Origin of OTAKU

[allaboutthechallenge]

OTAKU

Otaku, what is it?

Before I get started I have two questions that you should ask yourself.

1. What does Otaku mean exactly?

2. Am I, or could I be an Otaku?

Otaku- a young person who is obsessed with computers or aspects of popular culture to the detriment of their social skills.

Now I know what you are thinking, this can’t be me, but it can be. Maybe computers and anime aren’t your thing, but I am sure that you might have something that you are good at or knowledgeable about. You might even be so much of an expert in that hobby or field to where it can seem like an obsession, then you can be considered an Otaku of that. Now the stereo type of course is someone who doesn’t go out and can be considered a social misfit, but that is just what it is a stereotype. No different than Black people love fried chicken, hell who doesn’t love fried chicken. Another one would be that all Asian people know martial arts, or only White people go skydiving, the list goes on.

 

ORIGIN of OTAKU

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “In Japanese, otaku may function as a formal second person pronoun, and has the meaning of “house.” Currently it mainly revolves around the love for Anime, Cosplay, Computers, Artwork, and things that are cute among people of the culture. It is more widely excepted in the mainstream, but it wasn’t always that way and still has some negative perceptions. According to an article on tofugu, on June 06, 2016 written by Rich, “Disenfranchisement further fueled anime's growth. The youth protests of the 1960s and the economic bubble burst of the late 1980s were difficult times. Manga and anime provided a form of escape. The overworked, underpaid, and unemployed found comfort in their fictional worlds”. The article goes on further to explain how fans of the anime and manga culture started to rapidly grow, which made these fans want to meet and be around other likeminded people. So, in the 1980’s they started to have book conventions and college clubs dedicated to anime and manga. Now once these people came together, it was evident that it was hard for unacquainted people to casually refer to each other in the Japanese language. In the Japanese language, you must be formally introduced to someone to feel comfortable talking about something personal or something that you feel strongly about. But, there is no specific word to express that in the Japanese language. So, the fans used the term OTAKU. It is an honorific, ambiguous second-person pronoun. The term received popularity in 1983, because of an article by Nakamori Akio. By the end of the 1980’s the term OTAKU would be ridiculed and looked at in a negative light due to a string of child murders carried out by a man named Tsutomi Miyazaki. He kidnapped, murdered, and mutilated the bodies of four little girls, no older than the age of seven. Once captured the police searched his home and found a huge collection of anime, along with some horror movies and child pornography. Because of this he was dubbed “The OTAKU Murder”. As time passed and the anime fan base continued to grow the culture slowly shook that horrible stigma that plague it. Especially after the arrival of the Dragon Ball series started to erupt in America. For most Americans Dragon Ball was what they perceived to be their first introduction to Japanese anime. Sense most Americans didn’t know that G.I Joe, Thunder Cats, Transformers, and many more cartoons (anime) during that time were drawn by Japanese anime artist. Of course, that is a whole other story to be discussed. Currently the term OTAKU is much more excepted, even embraced. I come across numerous people who can be considered OTAKU. I myself love anime and own every single episode of Bleach. I also enjoy sports, have a family, a day job, and a lot of friends. Here are a few examples on how the OTAKU culture was depicted by the media over the years.

"Otaku" sounds kind of perverted. I hate that word. [Note: "Otaku" is a word for someone who stays indoors all the time, for example playing video games.]

—post by John Leo, rec.games.video, 10 Oct. 1990

The series also became fodder for the "otaku" boom. "Otaku," as they are called, are obsessive fans who pour all their energy into obscure pursuits, whether collecting Barbie dolls or hacking computer networks.

—Dana Lewis, The Los Angeles Times, 21 June 1992

But you also cannot say there is no media coverage favorable to otaku. There are reporters, including myself, at each newspaper company who openly admit they are otaku, and present reports full of their otaku tastes in their papers.

—Makoto Fukuda, The Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo, Japan), 19 Sept. 2008

She said she has been to mixers, but "'carnivore' type men are always talking about themselves. They're all bluster and don't listen to others. Otaku men seem more down-to-earth and earnest." She said she is not necessarily into anime and games but doesn't agree with the common characterization of otaku as being "creepy" or "nerdy."

—Fumi Matsumoto, The Nikkei Weekly (Tokyo, Japan), 2 Jul. 2012

 

Now that you have a better understanding of the term and its origins, where do you think you fall. I can’t speak for you, but I know what I am and that is OTAKU and proud.

 

 

SOURCES

tofugu, otakuart, merriam-webster