In recent years, there has been a great deal of interest among young Vietnamese in Japan's so-called otaku culture.
On August 28, there was a Japanese manga, anime, and cosplay event called "Japan Wave" at the Savico mega mall in Long Bien, Hanoi.
The 1,200 advance tickets were sold out, and the three-story atrium mall was filled with people from the time the doors opened at 9:00 a.m. until the event closed at 2:30 p.m. The crowd didn't let up until the event closed at 1:30, with attendees taking pictures, talking about anime and video games, playing Pokémon card games, and interacting with each other through online smartphone games.
Many Japanese manga and anime goods were on sale at the venue, as well as dojinshi (books by amateur artists on their favorite themes) flown in from Japan, and many customers were seriously considering purchasing them.
In connection with otaku culture, there was also a live performance by Polaris, a Vietnamese dance idol unit based in Hanoi, with eager Japanese fans wearing Polaris T-shirts and cheering in the front rows.
Even though it was mid-summer, there were many enthusiastic cosplayers, including male maids. In the past, cosplay costumes were not easy to obtain, so many fierce cosplayers made their own, but recently it has become easier to obtain them on the Internet, and the barriers to getting started seem to have been lowered, making it easier for Vietnamese interested in Japan to enter the market.
On the same day, "comic fes 2022," a Japanese cultural exchange event organized by Honda, was held in Ho Chi Minh City, which was also crowded with cosplayers and Vietnamese fans of Japanese manga and anime.
In recent years, similar cosplay events have been held at the school festivals of Hanoi University and Hanoi University of Economics. It is expected to strengthen the ties between Japan and Vietnam not only economically but also culturally.
Although the event was billed as a Japan Fest, Korean snacks and other items were sold at the venue, and in a positive sense, one could sense the flexibility and enthusiasm of a place that is developing rapidly and eagerly taking in all that is good.
One problem is that this information is mainly transmitted in Vietnamese, so in many cases, the information is conveyed within the Vietnamese community, but the Japanese community is unaware of it.
The reverse is also true, and there are many cases where events in Vietnam that are originated by Japanese people do not reach the ears of Vietnamese people, resulting in a lack of participation in the event.
If both sides have more opportunities to learn about the existence of such events, I think the exchange between the two countries will deepen. I hope there will be more mechanisms to convey information to both sides.
Vietnam is a society of personal connections. It is not uncommon for people to be introduced to unexpected people by their friends and encounter new possibilities.
It seems to me that the Vietnamese preference for social networking sites such as Facebook is not unrelated to their ethnicity, which values "connection.
Even in the Japanese community, we often hear stories of people who, when they were out of work and wandering around, were suddenly introduced by a Vietnamese friend to an executive at a large Vietnamese company, and were able to land a well-paying job.
I believe that through various events, you can connect to a wonderful future that you never expected.
Japan Wave will be held in Ho Chi Minh City on October 30 as well.
If you want to feel the heat of Vietnam from a cultural angle and make unexpected human connections, why not go?
author (usu. of a particular book, etc.)
CAMPUS HANOI
Japan-Vietnam exchange salon and restaurant
Profile
CAMPUS HANOI's parent organization is a Tokyo-based non-profit organization that supports foreign residents.
We are a kakehashi between Vietnam and Japan, and are engaged in activities to expand the cultures of both countries.
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/Campushanoi.net/
[Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/campus_hanoi/
This site pagehttps://walking-vietnam.net/ja/construction/imamura-international-vietnam/
