Welcome to MyWorld: Otaku (おたく)

Credit: "This only can happen in Japan"

Does your room looked like the picture above? If yes, it means that I can call you as Otaku then :) As I mentioned before in the previous post, I will talk more about Otaku in different post. So here we are tonight :)

For you who have no interest with Japan culture, maybe that word is sounds odd when the first time you heard it. Maybe you will think that Otaku is still related with okonomiyaki or takoyaki as the famous food which are come from Japan :P If you really think like that, so you are in the right blog and right post now because I'll share about otaku..haha

Otaku is Japanese term which is used to refer those who truly pursue a hobby or also use to pronouns the second person which is polite in Japanese standard, equal with the word "Anda" in Bahasa. Actually, at that time the public did not know the term of Otaku. Mass media- Nippon Broadcasting System Radio was the first which used the term of Otaku in the segment of Otakuzoku no Jittai on the show of Young Paradise. The term of Otakuzoku is used to refer the Otaku itself, following the exsiting designation for a group of young people who use the word suffix "zoku" like Bosozoku and Takenokozoku.

In further, the term of Otaku is used for single men who have hobby of anime, manga, idol, video games, and personal computer without knowing the age limit. The term of Otaku is also used to refer alot of single woman or married woman who formed a little "cult" group based on mutual hobby. Womans aged 50 and over or those people who is big fan of high culture or continue to pursue excellence in academic are rarely or almost never called Otaku.

In Japan, lots of people have gotten very into it. Some, a little bit more than they should, and a lot of them are Anime fans. They are excessive fans that spends a lot or most of their time watching anime. There was often found where Otaku is used to offend certain people because it sketches the picture of a creepy obsessive person. It is very common to know that Otaku is rarely to interact with others unless the person is also an Otaku. They are always looked upon negatively by society since they live in their obsessions, classify people as character in their shows. To any other people, they are seen as boring anti social weirdoes with sad interests. However we should always look at the both sides of the story. Otaku inspires the fashion in Japan. They do made a great deal. The world renowned fashion hangout place for teens in Tokyo, harajuku filled with the creatives styles which are inspired by Otaku's anime. That was because they dress up like their favorites characters when they are going out in the public :)

Before term of Otaku was popular in Japan, some people have used "mania" for those who only pursue something and have no interest in the daily life of the common people. In Japan, the term of Otaku is also often to used out of context fan of anime or manga to replace term of mania, such as Game-otaku, Gundam-otaku (Gundam robot), Gunji otaku (otaku in military field), Pasokon-otaku (computer otaku), Tetsudo-otaku (train otaku aka Tecchan), Morning Musume Otaku (otaku morning musume aka Mo-ota), Jani-ota (otaku cool singer who joined in the Johnny & Associates).

As I mentioned before that many people use term otaku as a term for man with strange habits and do not understand by the common public, regardless of the person is to pursue a hobby or not. Girls in Japan often use the term Otaku for boys who are not popular among the girls. In context of the offensive, the term otaku is often critized as a presumption or discrimination against someone.

Anime today is international and otakus are no longer only in Japan. There are a lot of obsessive fans in America and all over the world. They often gather few times a year in arranged places. Those conventions are called anime-con (short for anime conventions).

So then, what's your opinion about Otaku after read my post? For me, Otaku is kind a people who really give concern to their hobby. I really appreciate their effort to collect any other goods that become their favorites. That's why if I meet with Otaku I will make him/her as my friend :) For me, every human in the world has a right to be appreciated and loved, maybe they have different look with us, but as the wise man said, never judge the book from it's cover. Someone appearance can deceive you, but not for something that come through the heart :)

Below I put the pictures related with Otaku :)