Information AboutOtaku |
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neighborhood of Tokyo is a popular gathering place for otaku.]] is a Derisive Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime and manga. ETYMOLOGY ''Otaku'' is derived from an Honorific Japanese term for another's house or family ( ''otaku'') that is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun (roughly equivalent to ''usted'' in Spanish). The modern Slang form, which is distinguished from the older usage by being written only in Hiragana (おたく) or Katakana (オタク), or rarely in rōmaji, appeared in the 1980s . It appears to have been coined by the humorist and essayist Akio Nakamori in his 1983 series , printed in the Lolicon magazine ''Manga Burikko'', who observed that this Form Of Address was unusually common among geeks and Nerd s. It was apparently a reference to someone who communicates with their equals using (unnecessarily) the distant and formal pronoun, and spends most of their time at home. The term entered general use in Japan around 1989 , and may have been popularized by Nakamori's publication in that year of . It applied the term to the (then) recently caught Serial Killer Tsutomu Miyazaki , who turned out to be a Recluse obsessed with Pornographic Anime And Manga and who lived out his Rape Fantasies on young girls, thus attaching a huge taboo to a formerly innocuous term. The term was popularized in the English Speaking World in William Gibson 's 1996 novel '' Idoru '', which has several references to otaku. In particular, the term was defined as 'pathological-techno-fetishist-with-social-deficit'. In an April 2001 edition of '' The Observer '', William Gibson explained his view of the term: The otaku, the passionate obsessive, the information age's embodiment of the connoisseur, more concerned with the accumulation of data than of objects, seems a natural crossover figure in today's interface of British and Japanese cultures. I see it in the eyes of the Another potential etymology for the term comes from the May 2006 issue of '' EX Taishuu '' magazine, which claims that use of the term started among the fanbase of the 1982 – 1983 TV series '' Super Dimension Fortress Macross '', as the main character of the show had a habit of addressing others as "otaku", which fans started to emulate. Another source for the term comes from the works of science fiction author Motoko Arai . In his book '' Wrong About Japan '', Peter Carey interviews the novelist, artist and Gundam chronicler Yuka Minakawa . She reveals that Arai used the word in her novels as a second-person pronoun, and the readers adopted the term for themselves. IN JAPAN In modern Japanese slang, the term ''otaku'' refers to an overtly Obsessive fan of any one particular theme, topic, or hobby. Common uses are ''anime otaku'' (one who sometimes enjoys many days of excessive anime watching with no rest) and ''manga otaku'' (a fan of Japanese graphic novels), ''pasokon otaku'' (personal computer geeks), ''gēmu otaku'' (playing Video Game s), and '' Wota '' (before referred as "idol otaku") that are extreme fans of '' Idol s'', heavily promoted singing girls. There are also ''tetsudō otaku'' or ''denshamania'' ( Metrophile s) or ''gunji otaku'' (military geeks). While these are the most common uses of ''otaku'', the word can be applied to anything (music otaku, martial arts otaku, cooking otaku, etc). The loan-words ''maniakku'' or ''mania'' (from the English "maniac" and "mania") are sometimes used in relation to specialist hobbies and interests. They can indicate someone with otaku leanings, (for example- ''Gundam Mania'' would describe a person who is very interested in the anime series Gundam ). They can also describe the focus of such interests (a ''maniakku ge-mu'' would be a particularly underground or eccentric game appealing primarily to otaku). The nuance of ''maniakku'' in Japanese is softer and less likely to cause offense than ''otaku''. Some of Japan's otaku use the term to describe themselves and their friends semi-humorously, accepting their position as obsessive fans, and some even use the term proudly, attempting to Reclaim it from its negative connotations. In general colloquial usage however, most Japanese would consider it undesirable to be described in a serious fashion as "otaku", many even consider it to be a genuine insult. Although stereotypically male, there are also many female otaku or Fujoshi . A small alleyway of Tokyo's Higashi Ikebukuro district is known as "Otome Road" ("Maiden's road"). A feature of the area is that there are so many bookstores devoted to comics and books filled with stories about homosexual men, in a genre called Yaoi or Shōnen-ai . Dōjinshi , manga produced by amateur fans, dominate the shelves along Otome Road, with a significant chunk of the comics' stories about more famous anime that imitate, parody or develop on characters who are usually household names in Japan. An interesting modern look into the ''otaku'' culture has surfaced with an allegedly true story surfacing on the largest internet bulletin board " or " Train Man ", a love story about a geek and a beautiful woman who meet on a train. The story has enjoyed a compilation in novel form, several Comic Book adaptations, a movie released in June 2005, a theme song ''Love Parade'' for this movie by a popular Japanese band named Orange Range and a television series that aired on Fuji TV from June to September 2005. The drama has become another hot topic in Japan, and the novel, film and television series give a closer look into the ''otaku'' culture. In Japan its popularity and positive portrayal of the main character has helped to reduce negative stereotypes about otaku, and increase the acceptability of some otaku hobbies. Perhaps encouraged by this reduction in stigma, a few famous Japanese celebrities, actors and models have ''come out'' about their otaku hobbies. A subset of otaku are the '', Hiroki Azuma .) On the matter, in recent years " idol otaku" are naming themselves simply as Wota (ヲタ) as a way to differentiate from traditional '''otaku''', while chopping off the “-ku” at the end of the word and, with a touch of playfulness, slap on a “w” up front. But the pronunciation of Wota is still ''ota'', ignoring the character "w". {Link without Title} In Japan anime is not as widely accepted and mainstreamed as manga. Because of this the otaku subculture has much influence over the mainstream anime industry in Japan. The area where otaku have the most influence in manga tends to be with dōjinshi. Manga published in the United States are more influenced by their respective otaku subculture than they are in Japan. This is because most people who read manga have some ties to the subculture in the US, whereas in Japan manga reading is more widespread. IN ENGLISH/INTERNATIONALLY The term is a Loanword from the Japanese Language . In English, it is used to refer specifically to a fan of Anime and/or Manga , though it can sometimes refer to any kind of "geek". It also is used to refer to people who appear to be obsessed with Japan and its culture. The term serves as a label not unlike Trekkie or Fanboy . However, use of the label can be a source of contention among some anime fans, particularly those who are aware of the negative connotations the term has in Japan. Unpleasant stereotypes about otaku prevail in worldwide fan communities, and some anime fans express concern about the effect these more extreme fans can have on the reputation of their hobby (not unlike sentiments in the Comic Book and Science Fiction fandoms). It should be noted that the English term ''geek'' is not a precise translation of the Japanese ''otaku''. ''Otaku'' has a significantly greater negative connotation than ''geek'' does in the West, especially as the term geek has become less derogatory. The term ''otaku'' in Japanese suggests a creepy, obsessive loner who rarely leaves the house. In English, ''geek'' can possibly suggest a person who may be socially awkward but who is also intelligent and may be fairly "normal" aside from their interest in certain typically 'geekish' pursuits (video games, comic books, computers, etc.). ''Otaku'' is closer in connotation to the English '' Nerd '', but the closest English-language analogue to ''otaku'' is probably the British English term '' Anorak ''. Both of these English-language terms have more emphatically negative connotations of poor social skills and obsessive interest in a topic that seems strange or boring to others. While ''otaku'' in English-speaking contexts is generally understood to mean ''geek'' or even ''fan'', this usage is not widely known in Japan. Casual use of this term may confuse or offend native Japanese speakers. To indicate that one is talking about the Japanese definition rather than the English loanword, the spelling ''wotaku'' (ヲタク) is sometimes used. On Japanese forums such as 2channel , however, ''otaku'' (オタク) and ''wotaku'' (ヲタク) are used interchangeably, depending on the mood and personal style of the poster. OTAKON Named after the label Otaku, " Otakon " (short for "otaku convention") is a convention known for focusing on anime, manga, East Asian culture, and its fandom. The second largest convention of this type in the US and the largest on the east coast, it began in State College, PA in 1994 and has been held in Baltimore , Maryland since 1999. Konami (the company which created the ''Metal Gear'' series) was given permission by Otakorp, Inc. to use the name "Otacon" for any title of the series. FICTIONAL WORKS ABOUT OTAKU As otaku make up a good portion of the creative forces behind anime and manga, it is only natural that several works of manga and anime on otaku culture have appeared, often as a light-hearted Pastiche . Some of the more famous works include:
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