This booklet, published along with the August 1984 issue of The Anime magazine, is a fascinating reminder that we didn't always have a pithy term to describe Japan's legions of anime-obsessed young adults. Although the now commonplace "otaku" made its official debut the year before in a column by Akio Nakamori, it wouldn't become widely used until the end of the decade, and then mainly as an epithet. In the meantime, The Anime produced this pamphlet in an attempt to hang a name on a growing subculture that undoubtedly included a large segment of its readership. The word they chose was "Yappie," a contraction of "Young Anime People."
In contrast to Nakamori's dour appraisal of the average anime/manga junkie's social skills, The Anime attempts to portray them as being healthy, well-rounded, fashionably urban, and "with it." In hindsight, more than a few of The Anime's descriptions of supposed Yappies -- with their "neat and clean" hairstyles, stylish clothes, and equally shared interest between the sexes -- seem more like wishful thinking than a reflection of reality. Perhaps this explains why the term never actually took off (in fact, today marks the first I've ever heard of it.) It's more of a wistful reflection on what anime fans could be rather than what they actually were. "Yappie couples don't just enjoy their love for one another," it explains in one section. "It goes without saying that they have a major advantage over single Yappies in expanding their fan clubs and gathering information." Tellingly, there don't seem to be any quotes from any of these mythical couples in the text.
Rose-colored though its lens may be, The Anime's attempt to catalog stereotypical Yappie/otaku habits reads like a missing link between the "gonzo" approach of Nakamori and the more mainstream work of Toshio "Otaking" Okada, who established himself as Japan's top otaku spokesman with the publication of his best-selling Otaku-Gaku Nyumon ("A Guide to Otakology") in 1996. The Anime's pamphlet even contains an illustration of a Yappie's bedroom, a feature that appears in Okada's book as well.
Above is my translation of the first page of the Yappie Handbook. I'll be posting more selections shortly. And for those so inclined, here's the original Japanese.
Special thanks to Robert Duban for digging this pamphlet out of his collection!
Seems like a cross between yuppies and your general artsy type (what Americans call, unjustly and pejoratively, “hipster”). Very little overlap with the now-dominant nerdy otaku culture. I’m thinking such yappies must have existed, though few in number and for a very short period.
Posted by: Leonardo Boiko | August 15, 2009 at 11:27 PM
It doesn't seem like yuppies, "hipsters", otakus, or quite frankly any single person that ever existed. I wonder how they came up with these attributes of a yappie.
Posted by: Jeremy Neiman | August 16, 2009 at 12:45 AM
This is great, thanks for the translation, looking forward to more!
Posted by: Ralph | August 16, 2009 at 12:52 AM
In 1984 I was subscribed to all the 'majors', but once in a while Yuji at Books Nippan would have a 'hiccup' and I'd miss an issue of this mag or that, and he'd be very apologetic.
As part of that massive harvest of magazines (4 a month, 12 times a year generated a LOT of posters, booklets and such like) I started file folders and bags for every series and OAV, and separate bags for song booklets, post cards and such like, and I do not have this booklet, so this leads me to believe that it was one of my missed issues.
The Anime and My Anime was always working overtime to crank out cool extras. I miss them.
Posted by: Steve Harrison | August 16, 2009 at 05:07 AM
On Reflection and further thought (because all my mags are buried in storage), I think that was a bound-in supplement, so I may indeed have it.
Notes from the past:
The thing in the girl's hair is the mascot of The Anime, tho I never knew its name.
yes, Miami Vice was running at the time and drove the fashion for the guy.
Lilis Fau is INDEED friend to all Yappies, as she's sitting on my CD rack even as I type.
Haro coolers were something long desired and never made until those full size Haro's came out...oh, when did Bandai do that, '99? Whenever it was they were pimping their blow-molding setup with the Gundam Hand chairs and the White Base shelf...
I am quite amused by the 'even a GIRL can own a digital watch!' callout.
Posted by: Steve Harrison | August 16, 2009 at 07:34 AM
There's more than a little wishful thinking at play here. It's less a from-the-trenches report and more like one of those Marvel "What If?" comics: "WHAT IF... you could be a total anime nerd AND lead a normal life?" Chapters include "A Day in the Life of a Yappie," "The Equality of Yappies," "The Private Lives of Yappies," and "Holidays for Yappies."
It's also a great example of just how much casting about there was for a solid term for the young men and women who were refusing to "graduate" from manga and anime back then. At the time, locals were using "mania," "nekura-zoku" (gloomy ones), "byoki" (sickos), and all sorts of ways of referring to what we now generally call "otaku." I don't know if anyone actually ever USED "Yappie," but it's interesting that The Anime felt the need to try coming up with a term.
Posted by: MattAlt | August 16, 2009 at 08:17 AM
That girl is all grown up now, and her name is Zooey Deschanel:
http://thingsfatpeoplehate.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/zooey-deschanel-91.jpg
Posted by: Roger | August 16, 2009 at 09:22 AM
Now that you mention it, there IS an uncanny resemblance...!
Posted by: MattAlt | August 16, 2009 at 09:24 AM
Those kids should be going door to door selling Grit.
Posted by: Roger | August 16, 2009 at 09:25 AM
I'd also like to add that I fucking hate them.
Posted by: Roger | August 16, 2009 at 09:25 AM
"Style guides" like this are always a weird, cringe-worthy and laughably bad idea...even today. Even so, the internet demands more of this nonsense ASAP.
Though I have to ask...was printing this even necessary? I mean how hard is it (or would it have been) to keep up on nerd stuff AND some fashion magazine of your choosing at the same time and just put two and two together?
What's more, are there (were there) nerds out there that don't grasp that dressing up a bit exponentially increases their chances of mating with someone who doesn't know the difference between Dunbine and Gundam? Are these the nerds that The Anime was trying to desperately reach/sell magazines to?
Whatever the reason this was published, I have to say that YAPPIE sounds pretty fucking boring. "Young Anime Person" is simultaneously the complete opposite of catchy and interesting.
Stupid comments aside, big thanks to Robert for unearthing this.
Posted by: Bernie | August 16, 2009 at 06:17 PM
I susepct, in the end, the only reason why The Anime published this little booklet was because it was the thing to do at the time. I am mindful of how Shirow would throw out passing references to 'manual addiction' in Appleseed, which was a commentary on (I assume) all the 'how to live' books being published. "How to date beautiful women" "how to succeed in romance" "how to impress your boss and score hot chicks" and such like. (of course this mania was taken to the ultimate level with the character of Rei from Evangelion, who needed her daily guide to tell her how to react, what to do, where to go, an aspect of the show and that character that never gets touched on)
I assume the Yappie thing was a bit tongue-in-cheek for the staff writers involved. It WOULD be interesting to take the entire guide and compare it to the way things are today. With adjustments for the difference between AmeriOtaku and the fans in Japan of course.
Hmmm, I wonder if 'Yappie' is also a word play on 'Jappie' which would bring unintentionally self-racist humor into play.
Oh, wait! Overman King Gainer just added additional depth! They're searching for Yapan...THE LAND OF THE YAPPIES!
Posted by: Steve Harrison | August 17, 2009 at 12:50 AM
"I wonder if 'Yappie' is also a word play on 'Jappie'"
I suspect "Yuppie" (which is written using the same katakana) is a more likely inspiration.
Posted by: MattAlt | August 17, 2009 at 09:06 AM
Yuppie, Yappie, yeah, I got that. I'm just thinking of the typical thought of making wordplay puns. Don't forget that there are some there who glomped onto 'Japanimation' thinking it was cool while we all abandoned it long ago for the uncomfortable implied tones.
Posted by: Steve Harrison | August 17, 2009 at 11:17 AM
The "Haro-shaped ice-chest" is probably the thing that comes closest to reality in that page...1/1 scale Haro-box, anyone?
Posted by: thomas | August 22, 2009 at 02:51 AM
>>I have to say that YAPPIE sounds pretty fucking boring.
It's the "Highlights for Kids" version of the otaku: clean cut, socially engaged, and safe.
Posted by: MattAlt | August 22, 2009 at 10:26 AM