j1m0ne's blog

I fear I’m not going to bring anything new to the table if I just rehash the whole ‘otaku are harmless, misunderstood individuals/otaku are the bane of planet earth’ argument so I’ll settle for peering at the otaku world through my own rose-tinted spectacles. What follows is a collection of random thoughts and observations, keep in mind that it’s not meant to be an essay so don’t expect a good introduction, plot or ending.

Definitions, definitions

I’ve been reading most of the posts on the Otaku: Stereotypes/Perceptions topic with much interest and I’ve learned that an otaku can be described any one of the following:
1.someone who is obsessed with anime & manga
2.a rabid screaming fanboy/girl
3.a fujoshi
4.a NEET
5.a weaboo
6.a hikikomori
And so forth.

So I was trying to tick the boxes off in my head to determine if I was an otaku, but I came up negative. The trouble is that I don’t identify with any of those things listed above. Sure, I like my Macross & Geass just as much as the average ‘otaku’ & I may buy the occasional plastic figure to plonk in my cabinet, but that doesn’t make me an otaku. I hold down a regular, non-tech geek related job, spend less than 4 hours a week on average watching anime, delete raw/subbed episodes as soon as I’ve watched them, don’t blog about anime and have no non-human posters adorning my bedroom walls. Nope, no signs of otakuism there either. But let’s get back to basics.

By its most general definition, otaku = someone who pursues an interest in something to the point of obsession. [For the linguistic definition, refer to Wikipedia]. In Japan, this would roughly be equal to ‘weird freaks’ while in western circles such individuals might merely be treated as ‘cute geeks’. The negative connotations associated with the word in Japan, as most of us know, stemmed from the media pinning the term onto the recently executed Miyazaki Tsutomu and it snowballed from there.

I don’t claim to be knowledgeable about what makes an otaku an otaku, but I suppose you generally are one if you so declare yourself to be. I don’t consider myself immersed too much in otaku culture to be honest, so I’ve been reading a bunch of otaku-related articles (see bottom of post) for a deeper insight into the Japanese otaku psyche. But I only ended up even more confused than I was when I started since there are so many differing views on what being an otaku constitutes. So I decided ‘Screw that!’ & moved on from trying to define an otaku to trying to understand the rationale behind being one.

Looking into an otaku’s brain
Below is a diagram of what I perceive might be going through a typical otaku’s mind at any given time:

The three anchors of otaku culture are anime, manga and games – presumably you wouldn’t be terribly interested in cosplay or nekomimi maids unless you were already an anime/manga fan. It’s overwhelming to see the myriad of things/objects one could devote themselves to within the larger scope of otakuism. I highly doubt anyone has the time and motivation to dabble in all those interests without burning a hole in their brain (and their pocket).

Slip inside my mind

Thankfully my own brain is less cluttered than the typical otaku’s, and I consider my own interests pretty straightforward. Music is my first love, and a love of music led to the exploration of other interests that are intertwined, much like an otaku naturally branches out into other fields via a love of anime. I must also confess that I love celebrity culture and all the shallow gossip that comes with it. Purely for entertainment purposes (which also happens to be the reason I watch anime by the way). Is it wrong to be interested in ’shallow’ celeb culture? It’s probably as wrong as it is to be interested in ‘perverted anime that features gravity-defying boobs’, depending on who you talk to.

So I get more kicks out of watching John Mayer and Jennifer Aniston cavorting about in a pool than I do out of pondering whether Alto-hime will choose to get it on with Sheryl, Ranka or Mikhail. On the whole, I prefer human beings to two-dimensional animated thingies. Sure, most entertainers are as fake as their agencies and management wants them to be, but I like the fact that they…you know, are real. They’ve got real boobs that probably go *squish* and not *boing* when you poke them!

What Motivates an Otaku?
So what exactly motivates somebody to invest a fair amount of their time and money into what is seen my society at large as a dame/pointless hobby?
-peer pressure (my friends are all into it)
-escaping from reality (work gets me down, I need to break free)
-a need to feel a sense of belonging (nobody in the world understands me)
-feed the ego (I want to own more plastic boobs than the guy next door)

Japan VS Rest of the World
This will probably sound ignorant/horrible, but I don’t truly believe that otaku/hikikomori (in Japan) are the product of a harsh society pushing people to the brink. Instead, otaku (in Japan) are just unsociable fools who spend too much time feeling sorry for themselves instead of trying to fix their own lives. On the other hand, the self-declared ‘otaku’ I’ve come across both IRL and online seem to generally be fairly pleasant people with balanced lives and personalities, who just happen to have rather nerdy side-interests.

So wait, j1m0ne. You’re not an otaku?
Yeah well…I spend a lot of time stalking seiyuu/entertainers but I don’t really believe that I’m at the otaku level in that aspect. I won’t wilt away if all the seiyuu in the world got hit by a meteorite tomorrow. I don’t care if the Japanese government passed a law banning the production of anime to protect and preserve young, pure minds. Maybe you could label me an 音楽オタク (music otaku). The absence of music in my life would probably destroy my soul.

But you stalk seiyuu!
Yes, because I’m interested in who they’re dating and what they ate for breakfast! Does that make me a seiyuu otaku? You decide…

In Reality…
It’s all well talking about claiming to ‘be an otaku’, but obviously people can say whatever the heck they want to under the safety of the anonymous intraweb. I’m willing to bet that a large percentage mighthowever, be less eager to do so in real life. Or maybe it’s just me and the environment I spend most of my waking time in, which looks something like what you see below:

I don’t bother to talk about seiyuu or anime with other people in real life just because it’s easier not having to explain myself. Besides, I have little desire to discuss my hobbies with non-enthusiasts when the only response you get is a blank ‘I don’t give a crap about your lame hobby’ stare. Besides, there are more pressing matters in life like fuel prices, living standards, the weather, politics & so on.

Thankfully, coming from a relatively small city I rarely meet any weaboos brandishing plastic swords shouting ‘Bankai!’ so it doesn’t distort my own perception of supposed otaku. As long as you don’t try to press your lame-arsed views onto me and are generally a peaceful, agreeable person who can hold a decent conversation then I don’t care whether you’re a stockings otaku or whatever in your private life.

Otaku Should Aspire to be like Nakagawa Shoko

I say popular culture, but what I really want to do is talk about Nakagawa Shoko, the most prominent exponent of extreme otakuism in the mainstream. Shoko-tan, to the outsider, is probably one of the most annoying, noisy and incomprehensible personalities on Japanese television. From coining her own phrases (Giza kawayusu!) to lecturing the revered Wada Akiko on otaku culture to confusing the heck out of everyone with her bamboozling otaku talk, Shoko-tan is an ambassador for otaku and is able to freely display the extremities of otakuism while conforming to the restrictions set by Japanese society. Obviously helps if you’re physically attractive and have modelled in swimwear before.

Animaniacs
It’s greatly amusing to see the various examples of odd fetishes, obsessions and stereotypes littering manga and anime today, which I suppose is a good way to respond to all the flak that otaku get for their interest in ‘weird’ hobbies.

Kekkaishi’s Sumimura Yoshimori has an odd fixation with cake.

Hijikata VS Natsuki: The battle of the mayonnaise lovers.

Toin Rina from Mermaid Melody Pichi Pich Pitch is a plasma TV otaku.

The whole cast of Sayonara Zetsubo-sensei have bizarre fixations of some sort, ranging from pulling animal tails to death to an obsession with the notion of being ordinary.

true tears’ Noe likes chickens.

Otaku culture is a purely personal pleasure. This isn’t something that you can really share with anyone; the experience belongs only to yourself. — Shimoku Kio

So it’s perfectly acceptable to fap to your Ayanami Rei figurines. No need to feel ashamed.

**Sorry if all this came off as completely disorganised and unfocused, editorial-style writing is just not me *_*

Further Reading:
In Tokyo, a Ghetto of Geeks
I’m Alone But Not Lonely
The Politics of Otaku aka There’s Nothing Wrong with Being an Otaku!
Otaku Talk with Okada Toshio, Morikawa Kaichiro & Murakami Takashi
Genshiken: Kio Shimoku and the Otaku Soul
The Otaku Group from a Business Perspective
New Market Scale Estimation for Otaku
Wota Lota Love

The rest of the R-R: mei, elezend, death by moe, hoshi, fang-tan, hynavian, biankita, animemiz, nyachan, fuyumaiden, susie q, a day without me, rachel