Romance of the Wotagei ~ ヲタ芸のロマンス

In the beginning, there was Japan. Then the Japanese created "idols". And for a time, it was good... RRRIIPPPP!!!

Okay, enough of the Animatrix reference, but I swear its soundtrack was playing my head while I was typing this post. ^_^

Why I did create this post for such an old topic? Because I have recently discovered that there is wotagei in my neighbourhood. Check this out, this culture is now in Malaysia!!



Man, I didn't think it was possible~~~~ Obviously I was wrong... (^_^;)

According to fellow blogger Artszfar of Haromoni.net, the guys read from this blog about the time when visited a karaoke centre called Yumekukan in Plaza Mont Kiara. Then they gathered their army and their Morning Musume T-Shirts, booked a room and did the Wotagei. (Funny, because that karaoke centre was at the ground floor of the building where my office is located. How did I miss it? Haha~~~! ^_^)


Well anyways, "what IS wotagei?". For the benefit of those who don't know yet, it's a unique Japanese culture where a group of concert goers would include hand-clapping, cheers and dance routines during a song performance by their favourite idols. It serves to increase the tension of the song and as a way for the fans to show their love and support to the performers. As this culture was a trademark for wotas (Morning Musume otaku), it was aptly named "wotagei" (lit. "the art of wota").



The discovery of this culture began when the performers and concert staff started to notice some fans spinning around while jumping during concerts. Further investigations found their answers in Akibahara, the material haven for wotas. In fact they are an organised group of people, and have set up headquarters and clubs in many cities in Japan. (Kinda like the mafia. ^_^)

This culture is arguably exclusive only to Hello! Project, though it should be noted that the wotagei has already extended to other acts such as AKB48. Generally, many still believe that this form of art is born out of Hello! Project concerts. Out of the many H!P songs, the wotagei is most closely affiliated to Fujimoto Miki solo hit "Romantic Ukare Mode". But it need not necessarily be only for Mikitty's song, any other (preferably up-beat) songs is just as good.

Today, this culture has travelled across the oceans and has been embraced by many international wotas. At the top of this post, the Malaysian wotas are enjoying themselves, forming an (unofficial) H!P Fan Club.

A while ago I saw a video clip of a bunch of guys in Mexico singing "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari" in a subway train and another clip of the same guys doing the wotagei on the train. (Annoying the hell out of the other passengers obviously ^_^). Now we have a properly organised Mexico H!P F.C. doing the deed in front of the bronze Angel of Independence statue.



I'm thinking that some these people have probably been to Japan, maybe stayed there for some time, and later brought the culture back to their home country.
So I'm pretty sure other countries may have adopted the wotagei as well, especially Taiwan, Hongkong and Korea.

As for me,..... I do not know how do it and most certainly did not practice the wotagei. I wanted to say that I'm too old for that kind of action, but suddenly remembered that some of the Japanese wotas are over 30 or pushing 40. I guess my way of being a fan is different...

Personally I think it's okay to show your support to your favourite H!P idol in whatever way you wish, whether it's the wotagei way or the common way. Some of you may think it's a bit extreme, but I look at it as being the most basic and pure way of showing love not in words, but in "actions". Just remember that it does not apply to every single concert. Imagine doing the wotagei in a Beyonce Knowles or Westlife concert... (^0^)


\\(^0^) Urya~ Oi!! (^0^)// Urya~ Oi!! \\(^0^) Urya~ Oi!! (^0^)// Urya~ Oi!!

Peace^_^