ScreenHunter_106 Feb. 11 11.59

If you’ve been reading RocketNews24 for a while – or are yourself a mega otaku – you probably already know that “Wotagei” (or sometimes “Otagei”) is a type of dance style performed almost exclusively by “Idol Otaku,” or otaku who are specifically really into girl idol bands.

It’s generally seen as a niche oddity by the Japanese public and even less-hardcore otaku, as evidenced by the fact that even I only understood about half of the above paragraph even as I typed it and I write about this stuff for a living.

But, take heart, all you idol otaku – your time in the limelight may have come, as a cool choreographed Wotagei performance is making the rounds and entrancing the Japanese Interwebs.

It appears that Wotagei generally began as a type of semi-choreographed, mostly synchronized cheerleading that idol otaku could perform at idol events to show their support for the girls onstage. In the early days of the dance style, it seems otaku fans had nothing but a series of claps, shouts and moderately aerobic dance moves at their disposal.

But, somewhere along the way, Wotagei performers started utilizing what can only be described as tiny lightsabers (maybe they’re child-size or for Jedi in training?), dancing in dark environments to add a bit of spectacle to the whole display. The movements also seem to have become more physically demanding in line with this, as demonstrated by the Wotagei group Ginyu Tokusentai in this extreme Wotagei dance mix to musical comedy duo Kumamushi’s “Attakai”:

Ginyu Tokusentai seems to be experimenting with helping the otagei dance style break into the mainstream by performing to popular songs rather than the more niche girl idol stuff that’s generally only widely accepted within the confines of the Akihabara “geek” district.

Unsurprisingly, their most popular YouTube video to date is their Wotagei performance to the Attack on Titan theme song, as the show is a widely appreciated cultural phenomenon in Japan.

It’s probably safe to say that Wotagei has a long way to go before becoming the kind of thing you’d see in Tokyo’s hippest clubs, but by all appearances the style seems to have evolved into a pretty physically strenuous performance with a fair bit of choreography and cooperation involved so it’s nice to see it getting a little mainstream respect.

Source: Buzzmag
Videos by Ginyu Tokusentai