Shoko Nakagawa: Blog True, Play More

Japanese gamer-blogger-cosplayer otaku queen Shoko Nakagawa shares her geeky passions in an interview with The Japan Times today. She reveals how, as a mainstream idol early in the millennium, she initially hid her anime and gaming geekery on a blog she didn’t expect anyone to read.

I wasn’t supposed to show this side of myself to people at all. But when I started writing about myself on my blog, people who had similar interests began sharing their comments with me. I finally felt some kind of acceptance. And I realized that since life is short, I should just be who I am and not try to hide it anymore.

When I started blogging, I was a very negative person. I felt like no one would want to read it, so I just wrote about things that I simply enjoyed, like anime and manga. But it was well received by people, and every time I updated my blog, I gained some kind of energy. Instead of being negative, I tried to be pleasant and write about things that I liked. I got addicted and I started updating and updating, sometimes as much as 50 times a day, and gradually I became a more positive and happy person.

Over one billion blog hits later, Shokotan’s very nerdiness has propelled her to stardom in the rising geek culture. Blog marketing guru Hugh MacLeod asserts that the market for something to believe in is infinite. Geeks are a niche underserved by idols, most of whom are all about the mainstream. Among those geeks, Shoko has found her believers.

Shokotan also shares advice for her fellow gamers: Life is short. Play more.

We only have a limited life. You don’t know how many more pictures you can draw. You don’t know how many more songs you can sing. You don’t know how many more times you can play with your cat. You don’t know how many video games you can complete while you’re alive. I’m constantly thinking about playing Final Fantasy 7.

The mainstream entertainment industry’s inability to understand gaming results in disasters like the upcoming Street Fighter movie. Shoko’s words reveal a real understanding of the medium. Gaming is more than mere entertainment. Gaming is virtual experience. We should all live for peak experiences. Carpe ludus, baby. Seize the game.

(Photo via Gamekult.)

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