Public Poll: What does "Otaku" mean to you?

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Simply put. What does "Otaku" mean to you?

I choose options 1 and 4.

[Tarnish]

Depends on where I am. If I'm with the average anime fan, it means they, well...like anime. A lot.

If I'm at CAA, it means "freak". XD

[Debitt]

House. It means house.

[Alexander]

I feel that otaku isn't a bad a title to earn. It just simply means someone who's obsessed over anime and manga. While in Japan it's used as a negative term for someone who's obsessed over it, it doesn't really matter to me. I would rather be happy with my interests then to be criticized for it. And if means being called that, then I'm alright with it.

But then again, this is a term used for someone who's obsessed with anime and manga in America. An equal comparison would be how the Japanese call all animation anime because that's what animation means in Japanese: anime. But as you can see, we adopted that word for a specific form of animation and art style. So if we can do that with Japanese animation, why not otaku for someone who really likes anime and manga?

[Fish and Chips]

I've heard that otaku, in Japanese, means "Maniac," and is not necessarily a polite title to dub on someone. Personally, I'd rank it on par with Trekkies and other people who enjoy their hobbies to an extreme.

[Alexander]

I've heard that otaku, in Japanese, means "Maniac," and is not necessarily a polite title to dub on someone. Personally, I'd rank it up wtih Trekkies, or other people who enjoy their hobbies to an extreme.

ROAR! You're not helping!

Admittedly, he is right. But what are we to call ourselves? Just someone who likes Anime? It's too plain and simple.

*searches dictionary for a list of possible words*

[Fish and Chips]

ROAR! You're not helping!

Admittedly, he is right. But what are we to call ourselves? Just someone who likes Anime? It's too plain and simple.

*searches dictionary for a list of possible words*

Connoisseur? That's how I tend to describe myself.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

ROAR! You're not helping!

Admittedly, he is right. But what are we to call ourselves? Just someone who likes Anime? It's too plain and simple.

*searches dictionary for a list of possible words*

"One who enjoys anime".

Think of it this way. I like techno or trance. There's no label for one who likes that.

Is there a label for one who likes sci-fi? Coffee? Card games? No not really. Why do we have to put a label on ourselves? Can't we simply say we enjoy this medium of entertainment without having to put some sort of retarded way to make the subculture "exclusively special" by calling it "Otaku"?

It's like saying "We are not anime fans... we are otaku!". It's stupid, honestly.

[Sheol777]

Well, to me an otaku is someone who is very much into a thing that is usually a hobby (anime in this case), and is well educated in said hobby. Some may say obsessive, but not necessarily. You don't have to be obsessive in a way that it would impede your everyday life to be an otaku.

I think in our circles the term gets thrown around a lot. If you watch anime on Cartoon Network and own a Goku action figure...sorry kid you aren't an otaku to me.

To me a degree of interest in the subject's history and love of the genre or interest is needed. To an extent where you have a posession of large amounts of knowledge in tedium of this interest of yours.

Honestly, if you are an otaku....no one is interested....except other otaku

Am I an anime otaku? Certainly not. "house" is the best answer here.

[Raiden no Kishi]

Yeah . . . the traditional Japanese meaning of the word, as I understand it, is "fanatic" or similar, and it is not a badge of honor or compliment.

However, most of American fandom takes it as a term for all fans of anime or related media. It's a shame, IMO, since I believe terms shouldn't be twisted like that.

Ergo, the only sensible answer is "lol house". Which means that Hugh Laurie plays the cynical, sarcastic, but talented Dr. Otaku. Give it up.

.rai//

[Fish and Chips]

He certainly carries that DS around in his pocket and watches hospital soaps. Maybe he's a closet Monster fan.

[rsnumber2]

To me, it means a very dedicated fan of a certain field. In Japan, there are Train Otaku, Anime Otaku, Car Otaku, etc. It basically means to be such a fan of a particular set of interests, that one goes to "extremes" to collect, analyze, and store information about their interests. So much so, that others may deem it an "unhealthy obsession." It is true that in Japan it is considered a slight insult. But, as culture changes, and otaku have more or less evolved, it has become less insulting. For example, today, geek is not as insulting as it once was. Due to the fact that geeks have been seen as very wealthy tech forerunners, in some cases. I, being typically American, labeled myself an otaku. I have since been corrected and now called an"A-boy" by my Japanese counterparts. It is someone that is very into Akihabara and it's culture, but much more socially advanced.

Just my two cents.

[Shao Feng-Li]

I don't really care if you label me an anime freak, there ain't no disguisin' the...

*gets slapped*

I never really thought about it before, but since the word has a negative meaning in Japan, I really don't want to be called "otaku."

[ClosetOtaku]

I quote William Gibson:

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 Portobello dealers, and in the eyes of the Japanese collectors: a perfectly calm train-spotter frenzy, murderous and sublime. Understanding otaku -hood, I think, is one of the keys to understanding the culture of the web. There is something profoundly post-national about it, extra-geographic. We are all curators, in the post-modern world, whether we want to be or not.

[Ichigo_89]

I'm only a casual anime fan now. (only the best of the best for me) Bebop, Ergo Proxy, Stand Alone Complex, Katsuhiro Otomo stuff, some other movies

[jon_jinn]

i'd probably have to say that i am pretty obsessed with anime and manga. though i'm not obsessed enough to do cosplay and all that crazy stuff, i'm still an addict.

[Nate]

The last choice.

I like anime and manga, but I don't read/watch it much. And otaku really do make me angry. I could go into it but eh...that's a rant best reserved for LJ, not here.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Even if the word has lost its negative connotation in Japan, the word has come in my own mind to represent all of the really truley obnoxious personality traits that can become acceptable at the most extreme heights of our niche society's extremes - the things that sometimes make me wish I simply weren't a fan. I will never identify myself as an Otaku. As an anime fan certainly. Even a lover. Never an Otaku.

Edit: Put an emphasis in there just to let people know that I don't care if you identify yourself as an Otaku. I'll just you on an individual by individual basis. The word has different meanings for different people.

[Roy Mustang]

The last choice.

And otaku really do make me angry. I could go into it but eh...that's a rant best reserved for LJ, not here.

Most people that know me well, know that I agree with what Nate says here. I may like anime and love to study the history of it as a hobby and cosplay at cons, but otakus take it too the extremes.

But you have otakus in ever hobby. I had to deal with some people that take it extremes in other hobbies.

So, I think the word otaku means, someone who is takes a hobby and takes it to the extremes.




Col. Roy Mustang

[Fish and Chips]

Otaku or otherwise, I have my own little list of the excesses of other people's fandoms to rant about.

[Jingo Jaden]

Its house right? Well, to me it means people that dress up as anime characters or in a anime kinda way.

[rii namuras]

(<_<)

(>_>)

(When I hear "otaku," I think of Hoshakuji Renge.)

(I rest my case.)

[Fish and Chips]

(<_<)

(>_>)

(When I hear "otaku," I think of Hoshakuji Renge.)

(I rest my case.)

How many self-labeled Otaku do you think would jump on a plane to Japan solely to find their video game romantic interest look alike?

Because my money's on all of them.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

How many self-labeled Otaku do you think would jump on a plane to Japan solely to find their video game romantic interest look alike?

Because my money's on all of them.

My life would suck if I was obsessed with Lulu from Final Fantasy X...

I know a girl that looks remarkably similar to her. If she wore Lulu's outfit. Dang... 100% similarity.

[Radical Dreamer]

I chose option 4, even if the original meaning for the word is house. XD When people take anything to extremes, it can get very annoying, and "otaku" are definitely not exempt of this. XD I basically just consider myself to be an "anime fan". That's the most general term I can come up with. XDD

[beau99]

The last one, most definitely.

Every self-labeled otaku I've come across is an elitist who thinks they're better than everyone else.

[AsianBlossom]

When I hear otaku, I think of that one scene in Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo. Some girl called Beast Boy one and he said "Otaku? That means I'm cute, right?" XD

But anyways, I see it as someone who is totally obsessed with anime and manga. I sometimes bestow the title "Otome and proud of it" on myself, but it's meant to be a joke. I'm not an overly obsessed fan (who owns every costume and book and DVD and action figure and...), so the term doesn't really apply to me.

[ilikegir33]

Choice 2 of course! I've seen Otaku no Video and I know. Oh yes, I know.

[uc pseudonym]

Next to nothing.

The word has been used in too many ways to have much meaning for me without context. When someone uses it I try to use my knowledge of them and the circumstances to figure out what they mean by it. Generally speaking I avoid use of the term myself for the same reasons.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Next to nothing.

The word has been used in too many ways to have much meaning for me without context. When someone uses it I try to use my knowledge of them and the circumstances to figure out what they mean by it. Generally speaking I avoid use of the term myself for the same reasons.

>:[ Party pooper, lol. I'm kidding. XD