So are you an Otaku?

Have a friend who from time to time calls me an otaku for the past year and I always tell him you cant call me an otaku, i dont even own any anime figurines. lol... then I went to Little Tokyo few days ago with some friends and felt like I was leaving Little Tokyo empty handed so I bought one...

I saw a figurine on sale whom I recognized but couldnt recall her name later found out her name Feldt Grace. I think I lost my non-Otaku virginity buying her. id ride on those pigtails if I could =D

then again I look back at all the anime related stuff I have. roughly 15 mangas. a dozen or so anime dvds and gigabytes of data on my pc and burnt dvds/cds. I probably was an otaku long before... just in denial lol?

So what is the standard of being an otaku?

Is being an Otaku scaled by your possessions? your passion? figurines? having a seductive anime wallpaper on your pc? checking Baka-Updates everyday? wearing naruto headbands? (seen ppl with it occasionally)

What exactly defines the border of being and not being an OTAKU! O_O;'

Am I safe? or am I an otaku lol. xD

how bout yourself are you an OTAKU...?

What I own anime/manga-wise: -

Exactly 15 anime movies (on DVD), 3 pokemon movies (on VHS), the first 2 volumes of Vietiful Joe (only Dub....bought it in Canada on DVD) and the complete series of Street Fight II V (on DVD). I own the first volume of the Murder Princess manga and a few of the Love Hina manga volumes.

I don't have actual figurines or models (or whatever you call them) but I have these miniature figurines and keyrings of characters from Bleach, Dragonball and Naruto.

However, I've watching anime since I was 12 (its been a decade now), I didn't watch much anime for the first 4 or 5 years and then it was BOOM and I just focused all the time I had for myself on anime. I still played games with my mates.....we were gamers and still are but I only play consoles during the summer and random days of the year.

I'm a HUGE anime fan and I'm glad I watch it because I seriously feel it much better than what goes on TV.

So I guess I am an "OTAKU" but when you think of the origins of the word, it does make you feel a bit annoyed and somewhat angry at people who go about abusing other ppl because of their hobbies.

QUOTE
What exactly defines the border of being and not being an OTAKU! O_O;'

You're prolly referring to "aniota" i.e. anime otaku, in which case, the criterion would be the Jap stereotype of an aniota or those that apply to your specific culture.

In any case, why'd you want to be labeled as one? [That's my impression though, so if I'm wrong, disregard this, I suck youknowwhats]

Personally, I frown at people who glorify themselves as "otakus".

Also, it's far from just a hobby. It's an obsession, for some it's their entire life. It's easy to see why the aniotas are/were being frowned upon by Japanese society. The object of their hobby is not without blame as well which is pretty easy to notice.

I think that if you watch, read, think, breathe etc anime/manga, you're pretty much an otaku. Our standards aren't as high as in Japan where people go hikikomori and pretty much only live with anime and stuff and not to forget, sleep with an anime pillow XDD.
Still I know some people who rather spend their salary on figures, posters, anime/manga than buying a new set of clothes. And if they're not at work, they are usually spending most of their time watching anime, reading manga or playing games.

@ prideless, I think owning one figure doesn't really make you an otaku xD

QUOTE (khael @ Apr 19 2010, 05:26 AM)
In any case, why'd you want to be labeled as one? [That's my impression though, so if I'm wrong, disregard this, I suck youknowwhats]

Personally, I frown at people who glorify themselves as "otakus".


I like that you mention that. I noticed that a lot of people like to label themselves as otakus, even though they know very well the term has a negative feeling to it. So, why would anybody willingly give himself a negative image? The impression I get is that some people are so obsessed with their addiction that they think it is something positive. Maybe they think that the more otaku-ish they are, the more they will be admired by fellow otakus..... and as for the rest of the world, I think they like to provoke the normal population. Kindo like: "Yeah, I am crazy, so what? You got a problem with it, huh huh????" Some even think that if they present something that is not normal in a sufficiently self-confident way, they can change the way people look at anime and anime addiction. Yeah right..... there is a health limit to everything, to anime as well.

I think Otaku regardless of owning for anime figurines, DVD, mangas, Doujins and what are not related but I believe your passion for such as Otaku may not just apply to anime, manga, Vg, but it may even apply to your love of other things such as Sports, Novels, etc. As I myself am proud to be called one Though I do own most of the aforementioned above, the real reason is because I have been fascinated with anime and the likes is I've been exposed to such in my childhood (mind you I had a pretty decent childhood)and since I already had a fascination for art back then too you could say my interest merged.

QUOTE I like that you mention that. I noticed that a lot of people like to label themselves as otakus, even though they know very well the term has a negative feeling to it. So, why would anybody willingly give himself a negative image? The impression I get is that some people are so obsessed with their addiction that they think it is something positive. Maybe they think that the more otaku-ish they are, the more they will be admired by fellow otakus..... and as for the rest of the world, I think they like to provoke the normal population. Kindo like: "Yeah, I am crazy, so what? You got a problem with it, huh huh????" Some even think that if they present something that is not normal in a sufficiently self-confident way, they can change the way people look at anime and anime addiction. Yeah right..... there is a health limit to everything, to anime as well.

Imo, I dont know really why people generally perceive otaku as such a negative word(being otaku is not the same as being a hikikimori nor a NEET). I mean what is so bad being addicted too something you like and be proud of it. Heck I even know friends that are very Otakuish if you mean and no, when I mean otaku I dont mean just AniOta. Yet they lead normal lives and pretty much actually have a decent social life, and maybe I can Include myself in. I think the key word here is "balance". And I think the persons whom you refer to are definitely those types who are hmm...... lets just say "Mental sickness" as I heard from my Psychology class. I believe if you love something be proud of it unless of course that love is for drugs or whatnot and on that I put no comment on

I don't know the word's true translation to english, but I perceive it to mean someone who enjoys the drawn japanese world as their only source of entertainment (key word only). Its exactly like terms like sports nerd, phish hippie, and hardcore gamer. These people live their lives in order to enjoy their hobby, whether it be following a band for 2 months with three sets of clothes, watching sportscenter 5 times a day EVERY day, or attending competitions in hope of turning your hobby into a profession. They are all people who took their hobby to the extreme, and the only difference is some are more culturally accepted than otehrs.

Do you have other hobbies and passtimes you enjoy regularly? If so, I say you're not an otaku. I think merchandise has nothing to do with it b/c all it shows is purchasing power and the fact that you aren't ashamed of your hobby. Merchandise may correlate, because since it's a hobby that has a negative connotation in the US, it shows that you love it enough to to not care about the perception it gives.

QUOTE (lavenderdays @ Apr 19 2010, 04:26 PM) I mean what is so bad being addicted too something you like and be proud of it.

...

I think the key word here is "balance".
Wouldn't closest translation of Otaku be something like Obsessively Passionate Maniac? What's so bad with that is that having an addiction inherently means subverting everything else (your social life, job, etc... basically, spending your every waking hour thinking about or just having it on your mind) to it while neglecting everything else at the same time. There can be no balance in your life if you have an obsession about something, that's WHY obsessions are bad. What you're describing in your case is most likely having an intense passion for something, and there's a not-so-thin line between having a passion and an obsession.

QUOTE (Arbiter Libera @ Apr 20 2010, 03:28 AM) Wouldn't closest translation of Otaku be something like Obsessively Passionate Maniac? What's so bad with that is that having an addiction inherently means subverting everything else (your social life, job, etc... basically, spending your every waking hour thinking about or just having it on your mind) to it while neglecting everything else at the same time. There can be no balance in your life if you have an obsession about something, that's WHY obsessions are bad.  What you're describing in your case is most likely having an intense passion for something, and there's a not-so-thin line between having a passion and an obsession.
True In terms of translation it would be more like Obsession but The actual meaning and the slang's use are different as I believe(blame japanese wordplays). Being That Otaku is sort of synonymous to being a fangirl and fanboy to my knowledge that the slang (not the actual translation/meaning) offers a more different meaning. Anyways tossing the Translation/meaning issues aside, It really should be taken note of that Each person has "different" degree of thinking Some may be easily obsessed while some can Indulge and still retain reality not all are the same in terms of dealing with everything. With that said All of us need a certain "alternate world to escape to sometimes" taken from AngelBeats!
But sometimes this can go to far as You have said this "Obsessively Passionate Maniac" which is really really bad. But I believe the general term otaku does not fully refer to such persons, the bottom line is that, what I was trying to say is that Not all otakus should be grouped to such classifications as I was refering to my post before "not being a negative word".

Yeah, I'm one!! ^^
Have many Anime DVD's around 40 I would say, and it always getting more!! ^^
And many Mangas too, which I don't own are Dolls, I don't like them!!