Anime Expo 2014: FAKKU Interview *Mature Content*

******WARNING***** Adult content discussed below!

A few years ago, Anime Expo added adult (18+) panels to their line up. These were well received with people lining up over an hour in advance and rooms filling to capacity. ‘Hentai Worth Watching’ hosted by FAKKU, was one of the first adult panels and has been back every year since. Obviously people are curious to know which hentai IS worth watching. During Anime Expo 2014, I interviewed Mike Ingraham, Project Director at FAKKU. Read on to learn more!

So for those who may not know, what is FAKKU?

M– FAKKU is the largest English speaking hentai website in the world and we just recently became publishers. We will be printing English uncensored copies of WANI Magazine’s ero manga. FAKKU has grown into so much more than just a hentai website as well. We have a great community and it is always so much fun coming to Anime Expo and meeting all these friendly faces in person.

How would you describe hentai?

M– Funny thing, hentai actually means perverted/creepy person, deviate, etc. in Japanese. It’s actually a rather harsh term! To the Western community, however, it has become the term we use for all adult material with the Japanese anime style. Manga, doujinshi, anime, anything adult themed could be referred to as hentai. What I love about hentai is that the possibilities are endless. You could have the sweetest love story or the funniest, most ridiculous scenario ever imagined.

How did FAKKU get started?

M– It started with Jacob wanting to start a doujinshi site because at the time they were all less than credible pay sites. He made the website in college and had it sitting for a while until he came across the word “fakku” which is slang Japanese for… well I’m sure you can guess! He then decided to put it on the web in 2007 and it has been growing since. I joined FAKKU a couple years later as a moderator on the forums and I have been going to cons and doing panels with him ever since!

How many years has FAKKU had a panel at conventions and about how many conventions have you attended?

M– Wow, how long has it been? Haha. I think our first panel was at Anime Boston in 2009. Since then we have been doing them all over the United States and even Otakuthon in Montreal. As for conventions I’ve attended, I think I’ve only been an “attendee” at two conventions, but working booths and doing panels… that’s a whole different story! It must be pushing 50+ by now…

How many years has FAKKU had a booth at Anime Expo?

M– I believe this is the 3rd or 4th year that we have had a booth at Anime Expo.

How was Anime Expo for FAKKU this year?

M– Absolutely unbelievable. I had so much fun meeting with all sorts of people, new fans and old ones. We had great reception about our deal with WANI Magazine and it’s just the kind of encouragement that I needed. To know that the community is happy for us and completely supporting us makes the job worth it. I’ve been a fan of hentai for a long time and to know that my peers are excited and looking forward to our releases is the best feeling. The panels are always fun and to get people laughing and asking us questions is why we do it!

Can you please give a brief description about the panel(s) you hosted at Anime Expo?

M– We had 3 panels this year, our first was ‘Manga and Doujinshi’. We talked about what ero manga and doujinshi were, the process, and our new deal with WANI Magazine. ‘Hentai Worth Watching’ is us showing a few of our favorite hentai anime titles, new and old, and giving some commentary of our own about them. This is a fan favorite, as well as a personal favorite of ours. Our last panel was the FAKKU Q&A. Fans line up to ask us questions about anything! This one can usually get a little personal but it’s all in good fun!

Congratulations on getting a bigger room this year for your panel! It seems there is quite a demand to attend your panel. Any comments?

M– Why do so many people want to see us!? We’re just a couple of blokes talking about hentai! Haha. But on a serious note, it’s great that so many people want to come see us but I heard that there were still hundreds of people that weren’t able to make it in because we hit maximum capacity. Hopefully next year we can get an even bigger room and not let anybody down!

What is it like talking to a room of hundreds of people about hentai?

M– You would think it would be strange or awkward but it’s so much fun! That’s what I love about what FAKKU has become, it’s more of a community of people with similar interests and Japanese anime pornography just happens to be one of them. I don’t get nervous or anxious because we’re all just friends hanging out and having a good time. We joke, laugh, share our thoughts, our favorite hentai or anime or manga, our waifus and husbandos, and anything else that comes to mind.

How do you choose the material you talk about in your panels?

M– Like I said earlier, we are just huge fans at our core. All of the stuff that we choose are things that we like or have seen that has made an impact on us as fans. Things that we want to share with everyone and think fans similar to us would enjoy.

Congrats on becoming publishers! Could you please tell our readers a little about FAKKU’s new chapter?

M– Thank you! We are very excited to announce FAKKU Books! Recently FAKKU has made a deal with WANI Magazine, one of Japan’s top ero manga publishers. We have the rights to release their work in English and completely uncensored! I have been a huge fan of WANI Magazine for a very long time, so this deal is still so unreal to me. They have worked with over 300 artists and chances are there is a favorite among them for everyone! Our first releases will be “Renai Sample” by Homunculus, “PuniKano” by Pyon-Kti, and “TiTiKei” by Ishikei.

Anything else you would like to share about your company?

M– I just want to say I’m so happy that I can work with FAKKU and bring porn to all the good people of the world. FAKKU Books is only the beginning and we hope to do even more amazing things in the future. Keep an eye out for our new releases and I can’t wait to see everyone again at Anime Expo 2015!