An Otaku's expertise.

Fandom. The first thing you think of when you hear the word might be a 16-year-old girl clapping their hands while jumping up and down. Or maybe you see a 26-year-old man who lives in their parent's basement, along with his shelves full of rare, special edition DVD's and figurines.

Me? I watch anime excessively, play eroge and fantasy games, and critique the art styles of whatever media I read/watch/play. But maybe I can't call myself an Otaku. I've only got a small collection with only one special-edition Anime collection in possession. Otaku can be critical of other Otaku, so I want your take:

What do you consider an Otaku?

If your a jap then yes. We're weebs.

I'm not Japanese. Though, I wouldn't consider myself a Weeb, because I actually take the time to study the culture. I've been studying the language itself for a couple years now.

Otaku is pretty much Japanese for nerd. So if you're Japanese and into stuff like anime and video games too much then yes you are an Otaku.

Otherwise you're just a nerd. Or geek. Or weeb.

There are all different kinds of Otaku, Train Otaku, Military Otaku, Car Otaku etc. The word just means you obsess over something a lot, Otaku are frequently looked down upon in Japan.

I'm a Closet Otaku. But not like those severe ones with their Dakimakuras and shit.

Future note to merge this thread
https://www.fakku.net/forums/random/judge-your-otaku-ness-#02602626

i'm an ofakku

Ummm... Merging threads?

It's just a reminder for her later to merge those threads together for later. Nothing to worry about.

I'm a weeb, but I don't try to speak half-English Japanese.

Yeah, I avoid that too. 'Englicized Japanese' is oftentimes highly inaccurate.
For example "Chii" can be translated as front, small, etc. The point is there is a significant difference in usage.

Forgive my ranting.

Being called an Otaku is somewhat of an insult and definitely has negative connotations. I'm really confused as to how the west has spun it on it's head and now we get all this "Otaku and proud" shit.

Well, our society through time has grown more tolerant of 'being nerdy'. Not only that, in American society, our entertainment industry has our biggest export and import. Both Japan and the States are heavily influenced by pop-culture.

I have a theory that eventually Japan will soon find the same tolerance as well, likely when the amount of rape victims go down.

What do you think Bag-san?

Well, our society through time has grown more tolerant of 'being nerdy'. Not only that, in American society, our entertainment industry has our biggest export and import. Both Japan and the States are heavily influenced by pop-culture.

I have a theory that eventually Japan will soon find the same tolerance as well, likely when the amount of rape victims go down.

What do you think Bag-san?

You know, I thought about it critically and I think that there actually may be some truth to the claim that Italy will be more tolerated by Japanese culture, if they embrace western modernity, though that's a rather bold assumption. I know I'm slightly overstepping the original intention of the thread, but I see that as a worthy endeavor to invest thought and time into. Being labeled as a nerd or geek in western society, at least American society, has gone from being a form of social outcasting to an almost respected devotion of time and personal experience. Though the cause of the social phenomenon isn't entirely clear to me as an individual, I can only speculate that there is a link to internet culture and, more importantly, the growing area of public criticism of arts which nerds have often been associated with. I'm something of a Trekkie myself and I find that with growing access to the vast network of other such nerds my interest seems to be more justifiable (not to mention the revitalization of the series through the new movies). Otaku will eventually be more respected in the same way as other art critics, though probably not all at once.

First thing I think about when I hear Otaku is... Danny Choo, then Jacob (I knew about Danny Choo first)

Generally I think about the more successful otaku who are sort of my role models in life. One of my life goals is to one day be a "respectable" Otaku. Which I believe I am right now, and on a fairly good path because of it. Admit-ably this particular goal of mine is sort of a weird rebellion against some imaginary social pressure that first spawned after watching NHK and genshiken when I was about 14. Then visiting Danny Choo's website.

I am fairly aware of the negative connotations as well, which is why I don't use the term when I visit Japan.

I still think if you are an Otaku or a Nerd or a Geek or whatever, you wouldn't go around calling yourself that. There's nothing really to take pride in an obsession. As a general all the above terms still hold negative connotations and probably always will and are still just euphemistic terms for obsessive.

I used to think Otaku was a derogatory term in Japan for filthy nerd who is obsessed with manga and anime until I asked someone from Japan. They told me it would literally mean geek in English, so you can be a gun otaku or a movie otaku or even a sports otaku. The more you know~



The correct term is Romaji or Romanization of Japanese.

Well, I'm not obsessive to the point that it becomes bad for my health, I regularly exercise and such. As long as you don't become malnourished or hurt others with the hobby, I don't think there is any issue in becoming attached to your hobby.