Born in the city of Nagoya in 1970, he spent his teenage years devouring popular anime series of the time, including "Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam," the sequel in the well-known Gundam franchise that first aired in 1985, and "Dirty Pair," a sci-fi adventure featuring a sexy female duo working as "trouble consultants." This was the heyday of the VHS cassette, and Goto would spend his allowance renting anime tapes, many of which were made specifically for release on home video format to meet the period's surging demand for anime content. It wasn't a hobby he could openly share with his classmates, however. This was years before the otaku image underwent a makeover of sorts, thanks to the popularization of the fan culture and its global acceptance as a source of soft power. "Otaku of our generation were typically way down in the'school caste' system, and girls tended to look at us with disdain," he says, referring to the invisible hierarchy in the classroom determined by different status symbols.

HAVANA – Cuba may be one of the world's least connected countries but that is not stopping the Japanese subculture of animated movies, manga comics and video games from spreading feverishly among its youth. More than 1,000 otaku (geeks), or fans of such fantasy worlds, descended on Havana last week for the country's third otaku festival, defying the sweltering heat to sport the costumes of their favorite characters. Some performed scenes from animated movies on stage, while others belted out songs in Japanese with Spanish subtitles projected in the background. Others did role-playing dance choreographies. A prize was awarded for best cosplay, or role-playing in costume, and for best manga drawing.