what is an anime otaku

Full Answer

What does otaku mean in anime?

The term " otaku " seems to have been introduced to anime fans in the US and other countries via Studio Gainax's " Otaku no Video 1985," a self-parody film. Otaku, meaning probably " venerable house," refers to someone who has a devotion to a subject or hobby (not necessarily anime) to the point of not leaving home.

What makes an anime otaku?

• You watch a lot of anime
• You have anime merch
• You talk about anime
• You're apart of the community
• You're passionate about anime
• You're an active member of fandoms
• Participate in different anime events (if possible)
• You know a lot about manga and anime

What is the true meaning of otaku?

Otaku (Japanese: おたく, オタク, or ヲタク) is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime and manga.Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in Manga Burikko. Otaku may be used as a pejorative with its negativity stemming from a stereotypical view of otaku as social outcasts and the media's reporting on Tsutomu ...

Is being an otaku a bad thing?

Otaku in Japanese culture holds that same weight as the word Fanfic Writer, though it is used like Geek. It's a bad thing by default. When used it's either stating a fact or an insult. So if an anime fan ever finds themselves in Japan, using the word positively just isn't done. Thats how I have seen it viewed.

What makes someone a otaku?

So technically, someone is considered an otaku when they have an obsession of something having to do with the computer or as us westerners use it, obsessed with Japanese Anime, Manga, etc. and don't leave the house very often.

Are Weebs and otaku the same?

How to Know If You're an Otaku or a Weeb. As we've covered, otakus are enthusiasts of all things anime. Weebs, on the other hand, have a wider scope of interests specifically related to Japanese culture. The word “otaku” is also more commonly used in Japan, whereas “weeb” is directly related to non-Japanese individuals ...

What is the difference of otaku and anime?

Today, "otaku" in the East or West is just as often taken as a label to be proudly worn. It implies someone has more knowledge about anime or manga than a "casual fan," keeps up extensively with news and releases, and has a cool collection of merchandise from their favorite series.

What does it mean to be someone's otaku?

The word is borrowed directly from Japanese, and in English use tends to refer to a person who has hobby-related interests that might be regarded as obsessive, particularly in the fields of anime and manga.

How do I know if I am an Otaku?

14 Signs You're An Otaku1. Anime night. ... You secretly wish the world worked that way. ... Complain about lack of fan service. ... You get incredibly excited when a new episode comes out. ... Or you will download entire seasons and binge watch them. ... You own at least one dakimakura. ... You have one or more songs from an anime you like.More items...•

Why is Otaku offensive in Japan?

In Japan, otaku has generally regarded as an offensive word, due to the negative cultural perception of withdrawal from society. However, the otaku philosophy of living has gained traction among Japanese youth and adolescents, likely as a reaction to the established culture of intense work and academic studies.

What is anime addict called?

By contrast, among many American users at least, otaku refers to a passionate fan of anime and manga exclusively. Otaku is less pejorative than its meaning in Japanese and is sometimes used interchangeably with weeaboo.

Is weeb an insult?

Weeb is a short form of weeaboo, a term first used by users of 4chan to insult obsessive fans of Japanese culture. A nonsense word, weeaboo has been used since the early 2000s, almost as long as 4chan itself has existed. The shortened weeb, however, doesn't seem to have become popular until the early 2010s.

What makes a weeb?

Weeb is short for weeaboo, an often derogatory term used for people who are obsessed with Japan and supposedly Japanese culture. The term first sprang into existence from a comic strip in which it was used as a nonsense gag that meant nothing.

How are otakus viewed in Japan?

" Otaku " itself is a derogatory term and always has been -- even if a few people consider it a badge of honor. For those who don't know, its original meaning is "your house," giving it a connotation of "shut-in." It can mean any kind of obsessive, not just one of anime and manga and pop culture.

What is an otaku girl?

The American concept of "otaku" tends to be someone who is obsessed with some part of Japanese pop culture or Asian pop culture in general. Anime, manga, and computer games are the most notable obsessions, but an otaku could also obsess over J-Pop music or Korean dramas.

What is the Meaning of Fujoshi?

Fujoshi is a term that refers to specifically female otaku. The term is a combination of 腐 ( fu ), meaning "rotten", and 女子 ( joshi ), meaning "girl". While female otaku can also simply be called otaku as well, they can also be referred to as fujoshi.

How are Anime Fans or Anime Otaku Viewed by Society?

Otaku, and some of the individual fandoms associated with anime fans, got a particularly bad rap following the 1989 arrest of Tsutomu Miyazaki, a pedophile and serial killer who unfortunately happened to have an extensive collection of anime and horror film VHS tapes.

The Anime Otaku Community Just Keeps Growing and Growing and Growing..

By the turn of the century, otaku were a growing subculture, and an economically powerful one at that. Akihabara, the popular electronics district in Tokyo, had become an otaku haven, filled with cosplay, maid cafes, and shops selling anime goods of all kinds.

What is an otaku?

Otaku is a word we have been watching for a few years now. The term illustrates some of the difficulties in adding recent and specialized items of vocabulary to a dictionary, as it has shifted meaning and register over the last few decades to such an extent that establishing a precise definition is problematic. As scholar Yuji Sone wrote in an article for Cultural Studies Review in 2014 “It is a complex and elusive term that addresses varied practices and fandom-related activities.”

What does "otaku" mean in Japanese?

In Japanese, otaku may function as a formal second person pronoun, and also has the meaning of “house.”. When it added the meaning of “obsessive enthusiast” and began to be applied to the subcultures of anime, manga, and computer technology, the word had a strongly negative meaning in Japan.

Is "otaku" a noun?

The word is used primarily as a noun (“an otaku ”) in English, although it may also be found as an attributive noun (“an otaku man”). The plural form of otaku in English is generally the same as the singular, although otakus will sometimes be used.

What is an Otaku?

According to Cambridge Dictionary, an Otaku is a young person who is very interested in and knows a lot about computers, computer games, anime, etc. , but may find it difficult to talk to people in real life.

What does "otaku" mean in Japanese?

The word Otaku is derived from a Japanese honorific, 御宅（Otaku）, which means “you” or “your house”. Now it is normally written in hiragana “おたく” or katakana “オタク” to show a distinguished meaning from the original word “御宅”. The modern slang form was first used by the humorist and essayist Nakamori Akio in 1983 in his essay “Research for Otaku”.

What is a vocaloid otaku?

Vocaloid Otaku refers to a person who is in love with Vocaloid. Vocaloid has become a trend across the globe within the past 15 years, with Hatsune Miku at the center of it all. Miku is a Vocaloid software voicebank with a moe anthropomorph that looks like a cute, big-eye teenage girl.

What is a hikikomori?

Hikikomori refers to people who withdraw from society to seek extreme social isolation. They prefer staying alone rather than hold events like anime conventions as Otaku do. Different from Hikikomori who tend to avoid all social connections, Otaku communities are highly social and networked.

How big was the Otaku market in 2004?

According to a survey by Nomura Research Institute, the market size of enthusiast consumers of Otaku in 2004 was 1.27 million in 12 major fields, amounting to 411.0 billion yen. Other institutions have estimated the economic impact of Otaku to be as high as ¥2 trillion ($18 billion).

What is an Otaku in your mind?

What is a Otaku in your mind? If you live in Japan, you may think of chubby, long-haired men with glasses in a plaid shirt walking in Akihabara. If you live in America, you may think of someone who dresses like it is Halloween every day and talks in a weird way. But these could just be biased views or stereotypes of Otaku.

Why do people call themselves Otaku?

After that, anime fan groups started to use the term “Otaku” to label themselves in a self-mockery way. In 1989, the word “Otaku” attracted wide public attention as Otaku murderer Tsutomu Miyazaki randomly selected and murdered four girls.

What does "otaku" mean in Japanese?

In modern Japanese slang, the term otaku is mostly equivalent to " geek " or " nerd " (both in the broad sense; a technological geek would be gijutsu otaku (技術オタク) and an academic nerd would be bunkakei otaku (文化系オタク) or gariben (ガリ勉) ), but in a more derogatory manner than used in the West.

What does it mean when someone is referred to as an otaku?

"When these people are referred to as otaku, they are judged for their behaviors - and people suddenly see an otaku as a person unable to relate to reality. ".

What are the different types of otaku?

Reki-jo are female otaku who are interested in Japanese history. Some terms refer to a location, such as Akiba-kei, a slang term meaning " Akihabara -style" which applies to those familiar with Akihabara's culture. Another is Wotagei or otagei (ヲタ芸 or オタ芸), a type of cheering that is part of Akiba-kei. Other terms, such as Itasha (痛車), literally "painful car", describe vehicles who are decorated with fictional characters, especially bishōjo game or eroge characters.

What is Tokyo Otaku Mode?

Japan-based Tokyo Otaku Mode, a place for news relating to otaku, has been liked on Facebook almost 10 million times. Other classifications of otaku interests include Vocaloid, cosplay, figures and professional wrestling as categorized by the Yano Research Institute.

What are some self-mocking works by otaku?

Otaku often participate in self-mocking through the production or interest in humor directed at their subculture. Anime and manga otaku are the subject of numerous self-critical works, such as Otaku no Video, which contains a live-interview mockumentary that pokes fun at the otaku subculture and includes Gainax 's own staff as the interviewees. Other works depict otaku subculture less critically, such as Genshiken and Comic Party. A well-known light novel, which later received a manga and anime adaptation, is Welcome to the N.H.K., which focuses on the subcultures popular with otaku and highlights other social outcasts such as the hikikomori and NEETs. Works that focus on an otaku character include WataMote, the story of an unattractive and unsociable otome game otaku who exhibits delusions about her social status. Watamote is a self-mocking insight that follows the heroine's delusion and attempts to reform herself only by facing reality with comedic results on the path to popularity. An American documentary, Otaku Unite!, focuses on the American side of the otaku culture.

What is the meaning of "v. t. e. otaku"?

v. t. e. Otaku ( Japanese: おたく, オタク, or ヲタク) is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime and manga. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in Manga Burikko.

What is the object of interest of an otaku?

The first is the family-oriented otaku, who has broad interests and is more mature than other otaku; their object of interest is secretive and they are "closet otaku ". The second is the serious "leaving my own mark on the world" otaku, with interests in mechanical or business personality fields.

What is an otaku?

The general modern description for an otaku is someone who consumes Japanese popular culture. They would collect merchandise from popular cultures such as manga, anime, music, movies, cosplay, video games, and idols. Before, they were a niche community of anime fans. They soon gained public presence as the market for popular culture expanded. The negative perception against them still lingered but later mellowed down. Unlike in Japan, Western fans take pride in the label as such. It is still the minority of the Japanese population despite gaining attention. Even so, they contribute to the propagation of popular culture and the economy.

What does "otaku" mean?

Otaku (オタク) roughly translates into “geek” or “nerd” in the West. They are more of a fan rather than the classical academe type of nerd. A related word with otaku but has a different meaning is otaku (お宅) or “someone’s home”. Their stereotypical behavior is acting as if they are still at home while disregarding their surroundings. It can be written as ヲタク but it has a degrading implication. It is abbreviated as wota (ヲタ).

When was the word "otaku" first used?

The first usage of the word “otaku” was seen in 1983 . It came from an article Otaku no kenkyuu (おたくの研究) or “Otaku Research” by columnist Akio Nakamori. According to the article, science fiction and anime fans were increasing as popular culture became more accessible. Most otakus at that time were youths and adolescents. The early descriptions for otaku were quite derogatory due to their quirky enthusiasm for manga, anime, and technology. Editor-in-chief Eiji Otsuka discontinued Otaku no kenkyuu due to negative connotations and prejudice to otaku. Readers filed complaints as they felt attacked by the article.

What is the Manga Planet?

and FANTASISTA, INC. to research and explore the ways manga is read throughout the world. Aiming to bring new manga to fans from all over the world and support artists and the industry, Manga Planet pushes for affordability and access to manga through a subscription-based service.

What is the meaning of the word "otaku"?

Otaku is also defined in Japan as a word that defines a person who has obsessive interests, and can apply to a wide variety of topics, including anime, manga, cosplay, collectibles and more.”.

What does it mean when you use anime?

When you use anime to compensate for something you don’t have in life (love, affection, being wanted, etc). And when you become so delusional that you disregard reality, hence suicide. These stories are dark. And as bonkers as it looks, it’s all the truth.

What is the difference between an anime enthusiast and an anime enthusiast?

The Difference Between An Anime Enthusiast, Otaku And Weeb: 1. An anime enthusiast is a “casual” watcher of anime. Enthusiasts in the anime community are at the “lower” end of the stick, in terms of interests and extremes. They don’t own tons of anime merchandise, posters, figurines, T-shirts or anything of the sort.

What is level 2 in anime?

2. An “Otaku” is someone who’s deep into anime. An Otaku, or what I call “level 2” is the middle ground of what it means to enjoy anime . Otaku’s know their stuff, watch anime frequently, and maybe even own merchandise or cosplay.

What is the difference between an Otaku and a Weeb?

Otaku’s have an obsession that’s more like a passion than it is addiction. And that’s the key difference when compared to an enthusiast or a “weeb”. Otaku’s never let anime ruin their lives or get in the way of their life’s priorities.

What does "weeb" mean in anime?

You see – this is the definition of a weeb: When you become too obsessed to the point of madness. When anime takes over your life and you can no longer differentiate between fiction and reality. When you become so lost in anime that you use it as a drug to escape your problems.

What does otaku mean?

The word otaku ( お た く / オ タ ク) is used in Japan to designate a person who has an obsessive fixation on a specific hobby.

What is a Japanese otaku?

An otaku in Japan is a person who is very interested and who knows a lot about a specific topic. It presents what we could call a great obsession for something, with a level of knowledge about it higher than other people.

Otaku history

The obsession that the Japanese have for certain hobbies is something that goes back many decades.

Types of otaku in Japan

There are as many types of otaku in Japan as there are different hobbies. The subjects that the Japanese are passionate about can be very varied, but let’s mention some of the most common:

The cradle of otaku in Japan

When you ask any veteran otaku what is the cradle of this movement in Japan, they will all coincide with the same place: Akihabara neighborhood in the central tokyo.

Why are there so many otaku in Japan?

The popularity of these groups of young and old who become experts and spend all their free time enjoying a specific hobby It is due to Japanese anime.

Otaku day in Spain

As a curiosity we also want to add a fact that not many know. There is otaku day, not only in Spain, but also Worldwide, in which the pride of these people who put all their passion in their favorite subject is celebrated.