Forum - View topicNEWS: Otaku Article at Asahi
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jmays
ANN Past Staff
 Posts: 1390 Location: St. Louis, MO |
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A must-read, since he states his case clearly and the article takes him seriously.
But I don't buy this idea that otaku life is better for some people. I think fear—of change, of confronting life—is what drives a lot of folks into these situations. |
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s_j
Posts: 162 |
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For those interested, the url in the article is incorrect. The correct url is:
http://ya.sakura.ne.jp/~otsukimi/ Links to adult-oriented books, so browser beware. |
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hikaru004
 Posts: 2306 |
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That guy definitely has problems.
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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I'm inclined to agree there. On the one hand, I can see loving your hobby a lot, but when it becomes your life, that's when you have to realize that you need to confront the real world, and the people around you. You can't keep hiding behind a 2D screen forever. Of course, with the amount of women staying with their parents longer and longer and burrying themselves in their careers, the marriage rate is getting lower anyway... This just compounds it. |
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Jadress
 Posts: 807 Location: Seattle. It purdy and nerdy! |
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An interesting article, but I'll agree with Jon that I think the lifestyle is driven more by fear (of rejection, failure, etc) than anything else. To me this sounded like one big attempt to justify living in the fantasy world. How on earth is living a false life in escapism better than normal life? These are people who lack social skills, but don't WANT to improve themselves because it's too hard, or they are too afraid, so they hide with their anime girlfriends. Sure, you can be perfectly content living in a fantasy world, but it seems like you've isolated yourself from society to a degree where you make yourself worthless. In the end, I really don't think there's any way you can justify that.
Edit: Bamboo beat me.. :p |
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s_j
Posts: 162 |
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That totally nails it on the head. For all this talk of rejection of society, he is after all preaching to his own choir. He's the Japanese version of the goth kid! 
Well, that might not be true, but this article certainly gives that vibe... |
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Godaistudios
Posts: 2075 Location: Albuquerque, NM (the land of entrapment) |
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It is a good read, but it's frightening at the same time. It's frightening that an individual like that would try to justify his choice here. Based on the statements though, I think he really believes what he's saying. I don't know that it's fear, but delusion at this point.
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jmays
ANN Past Staff
Posts: 1390 Location: St. Louis, MO |
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Oh there's a good dose of delusion at this point, but fear is still the underlying problem. He's so far in that he's afraid to get out.
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Tempest
 I Run this place.ANN Publisher  Posts: 10463 Location: Do not message me for support. |
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I think his life is rather pathetic.
But what I think, you think, and everyone else thinks doesn't matter. And that's the point of much of what he says. If he's actually happy with his life, if he isn't unhappy, if he isn't lonely, then hey why should he care what other people think he should be doing? He's only delusional if he's unhappy and tries to convince himself that he is happy. -t |
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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True, but he's so cynical now. =/ I mean, feeling the way he does about love, about how women only like men with XX qualities, etc. It's like he never grew out of that teenage phase where all the emo kids tell themselves, "No one will ever love me! My life is over! Love is a sham!" Even with that comment about how the other guy should've turned the girl into an otaku instead. I can understand him distrusting love and what not from his past, but what he's doing is burrowing into a shell. I guess it's not so much about him, as it is that this is a growing trend amonst some Japanese men. With men who befriend only girls on their screens, or men who take their Real Dolls out in wheelchairs on dates, you have a growing number of people who refuse to accept reality by substituting their own. It's kind of a fascinating thing to look at. |
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championferret
 Posts: 765 |
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I swear, the first words my brain processed was 'interview with Toru Honda', which turned it into 'interview with Tohru Honda'.
I was reading Fruits Basket all night, OK?
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Godaistudios
Posts: 2075 Location: Albuquerque, NM (the land of entrapment) |
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I thought about bringing this up myself.... A possible pseudonym perhaps?
I wasn't particularily referring to his level of happiness, but a couple of his statements instead: "Not so, he says. Love is dead. What remains is moe-the intense affection players develop toward their favorite animated characters." and "Honda has created his own fantasy family. One of his younger sisters is a chimera of his own making. The rest-a wife, two other younger sisters and a maid-were all borrowed from animation games." His current views on reality appear to be a bit skewed... to say the very least. |
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jfrog
 Posts: 925 Location: Seattle |
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Does anyone else just love how one of the major reasons why he doesn't date girls is because he doesn't want to participate in "love capitalism" but that his appetite for dating sims takes more of a bite out of his paycheck than the occasional dinner or birthday present would?
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mrgazpacho
Posts: 316 Location: Australia |
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I don't mind what he does with his own life, but really that last bit oversteps the line... |
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Neilworms
 Posts: 155 Location: Chicago IL |
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Heh I'm with you on that one Jfrog... actually my thoughts were why is he criticizing capitalism and materialism by engaging in another very materialistic culture? I mean buying tons and tons of anime stuff and moe is a very symbol of materlalistic capitalism...
Did anyone else here think of Paranoia Agent when reading this article... I sure did :P |
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