Überreicht: Das Otaku

These (↲-anyone want to translate the Spanish for me?,↓) guys (along with the Craigslist posters) may be the manifestation of some sort of twisted Malthusian population equilibrator:  

“Naruse is part of a mushrooming fantasy world in the city’s Akihabara district, where make-believe maids are spilling out from their original novelty cafes to lure mostly male customers to reflexology centers and souvenir stalls.

…The widening popularity of the phenomenon is causing some researchers to warn about a growing pool of introverted faddists unable to engage with real people. Akihabara is home to about 60 stores where “maids” greet “masters” known as otaku — Japanese for geeks.

The shops allow otaku obsessed with video games, animated films known as anime, manga comics and action figures to sidestep contact with mainstream society, says Keiichi Kashiwabara, a philosophy professor at University of the Air, a government- subsidized school open to all high school graduates.

`Many young people are wrapped up in their own fantasy worlds,’ says Kashiwabara…. `The fact that maid shops are spreading means that people are becoming socially inept all over Japan.’

… `In the past, people used to go to pubs [and those of us who will pass on our genes still do on occasion],’ Amemiya says. `But people who grew up playing video games don’t really know how to relate to others.’” [Bloomberg]