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Here’s why the home of an otaku is a great place to be during a blackout

Casey Baseel Sep 7, 2018
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Being prepared for an idol concert means you’re also surprisingly prepared for a typhoon-induced power outage.

The home of an otaku might not seem like the best place to wait out a power outage. With no electricity, it’s not like you can kill time by enjoying your host’s library of anime and video games, and while otaku-oriented pillowcases require no external power sources and are designed to be enjoyed in the dark, they’re also best used in private.

However, there’s one reason an otaku dwelling is the perfect place to be during a blackout, as shown by Japanese Twitter user @karamone_ze, who found himself without electricity during the onslaught of Typhoon Jebi.

停電が復旧しないのでオタク棒で光源確保してる pic.twitter.com/usvY84yFSa

— カラモネーゼ＠Ｃ１０３土曜日サ36b (@karamone_ze) September 4, 2018

See, aside from stacks of Blu-ray discs and collected manga volumes, a truly hard-core otaku will also have a stockpile of glow sticks, whether for coordinated wotagei group dances or simply for waving in the air at concerts by their favorite idol group or voice actress vocal unit. Since these glow sticks are powered either by batteries or chemical reactions, they can still be used during a blackout, and the wide variety of hues they come in means that an otaku’s home will not only be well-lit, but stylishly colorful. Otaku glow sticks can even give your dinner a romantic ambiance, as shown here where an elegant earthenware pot of rice (no electricity means no electric rice cooker) is bathed in the soft luminescence from a pair of special Love Live! sticks.

FF外から失礼します。
本日の夕食の食卓です。
重宝しております。
炊飯器が使えないため、炊飯は土鍋です。 pic.twitter.com/Wt77vqOYAK

— 水銀燈にこルビ推し (@Mercury61119076) September 4, 2018

The otaku disaster response technique had other Twitter users applauding its cleverness, leaving comments like:

“Wow, those things are surprisingly good at lighting up a whole room.”
“It looks like a concert is about to start in your living room.”
“So beautiful.”
“It’s almost spiritual.”
“Oh, wow, is the glow stick in the foreground the special μ’s Final Live version? Thanks for the nostalgia trip.”

Of course, this isn’t the only way to create some emergency lighting when you need it, but it’s definitely an easy and effective one. So while otaku glow sticks may not be able to actually form magical barriers in front of you, they can still help keep you safe and comfortable as you weather a storm.

Source: Twitter/@karamone_ze via Jin
Top image: Pakutaso

Follow Casey on Twitter, where the interior of his home features a startling number of Pikachu visors.