The illustrious cosplay-style Japanese restaurants known as "maid cafés" have come to the West in the form of Manchester, England's "Animaid Café" – but at the cost of some criticism.
"What fresh hell is this in Manchester?" local councillor Joanne Harding asked of the café in a tweet, continuing, "A ‘maid café’ - No touching or asking to touch the maids. We have a gender based violence strategy and ask ‘is this ok?’ This makes my fresh [sic] crawl."
Maid cafés typically feature subservient women skimpily dressed as maids and working at the beck and call of typically male patrons commonly referred to as "masters."
Is it misogynistic or cute? The establishment has social media mulling over the question.
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The anime-based tradition took off in Japan during the 1990s and, though it may seem strange to some in the West, those familiar with Japanese "otaku" (a word commonly used to address someone interested in Japanese manga, anime or other entertainment) culture know about it all too well.
The Animaid Café boasts its "authentic anime theme" on its founder Afflecks' webpage.
They specialize not only in creating the authentically Japanese maid café atmosphere, but also create kawaii (or cute) drinks and treats and offer collectibles or accessories for sale to guests.
Still, the culture shock it's inducing is attracting heat from more than Harding.
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"Hooters for incels," Irish TV writer Graham Linehan said of the place.
"Young women performing exaggerated submissiveness? I mean … it kinda screams Perverted and Misogynistic to me," Guardian columnist Arwa Mahdawi wrote Wednesday, but later added that her "final verdict" on whether it's acceptable isn't "black or white."
Others, as she noted, came rushing to the café's defense.
"It's just a f---in maid café. Holy moly. How is that ‘hooters for incels?’ How does this make someone's ‘flesh crawl?’ It's fun and cute," one tweeted.
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Another Twitter user called for others to support the establishment, praising the café operators as "the loveliest people" and condemning critics for making them "put up with the most unjustifiable flak."
A third tweeted, "I'VE BEEN THERE??? THERE'S LITERALLY NOTHING BAD ABOUT IT???"
Since the location went viral, it has become a hotspot, calling its owners to hire more staff to meet demand.
