I can’t decide how I feel about this: the first Japanese-style “Maid Cafe” that opened in New York City this summer. Maid Cafes were created to cater to the fantasies of geeky male fans (otaku) of anime and manga – which often portray women as doe-eyed, sexy, coquettish creatures. As in this new cafe in Manhattan, the waitresses in the Japanese cafes wear girlish braids and maid costumes–generally pink, with petticoats and super short skirts. They call their clientele “masters and princesses.” But based on this piece from Gothamist, there seems to be far more masters than princesses to serve in the Manhattan space.
Though there are explicit rules about what you can’t do: no touching, no asking for phone numbers or email, no stalking or engaging with the “girls” before or after their shift, it would seem that the men frequenting the establishment are there more for the eye candy than the “heart-shaped rice balls, crepes and other sweet and savories.” There is even a “Love Note Book” for customers to write in: sweet or sexy missives to their favorite cute waitress perhaps? Kind of creepy. I’d love to get a look at what’s been written.
Yet, really, how different is this from your typical bar where female bartenders sometimes dress a bit provocatively and pay a little extra attention to the sucker who thinks she’s chatting him up because she’s truly digging him (rather than just vying for a good tip)? This is just a more transparent, pop-culturized version of that age-old dynamic one might argue.
From a food perspective, I like the cheap, Tokyo-pop snacks that are available: things like Matcha Mille Crepes, Curry Pan and Shaved Ice. But I’d like them just as well if they were served by a fully-dressed waiter. That’s clearly not the point though; there are plenty of places that offer similar fare without the maids.
What remains to be seen, I think, is whether this cafe (and others that are sure to crop up in urban areas like Seattle where anime and costumes of all kinds are wildly popular) will bring in authentic lovers of anime and manga – both women and men – and become a hub for mega-fans rather than just pathetic dudes looking for an easy flirt. Rather than mimicking a Japanese custom to the tee, wouldn’t it be cool if servers could dress up as all sorts of anime characters, rather than just sexy maids, and that costumed males would be part of the mix as well? That would make it a far more nuanced (if not entirely traditional) homage to anime fandom. But I’m guessing that scantily-clad cuties are much better for business….
