Otaku is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime manga or video games.Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family (otaku), which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun. The modern slang form, which is distinguished from the older usage by being written only in hiragana or katakana or, less frequently, or rarely in rōmaji, appeared in the 1980s. In the anime Macross, first aired in 1982, the term was used by Lynn Minmay as an honorific term. It appears to have been coined by the humorist and essayist Akio Nakamori in his 1983 series An Investigation of "Otaku" (『おたく』の研究 "Otaku" no Kenkyū), printed in the lolicon magazine Manga Burikko. Animators like Haruhiko Mikimoto and Shōji Kawamori used the term among themselves as an honorific second-person pronoun since the late 1970s.
Otaku is extremely
negative in meaning as it is used to refer to someone who stays at home all the
time and doesn't have a life (no social life, no love life, etc)
Usually an otaku person has nothing better to do with their life so they pass the time by watching anime, playing videogames, surfing the internet (otaku is also used to refer to a nerd/hacker/programmer).
In the Western culture, people confuse otaku to be something positive like "Guru". If you think about it, it's not really good to be called a guru if it means you are a total loser who can't socialize with other people except through the Internet.
Other Japanese words which have been confused by Westerners also include but not limited to: Anime, Manga, etc.
Usually an otaku person has nothing better to do with their life so they pass the time by watching anime, playing videogames, surfing the internet (otaku is also used to refer to a nerd/hacker/programmer).
In the Western culture, people confuse otaku to be something positive like "Guru". If you think about it, it's not really good to be called a guru if it means you are a total loser who can't socialize with other people except through the Internet.
Other Japanese words which have been confused by Westerners also include but not limited to: Anime, Manga, etc.
Otaku in Japan
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. For instance, an otaku fan of a particular movie star could quite possibly know all of the films s/he has been in, their birth date, time of birth, shoe size, favorite toothpaste, etc. Generally speaking, calling someone an otaku in Japan is an insult, implying that their social skills have atrophied or never even developed, due to their manic involvement in their chosen fandom. In modern Japanese slang, the term otaku is most often equivalent to geek. However, it can relate to a fan of any particular theme, topic, hobby or any form of entertainment.The former Prime Minister of Japan Taro Aso also claimed himself to be an otaku, using this subculture to promote Japan in foreign affairs.On the matter, in recent years "idol otaku" are naming themselves simply as Wota as a way to differentiate from traditional otaku. The word was derived by dropping the last mora, leaving ota (オタ) and then replacing o (オ) with the identically sounding character wo (ヲ), leaving the pronunciation unchanged.The otaku term can be applied for both males and females. Reki-jo are female otaku interested in Japanese history. When dealing with Japanese people, however, it may be best to keep in mind the modern Japanese image of an otaku -- Someone who only leaves their home to eat or shop, if at all, with an overwhelming and unhealthy obsession about something. It can as easily refer to a stalker or sociopath as it can to a harmless anime buff.
Best to avoid the word altogether if one is not sure of the context in which it will be received.
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. For instance, an otaku fan of a particular movie star could quite possibly know all of the films s/he has been in, their birth date, time of birth, shoe size, favorite toothpaste, etc. Generally speaking, calling someone an otaku in Japan is an insult, implying that their social skills have atrophied or never even developed, due to their manic involvement in their chosen fandom. In modern Japanese slang, the term otaku is most often equivalent to geek. However, it can relate to a fan of any particular theme, topic, hobby or any form of entertainment.The former Prime Minister of Japan Taro Aso also claimed himself to be an otaku, using this subculture to promote Japan in foreign affairs.On the matter, in recent years "idol otaku" are naming themselves simply as Wota as a way to differentiate from traditional otaku. The word was derived by dropping the last mora, leaving ota (オタ) and then replacing o (オ) with the identically sounding character wo (ヲ), leaving the pronunciation unchanged.The otaku term can be applied for both males and females. Reki-jo are female otaku interested in Japanese history. When dealing with Japanese people, however, it may be best to keep in mind the modern Japanese image of an otaku -- Someone who only leaves their home to eat or shop, if at all, with an overwhelming and unhealthy obsession about something. It can as easily refer to a stalker or sociopath as it can to a harmless anime buff.
Best to avoid the word altogether if one is not sure of the context in which it will be received.
Positive: "Oh, wow! Check it out: Neck-through, Floyd Rose locking tremolo and an optional push/pull coil tap!" (slaps forehead and laughs) "Man, I am such a guitar otaku, aren't I?"
Negative: "Stay clear of Toshi, man. He's such a RQ otaku, always online. Bet he's never actually even talked to a real-live girl before... You never know when he's gonna' snap, right?"
2D Love
2D Love is a concept heavily attached to the Otaku and Moe subcultures of anime and manga culture. The concept involves a person partaking in as relationship with fictional character.
To the person in
question, this relationship is just as important and serious as any other
relationship. The relationship can be platonic or romantic, and may or may not
be sexual. While the term 'waifu' is not exclusive to 2D love, a person
experiencing 2D love may refer to their object of affection as their waifu(wife/like a couple). The concept of 2D love is mostly present in a small subset of
anime, manga, and visual
novel fans. This may have to do with the highly sexual and
romantic themes of certain works within those genres, as well as the cultures'
overlap with hikikimori(shut-in) culture.
The relationship
between an experiencer and the object of affection (or waifu) is usually
expressed outwardly. The human of the relationship may have some sort of
representation of their waifu, such as a dakimakura(hugging pillow) or figurine. They will also often have much or all of the published
work involving their waifu, as well as many fan works and perhaps even their
own fan art or fan fiction.
Has the general Japanese anime
consumer become a negative force in Japan?
Demographically: Likely. The predominantly male Otaku crowd has a tendency to stay single,
removing further candidates from the shrinking wedding market. Which in turn
adds to the ongoing upward shift in the Japanese age pyramid.
Socially: Not really. It is true that the Otaku form a rather rigidly encapsulated subculture, but exactly because of this encapsulation there are rarely any negative effects on the rest of society. The average Otaku has a strong determination to not bother any others with his hobby.
Morally: Hard to say. While a good part of the Otaku community is well known to (mentally) delve into the depths of any conceivable moral depravity, it all remains on an unreal/fictional level. Considering the overall rigidity of the Japanese society it may even be that such a mental refuge is necessary for balance. And again, you will never see an Otaku evangelizing the rest of society about his values, so it remains a self-contained subcultural quirk.
Socially: Not really. It is true that the Otaku form a rather rigidly encapsulated subculture, but exactly because of this encapsulation there are rarely any negative effects on the rest of society. The average Otaku has a strong determination to not bother any others with his hobby.
Morally: Hard to say. While a good part of the Otaku community is well known to (mentally) delve into the depths of any conceivable moral depravity, it all remains on an unreal/fictional level. Considering the overall rigidity of the Japanese society it may even be that such a mental refuge is necessary for balance. And again, you will never see an Otaku evangelizing the rest of society about his values, so it remains a self-contained subcultural quirk.
That's all for now,thanks for reading my blog, take care.
Good Day ALL
