Forum - View topicwhat is an otaku?
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kitsune487
Posts: 19 |
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what is an otaku? i have no clue what it is?
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JELEINEN
 Posts: 253 Location: Iowa |
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The word is an archaic and formal way of saying "you." The English equivelent would be something like saying "thee," or "thou" (which is how Animeigo chose to translate the word in parts of "Otaku no Video"). In the early eighties, a reporter who was doing a piece on Japanese animation and manga fans went to a convention and overheard conversations between fans where they were addressing each other with the word "otaku." She decided to turn the word into proper name for said fans in her article and the name stuck. Due to events since then, the term took on some very negative connotations (frex, the Miyazaki murders). Now the word is used as a perjorative for "drooling fanboy/girl." |
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LuppyLuptonium
 Posts: 139 |
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Back when I was a kid, life was going swell.
Till something happened, blew every thing to hell. That night speed racer came on, all fast and sleek, Suddenly a normal kid became an anime Geek They called him an Otaku, oh what the heck He has a sailor moon wristwatch, and squalls jewlry on his neck. And if there's one thing lower than a Zentradi freak, It's a pocky eatin', sushi suckin', anime geek." You see if you take an overweight gundam make it round like Krillin's head, Subtract thirty pounds and attach a big fat head, Add a crappy wooden sword with a brain like a geek, You got yourself a cosplaying anime freek. Anime Freak, Otaku Geek, Watches too much anime, hasn't bathed in a week. He's a one man, big gut, Sailor Panty Streak. Nothin' but an anime freak. Soon the geeks were poppin' up all over town. It was like that since the convention came round. After a nice juicy doujin, if you need something slick, Grab some Dragonballers hair jell, That stuff'll do the trick. One day we got a girl, used her for sailor bait. Otaku struck out, never got a date. Soon as the girl hit the doormat, The Otakus nose shot red. Went to bed that night, sailors dancing in his head. Anime Freak, Otaku Geek, Watchs too much anime, hasn't bathed in a week. He's a one man, big gut, Sailor Panty Streak. Nothin' but an anime freak. Most any night you know where I can be found. Yeah, stomping some Pokemon's head into the ground. So keep the faith 'cause in Luppy you can trust, I won't stop watching 'til the last fansub bites the dust. Anime Freak, Otaku Geek, Watchs too much anime, hasn't bathed in a week. He's a one man, big gut, Sailor Panty Streak. Nothin' but an anime freak. They say, "This funimation crap comes a dime a dozen. I'm lookin' for the guy who's supplin' the dimes." Its gonna be real hard times for all of these grit eatin', scum suckin', boot lickin', drop kickin', gut grindin', nail bitin', glue sniffin', scab pickin', butt scratchin', Anime Ruinin', sleezy, smelly, pepper bellied, dirty, lousy, rotten, stinkin', Dubs. Nothing but an Otaku Geek. |
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cyrax777
 Posts: 1825 Location: the desert |
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I just wish american fans would stop calling each other that its not a nice word to use to call someone and never was. Pretty much it means loser with no life outside of his hobby like a extreme trekkie or star wars geek that spends hours and hours on end debating things in there hobby.
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Emerje
 Posts: 7434 Location: Maine |
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Bah, since when did we care what the original definition for a japanese word was when it came to fandom? We call all animation from japan Anime even though it's ment to be used for animation in general. We call japanese comic books Manga even though the word is ment to describe all comics. Just like Anime and Manga we use the word Otaku to describe a person who is a fan of anime and/or manga with no negative or positive connotations regardles of what the japanese use the word to describe. It's just a label and there's nothing wrong with that, they dont' all have to be negative. Maybe in japan you wouldn't want to use the word since it's deffinatly a different meaning, but there's also nothing wrong with one word haveing two different meanings in different languages. The english language is made up of several words taken from other languages and several of them are different from their roots, why should these words be any different?
Emerje |
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JELEINEN
Posts: 253 Location: Iowa |
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Just saying that it's an American word now and not worrying about the real definition would be fine if you didn't have to deal with the term in the original language. I think people should be aware of the real meanings of foreign terms they are using, if only for the common sense reason of avoiding embarrassing themselves. For an interesting take on this thought, check out this site: http://home.comcast.net/~kagamix2/H_does_not_mean_hentai/ . Unfortunately, there isn't as much there as there used to be, but it makes some good points on the subject.
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Language is extremely maleable, and just like the Japanese reappopriate American words for use in everyday langauge, we too have reappropriated some Japanese words. 'Otaku' means anime fan, 'Hentai' means anime porn. That's what they mean in America. They mean something else in Japan. End of story. People who sit around and point that out over and over again are either desperately trying to say "Look at me, I know what it's SUPPOSED TO MEAN! I'm so smart!" or they just don't understand how language changes.
-Zac |
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kitsune487
Posts: 19 |
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ok thnx guyz! i needed to know that!
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Masayume
 Posts: 115 Location: Indiana |
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>_O Never saw such bad definitions for the word 'otaku'. But basically, don't call yourself one, because its not something you want to be. The real definition means 'one's home or place of residence'. Like when you call someone's house and you want to make sure you have the right place you ask 'kore wa Yamamoto-san no otaku desu ka?' or something to that affect. In the anime sense, it means 'guru' or 'fanatic' to the point where you don't leave your house. So to call yourself an otaku is to openly admit you're a freak. *shrugs*
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Emerje
Posts: 7434 Location: Maine |
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Not really, as we've already established the japanese definition doesn't really matter. What it originally means and how it is used is OK, especially when it's between two different languages. Yeah, it's probably a good idea to know what it's supposed to mean if you're planning a trip to Japan, but with fandom the way it is I'd say the word is widely used enough in the US that it isn't really an issue for us. Emerje |
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Mr Mania
 Posts: 581 Location: UK |
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Exactly,no more really needs to be said on the matter |
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Tenchi
 Posts: 4561 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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It's like the people that try and argue that we should call any cartoon from anywhere in the world "anime" because, in Japanese, "anime" refers to cartoons from anywhere, not just Japan. Perhaps, but, in English, we don't use the exact Japanese meaning... the common usage of the word "anime" is to distinguish cartoons from Japan (and, sometimes, Korea) from all other cartoons.
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LuppyLuptonium
Posts: 139 |
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Nothin but an anime freak (whistles come up in background)
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animaniac
 Posts: 246 Location: Idaho |
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anyone obsessed with something not just anime btw. I am one of many things.
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Dark Nero
 Posts: 220 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia |
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me
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