Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2009

Courtesy of Akiba Guild

On this cold winter morning, a group of young Japanese men is milling about in front of pachinko parlor Akiba Island. In the queue is Kentaro Ishizaki, a 35-year-old systems engineer. Ishizaki counts as his vices gluttony for anime and lust for busty character figures, but he does not smoke, drink or, before today, gamble.

“I’m here to play the Macross machine, which has exclusive new animation,” he says shyly. “I probably won’t win, but there’s a better chance of a return than playing a videogame. Anyway, I really just want to see the animation.”

The Japanese gambling market is the largest in the world. The legally gray pachinko industry alone is valued at ¥23 trillion per year—more than the nation’s entire automotive industry. There are more pachinko parlors than McDonald’s, and machines keep fans hooked by featuring images and sounds of favorite media and celebrities. Now, proprietors are appealing to a generation of young men who grew up watching anime and playing videogames. The stereotypical otaku makes an attractive client—an obsessive individual with money to burn and little experience at gambling.

Many popular anime series now have their own machines, including classics such as Space Battleship Yamato, Fist of the North Star and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Some, like Urusei Yatsura, are particularly clever in finding tactics to get players to keep playing. On this machine, anime sex icon Lum-chan appears onscreen to dance for and encourage players. Parlors are also finding ways to increase the value for their anime-loving clientele—2008 saw the introduction of UCC Evangelion-themed coffee cans whose distribution was limited to pachinko parlors.

Pachinko machines with anime themes are not only drawing fans; they are introducing non-otaku players to anime. So many people became newly interested in old series via pachinko that otaku created a name for the trend: the Pororoca Reverse Current Phenomenon. But not all gamblers enjoy this otaku-ization. Some say gambling is outlaw culture, enjoyed by people who used to beat up otaku in school. Others point out that gambling is serious business, not play time, and so is unsuited for those not in to win.

Indeed, Akihabara boasts a maid casino called Akiba Guild (pictured) and a cosplay mahjong parlor called Tempane, neither of which actually offers money games. Instead, winners earn points that can be used to “level up” member status and, in some cases, earn the right to take pictures with the staff. At Tempane, cards can be used to unleash special abilities during mahjong, adding a fantasy layer to game play.

“Gambling is really connected to sex,” says Ryo Mikami, 25, a programmer and self-professed otaku who dabbles in games of chance. “Men are empowered by cute girls in costumes serving their drinks, and that fits well with sexy anime characters and girls in cosplay.”

Mikami stops by Tempane at least once a week to play mahjong, but says he is “30 percent interested in winning and 70 percent interested in the atmosphere and camaraderie of the parlor.” He met most of his friends here, including his ex-girlfriend, who was a staffer and seiyuu (voice actor) who shared his interest in anime and manga.

Mahjong is commonly thought to be a part of older salaryman culture, but with at least three manga running monthly mahjong comics, and breakout anime series such as Saki, about a high school girls’ mahjong club, many an otaku is taking up the game. In fact, Mikami may soon find a friend in Ishizaki.

“I am starting to get interested in mahjong because of Saki and the Higurashi mahjong game,” he says. “I am in love with the characters.”

Akiba Island: B1F-1F Don Quijote Bldg, 4-4-3 Soto-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku. Tel: 03-5209-1300. Open daily 10am-10:45pm. Nearest stn: Akihabara. www.akiba-island.com

Akiba Guild: 8F, 3-15-7 Soto-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku. Tel: 03-3255-7155. Open Mon-Fri 3-10pm, Sat-Sun 1-10pm. Nearest stn: Suehirocho or Akihabara. http://akibacc.com

Tempane: 3F, 3-8-6 Soto-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku. Tel: 03-3255-3103. Open Mon-Fri from 1pm, Sat-Sun from 11am. Nearest stn: Suehirocho or Akihabara. www.tempane.com