It had a massive fan base. It had its own anime show. The author, Eri Takenashi, thought everything was going well. Then she made a grave mistake of making her heroine “not a virgin.”
Popular manga series, “Kannagi,” hit the headlines of geek media outlet… I meant IT and entertainment news source, puzzling the readers, when apparently fans were upset over the latest issue published earlier last month. The buzz was that the fans were so outraged by the latest issue that they vented their anger onto the web. One fan went as far as shredding all five volumes of his prized collection, taking pictures of them, and posting it online. He apparently later sent the ruined copy to the author.
And now, the once-favorable manga has announced to go into an “indefinite hiatus.” Although officially, it is for “health reasons” of the author, people cannot help but to speculate about the recent outbursts of fans sending massive angry letters to the poor authoress to be the cause. The spokesperson refusing to divulge the specific details make this speculation more likely.
Yep, she is one of those "Britney Spears virgins."
The tale spins like a modern version of a Greek love story. A male high-schooler makes a beautiful sculpture of a spirit, which in turn starts to move and talk and claim that she is “Nagi.” An attractive geek favorite, she has acted suggestively towards the main character, but last month, her hot ex-boyfriend made an appearance, and it was hinted that the realationship wasn’t simply platonic.
One critic suggested that making a tree spirit “not a virgin,” made the readers feel betrayed. I can’t think of a Western equivalent, but I suppose it is like having Smurfette finally caving in on the peer pressure of her male counterparts, or Lucy from Peanuts offering more than counseling service to console Charlie Brown…. I really don’t want to think about such a plotline.
According to an article on IT Media, (http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/0812/09/news074.html)
a journalist who covers net extensively has been quoted saying, “men who can’t form a decent relationship with actual women get fixated on 2-D beauty, and starts to believe that they can engage in a “mock romance” with these beauties in a safe environment. Then they start to hold a stringent “virginity worship,” where they firmly believe that there is no way in the world these beauties will have an affair with other men.”
Geeks and lack of female conquest have been a butt of jokes for a while. In a chilling news, the Akihabara murderer was reported as a virgin and frustrated by it by the media who likes to stigmatize sub-culture fanatics. Recently, an urban legend has popped up in the geek mecca of Japan, Akihabara, that if you are a virgin by the age 30, you become a wizard. Obviously, no one believes in such a ridiculous tale (I really hope), but this legend has caught on fire, and lonely geeks would post online that “I will become a wizard soon if I don’t get any action before my next birthday,” as a joke. One posts read “if you decide to lose your virginity using prostitution, you become a wielder of black magic.” In Christian tradition, maintaining one’s virginity before marriage was held highly, as seen in the story of birth of Jesus. Perhaps that sentiment is reflected on this urban legend.
Needless to say, not all geeks have troubles getting some action behind the sheets.
I am a geek, and I will stand up and shout. NOT ALL GEEKS ARE LIKE THIS! Some geeks NEVER have any problem when it comes to dating.
The next blog post will cover Japanese geeks who have gained wide popularity and attention in different field, astonishing viewers.
Whilst Eri Takenashi is “recovering,” she may want to watch some American soaps to see how the other side of the world copes with bad plot progression. She may want to use some of these old tried devises when the editors decide that the storm is gone:
*Nagi has been hypnotized!
*Nagi has an evil twin sister called “Guina.”
*Gasp! It was all a dream.
*Nagi was lying, and simply wanted to make the poor guy jealous.
*Or the author can pretend that the whole thing didn’t happen, and continue from the episode before the “not a virgin” episode.
PS
I have tagged this blog with the word “wizard,” but I really hope none of the Harry Potter fans stumble onto this blog because of it.
Tokyo Ruins Everything 
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