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INTEREST: Multi-National Maid Café Opens in Akihabara




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Jose Cruz



Joined: 20 Nov 2012
Posts: 1778
Location: South America
PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2017 4:13 pm Reply with quote
Cool. But I notice these maid costumes look a bit "bulky" in real life, they remind me of something almost like armor instead of a cute maid costume.

Wages at 1,000 yen an hour don't look that bad, but well that's in tokyo. I guess they get some help for housing and transportation.
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HeeroTX



Joined: 15 Jul 2002
Posts: 2046
Location: Austin, TX
PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2017 5:08 pm Reply with quote
The Chinese maid actually has really good English. Laughing
(altho, impressed that there's a Pakistani)
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DuchessBianca



Joined: 24 Apr 2015
Posts: 562
PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2017 6:37 pm Reply with quote
I admit I don't know much about maid cafe's or how they are actually run or if it's just them being camera shy but from watching the video many of the poor girls look extremely uncomfortable and stiff, I don't think I could take doing their job Anime hyper
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harminia



Joined: 24 Aug 2015
Posts: 2008
Location: australia
PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2017 7:52 pm Reply with quote
they don't seem very maid-like from the video. Like, I get it's just a video introducing the concept but they could've smiled more and been more cutesy. Why have a maid cafe if your maids are just gonna look indifferent the whole time
I assume (or hope) they'll be more genki when serving actual customers


also kinda lame its a cafe that serves no food.

well, good luck to them
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hikura



Joined: 21 Nov 2004
Posts: 565
PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2017 10:06 pm Reply with quote
DuchessBianca wrote:
I admit I don't know much about maid cafe's or how they are actually run or if it's just them being camera shy but from watching the video many of the poor girls look extremely uncomfortable and stiff, I don't think I could take doing their job Anime hyper

Agreed.In the video the young ladies did come off as being stiff and uncomfortable.
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Banken



Joined: 29 May 2007
Posts: 1280
PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2017 10:23 pm Reply with quote
Jose Cruz wrote:
Cool. But I notice these maid costumes look a bit "bulky" in real life, they remind me of something almost like armor instead of a cute maid costume.

Wages at 1,000 yen an hour don't look that bad, but well that's in tokyo. I guess they get some help for housing and transportation.


Those are slave wages considered what girls in this line of work are usually paid...
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mixedfish



Joined: 10 Oct 2014
Posts: 24
PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2017 11:22 pm Reply with quote
Banken wrote:
Jose Cruz wrote:
Cool. But I notice these maid costumes look a bit "bulky" in real life, they remind me of something almost like armor instead of a cute maid costume.

Wages at 1,000 yen an hour don't look that bad, but well that's in tokyo. I guess they get some help for housing and transportation.


Those are slave wages considered what girls in this line of work are usually paid...


Hire the type of people in Japan who will accept slave wages and call it a "multi-national maid cafe" . Brilliant.
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leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Wed Jun 21, 2017 12:22 am Reply with quote
Somehow, I knew there'd eventually be a maid café for gaijin fetishists. (Though apparently, the tagline is that it's meant for other gaijin, but I don't really see what the purpose of it being in Japan would be for that.)

DuchessBianca wrote:
I admit I don't know much about maid cafe's or how they are actually run or if it's just them being camera shy but from watching the video many of the poor girls look extremely uncomfortable and stiff, I don't think I could take doing their job Anime hyper


I was getting that impression too, that they didn't look like they really knew what to do. I'd guess it's because this is their first days on the job, and they haven't been given much instruction or rehearsal.

harminia wrote:
also kinda lame its a cafe that serves no food.


Well, there are some cafés that ONLY serve coffee and no solid food. They don't serve alcohol the way this establishment does though.
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harminia



Joined: 24 Aug 2015
Posts: 2008
Location: australia
PostPosted: Wed Jun 21, 2017 1:45 am Reply with quote
leafy sea dragon wrote:
Well, there are some cafés that ONLY serve coffee and no solid food. They don't serve alcohol the way this establishment does though.


Just seems kinda boring to me.

I wonder, does this cafe draw stuff on the alcohol. Cute little cat faces or messages on top of your tequila.
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leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Wed Jun 21, 2017 2:23 am Reply with quote
harminia wrote:
leafy sea dragon wrote:
Well, there are some cafés that ONLY serve coffee and no solid food. They don't serve alcohol the way this establishment does though.


Just seems kinda boring to me.

I wonder, does this cafe draw stuff on the alcohol. Cute little cat faces or messages on top of your tequila.


Those cafés tend to be old establishments found in small towns and are said to serve very good coffee. And even in that category, there are some that serve Starbucks-like menus with lattes, mochas, cappucinos, espressos, americanos, and so forth; and the REALLY traditional type that only serves normal coffee and decaf, albeit you can still add in milk, sugar, creamer, and so forth yourself. These are used as social hangouts for the locals and weren't really meant for visitors (with the exception of a few places in Europe, mainly Italy, France, and Greece, which get a lot of tourists who stop by for "the real stuff").

It's a lot like the traditional bars that ONLY serve beer. Nowadays, new bars that open up pretty much have to sell fully cooked appetizers and entrees to compete with other bars in the area, but the old, town fixture locations can still get away with serving nothing more complicated than roasted peanuts.

Think of it like Moe's Tavern in The Simpsons, only coffee instead of beer and with a morning commute kind of environment instead of the dingy bar lighting.

Also, I think I'm getting sleepy...I read that as "cute little cat feces."
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Amitch91



Joined: 08 Jan 2012
Posts: 7
PostPosted: Wed Jun 21, 2017 5:14 am Reply with quote
DuchessBianca wrote:
I admit I don't know much about maid cafe's or how they are actually run or if it's just them being camera shy but from watching the video many of the poor girls look extremely uncomfortable and stiff, I don't think I could take doing their job Anime hyper


I agree, the video was pretty cringey to watch and they definitely looked uncomfortable in the video, usually when i think of maid cafes i think of bright, happy and bubbly personalities, i think at one point i heard one of them say something like "What should i do ?" when the camera was on them

I hope this isnt a true representation of how they are and its just them being camera shy like you said
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Wandering Samurai



Joined: 30 Mar 2014
Posts: 875
Location: USA
PostPosted: Wed Jun 21, 2017 7:48 am Reply with quote
Hopefully they're in Japan on the proper visas, or else they and the cafe will be in big trouble, considering how strict the immigration process is in Japan.
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HeeroTX



Joined: 15 Jul 2002
Posts: 2046
Location: Austin, TX
PostPosted: Wed Jun 21, 2017 9:40 am Reply with quote
From the look of things I would say it goes like this:
-"Theoretical" (aka. advertised) market is probably tourists to Akihabara, giving them a "maid cafe" experience with people who actually speak their language (since not having that can be intimidating or a reason to not do it)
-Likely "actual" market will probably be Japanese men who ... want to practice their English (or other languages). There's apparently a big market for private English lessons and there are also people that will even solicit tourists for a chance to practice their English (and not just girls).

If that is as I expect, then what they're serving is of small consequence. That said, their website has a slot for "food", it just doesn't have anything listed yet. (they also serve non-alcoholic drinks like coke)

I also wonder if at least some of the girls are uncomfortable because of a lack of Japanese. Even the main girl who does a Japanese greeting seems not entirely comfortable with the language, and I'd totally believe the rest are pretty unsure what to say and what language to say it in.
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Hoppy800



Joined: 09 Aug 2013
Posts: 3331
PostPosted: Wed Jun 21, 2017 10:35 am Reply with quote
Pros

-It's a lot better than the American attempts, those were super cringy.

-Alcohol

-Maids with decent looks (a huge problem with the American versions is that it lacked
decent looking maids)

Cons

-The maids look a tad awkward and uncomfortable being there although, that may cease with time.

-No sign of food being served there.

It might do ok, primarily with young Japanese men especially if they want to learn English.
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Kadmos1



Joined: 08 May 2014
Posts: 13569
Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP
PostPosted: Thu Jun 22, 2017 9:17 am Reply with quote
I so could see a harem manga/LN being made about this. It correctly depicting country cultures is another subject.
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