Support NeoGAF

[Riposte]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...u-Anime-brings-Japanese -pop-culture-Midtown (Video inside)

A fighting game pops up in the video. You'll never guess which.

Chou Anime (cho an-i-may) Cafe opened on Woodward at Willis in Midtown in mid-June. Its owners, Oneka and Joe Samet of Birmingham, say it's the only brick and mortar maid cafe now operating in the United States. The first one closed after a three-year run in Culver City, Calif.

It serves tea and Great Lakes coffees, salads, sandwiches, wraps and sushi plus many sweets imported from Japan. But the standout features are the chirpy young women dressed in maid costumes who greet you, seat you, serve you and invite you to play board, card or video games at your table for a small (no more than $2) fee.

A maid cafe is a little like a Japanese tea house run by a modern twist on geisha, those elegant Japanese entertainers dressed in elaborate kimono. Maids, on the other hand, dress like — well — maids, in doll-like outfits with ruffles, bows and optional clip-on cat ears. Maid cafes originated in Tokyo in the early 2000s and quickly spread all over Japan, spawning spin-offs like maid hair salons and car detailing shops. They originally were a subset of cosplay restaurants, where servers and patrons dress as their favorite fictional characters. The maid character is a popular archetype in Japan, appearing in more than 200 manga (Japanese graphic novel or comic books) and anime (animated cartoons/films).

Samet could see there was a business opportunity selling anime merchandise, and for two years she did just that at Russell Bazaar in Detroit and at anime conventions around the Midwest. But after a visit to Japan in 2010 and her exposure to pop-up maid cafes at the conventions she began to dream of a permanent maid cafe close to home.

The cafe is based on the difficult-to-translate Japanese concept of moe (moh-ay), which can mean cute or adorable or the feeling you get "when you hold a baby or you pet a puppy or a kitten," Samet says.

"When you come you're supposed to get that feeling of happiness and warmness. So that's why the girls wear the costumes," she says. "It's just so when you come in you feel happy and warm."

Samet, a mother of two, is quick to point out the maid costumes are not intended to be sexy or seductive. On the contrary, "they're cute and girly and frilly, more like baby doll dresses as opposed to sexualized," says Samet. "I think the dresses are actually meant to be more innocent."

I find this all a bit fascinating, more-so now that the anime craze has cooled down in the US. I would have thought the idea of a maid cafe would have sooner popped up in New York or something. Well, if you want to weeaboo it out, this is the more realistic alternative I suppose.

 

[Devolution]

Detroit?

 

[jerry1594]

Detroit of all places

 

[Rentahamster]

Those girls totally need to meet these girls:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qe4AZRkFYE&feature=player_embedded

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=39937732
I wonder what would happen.

 

[a Master Ninja]

Haven't the good people of Detroit suffered enough?

But seriously, good for her.

 

[Davidion]

If this place blasts Derrick May and Juan Atkins all day, I think if I ever were to walk in there my head would explode.

 

[Xanathus]

Click link, sees video thumbnail, closes tab.

 

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

The cheat sheet is helpful for people wondering what the fuck am I reading.

 

[Devolution]

Also

"When you come you're supposed to get that feeling of happiness and warmness. So that's why the girls wear the costumes," she says. "It's just so when you come in you feel happy and warm."

Yeah lol nice euphemisms.

 

[jerry1594]

Click link, sees video thumbnail, closes tab.

Lmao exactly my reaction

 

[Rentahamster]

Click link, sees video thumbnail, closes tab.

I watched the whole thing. I'd take her out to dinner. Might be fun.

 

[Ein Soph Aur]

Why Detroit of all places?

 

[Forever]

Why Detroit of all places?

Anything can happen in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

 

[Brazil]

Click link, sees video thumbnail, closes tab.

Seriously. I almost choked on my oxygen.

 

[victreeb3l]

detroit?

well good for them i suppose. hope it doesnt bomb

 

[Lonely1]

Went to one in Akihabara. Wasn't worth the price. :/

 

[Parallax]

Click link, sees video thumbnail, closes tab.

Well at least I'm not alone in this.

 

[GrizzNKev]

THIS IS AWESOME

and hilarious

 

[LiK]

Robocop cosplayer needs to visit that store

 

[PartTimeWarrior]

Detroit is so kawaii~

 

[Zaptruder]

Click link, sees video thumbnail, closes tab.

This... and I know I shouldn't be laughing. But I'm laughing.

 

[bobbytkc]

Click link, sees video thumbnail, closes tab.

slowclap.gif

 

[DrForester]

 

[toastyToast]

Click link, sees video thumbnail, closes tab.

As soon as I saw that thumbnail I burst into laughter

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

Went to one in Akihabara. Wasn't worth the price. :/

I'd be too embarrassed to go.

 

[SMT]

There's nothing too Moe about the cafe, friends.

 

[Alucrid]

If this place blasts Derrick May and Juan Atkins all day, I think if I ever were to walk in there my head would explode.

remixes of vocaloid songs by all the detroit techno gods

 

[El Sloth]

Uguu~

 

[Parallax]

remixes of vocaloid songs by all the detroit techno gods

No, they have to be covered by motown artists.

 

[isny]

Holy crap at that video. Those people are so so sad...

This almost seems like a parody of the SNL skit, although in reality it's the other way around >.>

 

[Kusagari]

It's all about Butler-kun.

 

[blixa]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0B2CQ_9ECw

threw up.

 

[The Technomancer]

Its like everything wrong with Japanophilia in the US

EDIT: Okay, it gets a bit better as the video goes on. It still screams "high-school" to me though.

 

[El Sloth]

It's all about Butler-kun.

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6hz3wcYvT1r4nl1ho1_400.jpg[/IG][/QUOTE]
Seeing how popular yaoi is in the States (judging from the comic sales anyways), maybe they should have gone with an all dude cafe.

 

[Uchip]

almost as hard to watch as that brony documentary
they seem to be enjoying themselves

I'd be too embarrassed to go.

if you're already in the district, nobody is going to judge you for it
but like he said, its not worth the price

 

[aceface]

Wasn't there one in Toronto for awhile?

 

[Lemon Crest]

First thing I thought of.

 

[PartTimeWarrior]

First thing I thought of.

Mio wouldn't last 5 seconds in Detroit

 

[aceface]

I think it's cool that they could open this in downtown Detroit and kids can go there and have a good time with their subculture.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Why Detroit of all places?

Moe-town

 

[dallow_bg]

Moe-town

Nice.

 

[djplaeskool]

Moe-town

 

[lazybones18]

Maid cafes sound so fucking stupid

And seriously, in Detroit?

 

[Chet Rippo]

Mio wouldn't last 5 seconds in Detroit

 

[Gospel]

ewww

 

[djdac]

I'd go there. ヾ(＠⌒ー⌒&#65312ノ

 

[EVOL 100%]

Click link, sees video thumbnail, closes tab.

Yarp.

I have to echo all the 'why Detroit' sentiments too. I guess it was cheap enough to open a shop there?

 

[impirius]

Moe-town

No matter what happens to the business, the fact that it set up this post makes everything worth it.

 

[Kesagiri]

Why?

Uguu~

Why?

They're not even worth in Japan, much less Detroit of all places.

 

[Why would you do that?]

That girl looks sort of like one of my friends. She's a little... well, odd, but cool.

Eh... I'd go.

Moe-town

Took me a second. But awesome.