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Akihabara Guidebook Kickstarter - Seeking Assistance


OriginalRen

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Hey all,

Does anyone remember when I posted details about an Akihabara tourist guidebook I wanted to create a few months ago? Well, I have been diligently working on that for some time now, and by the end of this December I hope to have it finished so I can start getting feedback. I never actually mentioned this, but depending on how well it's received, I really wanted to launch a Kickstarter for the rest of the world to enjoy. Specifically, I want to launch a KS so I can fund certain elements and expand the guidebook to a more professional level. I won't go into all of the details at the moment since this is something I want to start considering for next year, but I will give you an idea of what sorts of things I was hoping a KS campaign would help fund.

Through fundraising, I hope to do the following:

  • Hire a professional editor or editors who can check most of the material written in the guidebook.
  • Hire a professional photographer who can get permission to take pictures of buildings in and around Akihabara.
  • Hire professional translators who are willing to help translate the guidebook's articles into a multitude of different languages.

While the list seems small, there are probably other things to consider as well, such as hiring an artist who is willing to draw me pictures and a possible mascot for the project. Also, obtaining rights for using certain images may also be something I need to look into. Overall, I don't have a lot of information on this yet because I don't know how well the "rough" version will turn out.

Still, I wanted to make this thread for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to talk about why I think this Kickstarter can be successful. I was originally planning on contacting Danny Choo (the president of Culture Japan) in order to help promote the campaign. Who would have guessed I met the man standing alone with nobody around him in Shibuya the final day I was about to leave?

http://i.imgur.com/wP37e7C.jpg

To be honest, I was quite surprised. We ended up chatting about localized PC games and how companies like MG, Sekai Project, and JAST are affecting the market. Turns out Danny is familiar with Fuwanovel as well, or so I gathered, though I'm not 100% sure on that. Anyways, after telling him about my KS in person he ended up saying that he would proudly support it and that I could use the photo shown above as a way to promote it. He also gave me his card and said to email him when and if the fundraiser was launched. If you aren't familiar with who he is, check out his homepage linked below. Hopefully things can work themselves out!

http://www.dannychoo.com

Second, I also wanted to make a request to the community of Fuwanovel and its surrounding members. I am in desperate need of some assistance on this project. While I totally thought it could be tackled by myself, I realize that using InDesign to create layouts is proving to be extremely taxing; any help would be greatly appreciated. So how can you help? All I would really need help with is design ideas. If anyone is good at creating magazine-style layouts or has any ideas they can describe to me on paper, that would be awesome. I used to design newspaper layouts back in high school and I often look to the internet to see some awesome design ideas and award winning templates, but it's still difficult to come up with something unique and appealing. Not good at layouts? That's okay! I would love to hear your input on color choices if you have any, and of course if you have any ideas for a mascot I can use to promote the project (artists, I am looking at you), I would greatly appreciate it.

As you may realize, I am very serious about launching this KS and seeing this project become a huge success. If there are people who are willing to assist me in that dream and help me out, please PM me or post in this thread. Again, any assistance goes a long way. Thanks again all!

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I'm not creative really, so I don't think I can contribute much in this aspect. Besides this I will definitely support you and help fund it.

I will be in Akihabara in May 2016 if that would help at all, like with pictures or whatever it may be. I'm no professional, but as a hobbyist I do like my photography and have a decent DSLR. The benefit would be that I don't cost anything ;D I suppose you could use whatever you think is good enough.

I don't know your time frame of this project, so I'm probably useless.

Anyway.. I think it's a great idea. Good luck!

 

Edited by kingdomcome
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you not the only one who wrote a guidebook for commercial use (if its commercial use, since you are trying to get copyrights), it's better to focus on what makes this guidebook better than the others. you'll have to fight with other people who had the same idea but had already detailed everything (google it), the greatest rival would be bloggers because while yours is only about that time it could easy change into new things (then becomes outdated). you really need to fight bloggers than any publisher you encounter, also you can't use sexy anime characters in jp without their approval and that goes double since america really hates anything sexist. Lastly base on the last example in the guidebook it would appear you would use copyright characters which is against the rules in both free and commercial use.

yes this is a slap in the face but for your own good.

zpzwicl.gif

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you not the only one who wrote a guidebook for commercial use (if its commercial use, since you are trying to get copyrights), it's better to focus on what makes this guidebook better than the others. you'll have to fight with other people who had the same idea but had already detailed everything (google it), the greatest rival would be bloggers because while yours is only about that time it could easy change into new things (then becomes outdated). you really need to fight bloggers than any publisher you encounter, also you can't use sexy anime characters in jp without their approval and that goes double since america really hates anything sexist. Lastly base on the last example in the guidebook it would appear you would use copyright characters which is against the rules in both free and commercial use.

yes this is a slap in the face but for your own good.

zpzwicl.gif

You just have to find a way to bash everything down without ever reading anything that anyone ever writes, don't you? Simply amazing firecat.

For your information, this isn't the same kind of guidebook you are more than likely thinking of, but rather something different. It's meant to be something foreigners can easily relate to since it's coming from a foreigner's view to begin with. It only focuses on Akihabara, and unlike most guidebooks which I have never seen do this, it provides you with properly written English about otaku stores that people can visit. Be you a family visiting electric town for a day, or a die hard figure collector and PC game (visual novel) player, everything will be included. I planned to have a stretch goal which could possibly feature a phone application that self updates every so often and keeps the district up to date as the years advance. No, nobody has ever thought of and actually followed through with that idea firecat. Also in regards to the images I plan to use, there is a reason I am hosting a Kickstarter and specifically stated that I want to hire artists to help me draw content so I don't need to use owned material.

PS - Japan isn't going to ban original artwork because I am not commercially selling this item in Japan. They don't have any right to tell me that drawn anime characters which are original are against the law. It's my artwork and I can use it how I'd like. Also, please don't talk about America being sexist and therefore not allowing the images I choose. That is the most pathetic comment I have heard.

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you not the only one who wrote a guidebook for commercial use (if its commercial use, since you are trying to get copyrights), it's better to focus on what makes this guidebook better than the others. you'll have to fight with other people who had the same idea but had already detailed everything (google it), the greatest rival would be bloggers because while yours is only about that time it could easy change into new things (then becomes outdated). you really need to fight bloggers than any publisher you encounter, also you can't use sexy anime characters in jp without their approval and that goes double since america really hates anything sexist. Lastly base on the last example in the guidebook it would appear you would use copyright characters which is against the rules in both free and commercial use.

yes this is a slap in the face but for your own good.

zpzwicl.gif

You just have to find a way to bash everything down without ever reading anything that anyone ever writes, don't you? Simply amazing firecat.

For your information, this isn't the same kind of guidebook you are more than likely thinking of, but rather something different. It's meant to be something foreigners can easily relate to since it's coming from a foreigner's view to begin with. It only focuses on Akihabara, and unlike most guidebooks which I have never seen do this, it provides you with properly written English about otaku stores that people can visit. Be you a family visiting electric town for a day, or a die hard figure collector and PC game (visual novel) player, everything will be included. I planned to have a stretch goal which could possibly feature a phone application that self updates every so often and keeps the district up to date as the years advance. No, nobody has ever thought of and actually followed through with that idea firecat. Also in regards to the images I plan to use, there is a reason I am hosting a Kickstarter and specifically stated that I want to hire artists to help me draw content so I don't need to use owned material.

PS - Japan isn't going to ban original artwork because I am not commercially selling this item in Japan. They don't have any right to tell me that drawn anime characters which are original are against the law. It's my artwork and I can use it how I'd like. Also, please don't talk about America being sexist and therefore not allowing the images I choose. That is the most pathetic comment I have heard.

you spoke too soon, look at these websites that have only anime related topics and locations to visit:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3003.html

http://akihabaralist.com/

http://www.amazon.com/The-Akiba-Manga-Guide-Akihabara/dp/4889962492

now i think you already know that anime is not really popular in japan so while Akihabara is overused in anime there are limits. these articles already explain the anime side of Akihabara.

http://anime.mmgn.com/Articles/testing-T

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/blog/gadgets-on-the-go/akihabara-a-beginners-guide-to-the-ultimate-geek-pilgrimage-20130923-2ua1r.html

This page proofs that even if you made this guidebook, it will only last for a current time until the town change its ways or things might not be there.

http://www.orochinagi.com/gamer-guide-japan/akihabara-gamer-and-figurine-guide-2014

You think japan is o.k with anime because you saw so many crazy things but they still have rules: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Japan

The law that most people cite as the reason for Japanese censorship is Article 175 of the Criminal Code of Japan (passed in 1907). Interestingly, Article 21 of the Japanese constitution prohibits censorship, so legally Article 175 isn't actually censorship, though it's pretty hard to argue this in practical terms. The translation of Article 175 of the Criminal Code given in this article (potentially NSFW for obvious reasons) is the following:

Any person who distributes, sells or publicly displays an obscene writing, picture or other materials shall be punished with penal servitude for not more than two years or be fined not more than two million and a half yen or minor fine. The same shall apply to any person who possesses the same with the intention of selling it.
This law doesn't specify any differences between anime and other materials, so strictly speaking anime is treated no differently at least according to the letter of the law. The big question is "what defines 'obscene'", which the law doesn't answer. For this reason, the law is rather vague, and the definition of what exactly is "obscene" is impossible to give. At the very least, it seems to only include the material itself, and not the sorts of acts that are depicted, so things like bestiality or incest aren't covered by this law.

There are some other laws which are sometimes framed as "censorship" laws, such as the infamous Tokyo manga ban (which, as of 2012, had not banned anything at all). Strictly speaking these are not censorship laws. Rather, they put legally enforced age restrictions on certain types of content. The restrictions themselves are pretty severe and can result in a chilling effect whereby publishers will deliberately avoid titles that could be affected.

On the topic of usa, you still have to watch yourself:

Also problematic is that, unlike in Japan, many citizens of these countries are not aware it may be illegal for them to make fictional depictions of sexual situations involving minors. Many fandoms such as Harry Potter or Attack on Titan have thriving shipping communities around underage characters. In theory, that puts some fan creators in the crosshairs of anti-child pornography laws. The fact that laws against “virtual child pornography” are rarely or inconsistently enforced does not mean they are harmless. The outcome of the constant fight that Japanese fans, mangaka, and publishers are waging against censorship laws may turn out to be very relevant for non-Japanese fans as well.

http://www.japanpowered.com/japan-culture/anime-blogging-and-copyright-considerations

http://www.mbbp.com/resources/iptech/publishing_legal.html

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Publishing+Law <- this tells you everything

http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2013/03/5-top-legal-issues/ <- this explains what you will encounter

all this research took forever to read and so forth, if you continue to dream about the guidebook without a real plan you will see that it will all be for nothing. remember, anything professional doesn't mean better viewer/fan base. a great example is yu-gi-oh (yes its still alive) it has professional everything but not very famous on the new things only the old series.

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