じーーン@アマギゴエ

Unfortunately I missed out on the first round, but with last day of school today I can finally address my hobbies with their much deserved attention.

The topic this round is about otaku. How do I feel about this word? I guess it really depends, as there are different type of otaku. By my definition, an otaku would be an “extreme hobbyist”, but generally refers to the anime genre since anime otaku are the most prevalent in Japan. Otaku involve nearly every aspect of their life with their hobby. Because of this, otaku are known for only socializing within their hobby, not having much of a life outside this hobby (except for obligatory school, and/or possibly work; gotta get that merch somehow).

So when some people think of otaku, they also think of a guy that stays home all the time, never doing anything other than watching anime, playing games, etc. You could say that he’s a hikikomori, if he absolutely doesn’t go outside at all, or just a NEET if he also goes to anime events or what have you. This aspect also does not do well for the otaku image. People would pass otaku as losers for having no life outside of their interests, but it’s just possible that some people don’t work well outside this comfort zone. It’s not like society is especially friendly or inviting either. Anime is still a niche genre, and much of it is either for children or have crack/pr0n tendencies, so is it no wonder society looks down on otaku so much? And I won’t even go into the never ending instance of “Fanboy Funk” (read: BO) and the near lack of fashion sense many possess.

Oh so ronery (=ω=. )

Within the otakusphere lies a sense of elitism. I suppose there are elitists in every kind of fandom, but it’s nevertheless prevalent. This sort of competition as to who is the most otaku I find rather humorous. I cannot count the number of times I’ve seen a poor guy try to discuss a bit of news or post a video he thinks is cool, only to be shot down by responses of slowpoke.jpg or harsher comments of inflammatory. Otaku are also very defensive when it comes to outsiders or casual fans becoming interested in any way in their hobby. It’s kind of ironic, this I-can’t-fit-in-with-society attitude in addition to the newbs-are-ruining-my-show outlook. Then again, most fandoms and trends are like that. I bet many of them even have potential killers as well (ever heard of korean boy band anti-fans?). The similarity between a crazed football fan and a moe blob otaku can be identical, but it’s obvious who’s more accepted in society.

Speaking of the Akiba-killer, everyone knows how violent anime shows and video games are being put to blame for these heinous actions. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. I think people are scared to let people think for themselves. As long as there are people that are angry, there will be people that want to kill and people who actually commit to it, regardless of how much violence they are exposed to. For homicidal youth, I believe it’s misguided parenting that needs to be focused on. Kids have the capacity to watch all the blood and gore they want, but know that what they are watching is not acceptable in reality. In some ways, it’s a lesson to be learned. And if the kid has a problem, then professional help needs to occur. But I digress.

Everyone’s favorite hiki.

Have I met relatively normal people that are also otaku? Yes. Of course, the number is too few for my liking. But wait, how can someone be “normal” and otaku at the same time? I guess that’s where closet otaku come in. These folks are rather aware of the otaku stigma, but still have dignity and would rather not be associated with such outcasts. I guess I myself can be considered a closet otaku, but I don’t really have many friends that I need to be a closet otaku around with; it’s mostly at school and in public (apart from anime conventions/events). I can’t say I’m very passionate about anime as I used to be, and I hardly ever buy anime merchandise anymore, so maybe the closet-ness is getting to me (or I might be *gasp* growing out of it). I still like seiyuu a lot and stalk their blogs, so that’s probably where all my otaku tendencies are projecting.

Before I end this post, I would like to mention that otaku ≠ weeaboo. For those who do not know what this word means, it’s another 4chan-coined term for a Japanophile. There are many weeaboo that claim to be otaku, but there are few otaku that claim to be a weeaboo. Such people are often associated with learning Japanese strictly from anime/manga/games (uttering awkward phrases and useless words) and being obsessed with the Japanese culture as if they were a superior race. But I’m sure ya’ll knew that.

Anyway, I don’t see the otaku stigma going away anytime soon. And with the Akiba-killer, it’ll probably be even more prevalent for the next few years.

Ah, I forgot to link to the others:

• elezend
• Death by Moe
• Calamitous Intents
• Loli Salad
• Hynavian @ RIUVA
• Hikikomori-chan
• Fujoshi scribblings.
• nyachan
• Simplicity

We seriously should get some sort of RSS feed for the round robin…