Sitting proudly at the top spot of the Akiba Keizai Shimbun’s 2009 First-Half Headlines Page View Ranking is “Okaeri! Onee-chan! Akiba ni Ichi Nichi Gentei ‘Ototo’ Cafe, ‘Shota’ Juyo Haikei ni” (meaning “Welcome Back, Sister! – One-Day Only ‘Younger Brother’ Café in Akiba, ‘Shota' in High Demand”). The article was about an “ototo (‘younger brother’) café” where customers are addressed as “onee-chan” or “onii-chan" (meaning “older sister” and “older brother”) in a setting where “the older sister or brother has returned home.” The customers are served by staff dressed up as the “younger brother” in this ototo café. Views of the article rose dramatically when it was picked up at 2channel and elsewhere.

The rankings are calculated based on page views of headline news at the Akiba Keizai Shimbun (the Japanese-language website from which most Akiba Today articles originate) from January 1 through June 30 of this year. The top ten are as below. (Dates of publication at the Akiba Keizai Shimbun appear in parentheses. URLs indicate links to articles that also appeared in English at Akiba Today.)

1. Welcome Back, Sister! – One-Day Only ‘Younger Brother’ Cafe in Akiba, ‘Shota' in High Demand (3/19)
2. Garbage Bags that are Painful to Look at - You Won't be Able to Put Out the Trash (3/28)
3. PSPs with Prints of Beautiful Girls: "Ita PSPs" (1/23)
4. 1051 Famicom Cartrige Set Sold (1/15)
5. Girls Use CD to Have Virtual Boyfriends Navigate them from the Comic Market (1/21)
6. “Moe Choco” Sold in Akiba – First Product to Fight Hay Fever in the “Moe Market” (2/5)
7. Classic Works of Literature in 2channel Slang: “Ito, Barosu w” – Uses Crying ASCII Faces and More (3/12)
8. Weekend Late Night “Akiba-Style Drag Queens, ‘Otoko Girls’” Bar – Boost to Cross-Dressing Boom (3/27)
9. Parka with Urusei Yatsura’s Lum – Re-release by Cospa (1/7)
10. Refresh Your Head by Resting it in a Nurse’s Lap – “Akiba Women’s Dormitory Annex” Remodeled (1/28)

The second-place article, “Garbage Bags that are Painful to Look at - You Won't be Able to Put Out the Trash,” was about trash bags with prints of beautiful young female characters. Views of the article jumped due to links at otaku information sites for non-Japanese readers and elsewhere.

The third-place article is “PSPs with Prints of Beautiful Girls: ‘Ita PSPs.’" There was a lot of talk about the “I tried to make an Ita PSP” videos at Nico Nico Douga, resulting in a higher number of page views.

Looking at the overall rankings, popular topics were about everyday items with prints of beautiful young female characters and with “moeru” (Japanese for “to be adorable”) or “ita” as keywords, while others were the debuts of fresh and new drinking, dining and refreshment establishments like the “ototo cafe,” the “cross-dressing bar” and the "nurse refreshment” establishment.

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

Cross-Dressing Young Men Serve Patrons at Akihabara Bar (Akiba Today)

Garbage Bags that are Painful to Look at - You Won't be Able to Put Out the Trash (Akiba Today)

Girls Use CD to Have Virtual Boyfriends Navigate them from the Comic Market (Akiba Today)