Otaku Women in a House Share オタク女子が、4人で暮らしてみたら。 (Otaku Joshi ga, 4nin de Kurashite mitara) book cover

オタク女子が、4人で暮らしてみたら。
(Otaku Joshi ga, 4nin de Kurashite mitara)
by 藤谷 千明 (Chiaki Fujitani)

Author: 藤谷 千明 (Chiaki Fujitani)
Japanese Level: JLPT N2
Genre: Non-fiction, slice of life, otaku, anime
Pages: 204

Amazon Japan Kindle: オタク女子が、4人で暮らしてみたら。
Bookwalker Japan: オタク女子が、4人で暮らしてみたら。

 

Japanese Summary

お金がない、物が増えていく、将来が不安!そんな思いで始めたアラフォー女性のルームシェア。SNSで集まった4人の共通点は「オタク」であること。推しバンド解散の日はお通夜状態、共用費で『鬼滅の刃』を購入、「おそ松さん」3期決定で焼き肉パーティ……本名も知らなかった仲間との最高な一年を綴る、ゆるくてリアルな日常エッセイ。

 

English Summary (translation by Japanese Talk Online)

No money, an increasing amount of stuff, and an unsure future! That’s the thought that started a room share of a group of women around their 40s. The thing that they all have in common, they’re all otaku who met on social media. An all-nighter when their favorite band disbanded, pooling their money together to buy Kimetsu no Yaiba, a BBQ party when Osomatsu-san season 3 was announced…four women who didn’t even know each other’s real names are bound in the best year ever in this series of slow but real essays about daily-life.

 

Why You Should Read オタク女子が、4人で暮らしてみたら。

I picked this book up on a whim in the bookshop because the cover and title looked interesting. Based on that alone, I had expected this to be a fun novel akin to the manga Jellyfish Princess, a story about the quirky events of otaku women with their own interests. But it turned out to be a non-fiction essay/diary about the struggles of renting a house in Japan as a house share (instead of living with a partner or family.)—So warning everyone else, this is a non-fiction essay, not a novel!

It was interesting to hear about the struggles of Japanese otaku women in their 30s, how they found a house, and then lived together. I enjoyed reading about the barriers in place of finding somewhere that would rent to a group of women (most places will only rent to married couples.) And about some random geeky events when they start living together. But it was a slog at times.

The author isn’t a novelist and the essays-style of writing was dry at times—I honestly got a little bored at a couple of points. I can’t even recall a lot of what happened because I was so bored. That’s the problem when you don’t have a narrative in a non-fiction book—it’s more like a series of events that happen rather than a continuous story.

 

Why Japanese オタク女子が、4人で暮らしてみたら。

This is a great book for N2 level learners working their way up to N1. Especially if you’re an otaku and interested about life in Japan.

It has a lot of vocabulary about house hunting, and living in Japan, but also a spattering of otaku slang and references. Particularly of anime that aired around the start of Reiwa (2019).

 

Summary

This is a bit of dry book but incredibly useful for people looking to improve their reading for the JLPT N2/N1 exam. It’s also a great book if you’re interested in life in Japan.

You can try the first few pages on Bookwalker.

 

Other Book You Might Like

Essays for Japanese Game Lovers – 吉田の日々赤裸々 (Yoshida no Hibi Sekirara)

My Manager Is a Moron (店長がバガすぎて)