that "Otakus who collect figurines" were potential criminals and that one of them had killed a 7-year-old girl in November 2004.cite web|url=http://picnic.to/~ami/ool.htm|title=公開質問状|language=Japanese|work=NGO-AMI|date=2004-12-09|accessdate=2008-02-28] According to his theory, the killer murdered the victim soon after the kidnapping, because the killer was not interested in her living body, but in her corpse. The lifeless body could then be described as a figurine.

Akihiro Otani used the term in conjunction with Kaoru Kobayashi, who did not, in fact, own any figurines. However, during an ANN special broadcast on the morning that Kobayashi was arrested, Otani commented that Kobayashi was a "Figure Otaku", insisting that "Figure Otaku" was synonymous with "lolicon".cite web|url=http://www.paradisearmy.com/doujin/pasok8h.htm|title=フィギュア萌え族(仮)|work=同人用語の基礎知識|date=2005-02-17|accessdate=2008-02-28]

As Otani's idea of the "figure moe zoku" seemed illogical at best, fans of the anime genre began using it ironically and humorously.cite web|url=http://www.paradisearmy.com/doujin/pasok8h.htm|title=フィギュア萌え族(仮)|language=Japanese|work=同人用語の基礎知識|date=2005-02-17|accessdate=2008-02-28] The term was awarded the "Okada Toshio Award" at the Japanese Otaku Awards' 2004. [cite web|url=http://www.granaten.co.jp/award2004.html|title=Otaku Awards 2004|language=Japanese|work=Otaku Awards Office|accessdate=2008-02-27]

Another usage

Although Kobayashi was not an Otaku, as of January 2005, Japanese local governments continued targeting Otakus as if they were the ones who had performed the crime.cite news|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fd20050206t3.html|title=Otaku harassed as sex-crime fears mount|publisher="The Japan Times"|date=2005-02-06|accessdate=2008-02-27] Therefore, the term became regarded as an extreme case of irresponsible statements of mass media, though the background of media circus was apparently Tsutomu Miyazaki. [cite web|url=http://www.journalism.jp/works2004/works/akagi2/akagi3.html|title=『「脳科学」化社会』|language=Japanese|author=Norihiro Akagi|publisher=journalism.jp|accessdate=2008-02-28]

Otani said "I don't intend to blame Otakus" in a book nihongo|"2007-2008 Manga Ronso Boppatsu"|2007-2008 マンガ論争勃発|extra=ISBN 978-4896372731 which was published in December 2007.

ee also

*Formal fallacy
*Agalmatophilia
*Unintentional humor

References

External links

*cite web|url=http://www.paradisearmy.com/doujin/pasok8h.htm|title=フィギュア萌え族(仮)|publisher=同人用語の基礎知識|language=Japanese|date=2005-02-17|accessdate=2008-02-28
*cite web|url=http://picnic.to/~ami/ool.htm|title=Open letter to Otani|publisher=NGO-AMI|language=Japanese|date=2004-12-09