Forum - View topicOtaku stereotype no big deal.
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P€|\||§_|\/|ast@
 Posts: 3498 Location: IN your nightmares |
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I classify myself as an otaku and I fit the stereotype, and I'm proud of it. Fortunately, I think the stereotype has primarily to do with personality rather than anything else, such as appearance or physical aspects. Someone who I feel fits the otaku stereotype has many of the following traits that are similar from otaku to otaku, such as awkwardness in social situations, shyness, being reclusive and resistant to forming comitted relationships.
All these traits, I believe are independent of liking anime, since they are things that people are predispositioned to depending on genetics and upbringing. So I highly disagree with the notion that otaku are reclusive as a result of anime interfering with and substituting for experiences that lead to being more socially adept and outgoing. Anime is an effect not a cause. My personal experiences attest to this fact because I relate it with my longtime personal career goals. I have always been interested in doing natural resources and conservation work, and nothing else, not even anime surpasses that interest. But this interest is borne partially out of general ambivalence toward other humans. The thought of having a career, such as a social worker, retail associate, entertainer or really anything where I'd be forced to dealing with people has always made me uncomfortable. Instead working with animals, nature and the environment is something that has always interested me. I'm not saying all environmentalists and naturalists go into that field because they hate people, but I think essentially the outlook I had for myself set me up for an otaku-type lifestyle a whole decade before I knew what anime was. |
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GeminiDS85
Posts: 391 |
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You might find this article to be rather interesting.
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Gatherum
 Posts: 773 Location: Aurora CO |
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Classification within the Otaku subculture, Japanophiles, and other distinct but related groups can more or less serve either as the cause or the effect in regard to personality quirks. It is the cause when a given person puts more of their energy into their fandom than in their personal relationships, though this is not true for everybody. I, myself, joke occasionally about being a weeaboo, but I do not act like your typical fan at a convention. In fact, I hardly find myself at home in such situations, and really, we put each other off, partly due to my insistence on counting The Boondocks among my favourite anime and for casually using terms often deemed derogatory, like 'weeaboo.' By contrast, I find most of them to be entirely too chipper, which is not a bad thing; the world could do with a few happier people. But I don't have the sort of extroverted personality required to be so jumpy, or to really keep up with them (at least, in extreme cases or when they're in groups). No otaku in my workplace really do either.
I am a predominantly solitary person and I dislike group gatherings. I will talk to a single person, but when more come around, I tend to step back and let them talk it out for a while, with very few, rare exceptions. It reflects in the structure of my circle of friends: it is very broken and almost none of them really know each other. As well, I am rather disinterested in meeting new people. You could say that I am shy, awkward, difficult to deal with and/or get used to, and unwilling to commit. I have had one serious romantic relationship in my life, and I wouldn't mind having another, but I will not bother if I don't think it's going to last. However, I would attribute none of that to my interest in anime or Otaku subculture in general. It is simply the way that I developed over time. |
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bllanosr
 Posts: 212 |
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I'm not sure that's what an otaku is. There was a post here earlier that was quickly deleted and pretty much stated what I was going to say. The Western view of an "otaku" has some positive connotation to it. Kind of like a "Trekkie". Some people are proud to call themselves that because they feel it's some sort of badge of honor that denotes their loyalty to the Star Trek franchise. I think the way Japan views "otaku" is a little harsh and has a negative aspect. More like a sickness. It's as if the person has a dibilitating penchant for whatever otaku that person is. The (anime) otaku is so caught up in anime that he/she spends his/her money, time and resources in consuming merchandize that has anything to do with anime. Just by watching anime, you can pick up that "otaku" is a negative thing. The characters get embarrassed and upset when someone calls them an otaku. I think the best way to describe this is Mr. Smithers from The Simpsons. He's a normal guy who can hold a steady job (and quite good at it), but he is definitely a Malibu Stacy-otaku. There's just something creepy and wrong there. Sure, he's just a collector, but it just seems wrong. EDIT: spelling |
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P€|\||§_|\/|ast@
Posts: 3498 Location: IN your nightmares |
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@ bllanosr (and everyone else): I just want to clarify, since you happened to bring up something that has been pressing my buttons in a negative way, that my opener made no attempt discuss the definition of otaku. And no single definition rests on a given type of interest, as you have pointed out.
My posts tend to discuss concepts and different points of view of concepts, not specific topics or their definitions. Lately a lot of my threads I start, I keep getting people answering with definitions to things. I am not interested in definitions I'm interested in concepts and descriptions of the type of feelings those concepts bring to light. I apologize for the slight aggrivation, but this is the second time I've had to ask in a thread, please do not respond to the opener with definitions. If you need a definition for something go to wikipedia or something, then come back to discuss the topic once you've gotten that out of the way. Thank you. |
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Haterater
 Posts: 1736 |
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It seems kind of hard to discuss an ideal point if there is no definite ideal for otaku that you want to lay out. Some people would want to take it in different directions since the word can vary among others. I think it would help if you bring to light a little more on either the Western view or the Japanese one or a view you find in-between.
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Touma
 Posts: 2651 Location: Colorado, USA |
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If you put it in terms of cause and effect then I agree that anime is the effect. A lot of people watch anime without becoming reclusive, and most reclusive people probably do not watch anime. I think that the otaku that you are talking about are probably naturally introverted. Watching anime might be something that they use to rationalize or justify their reclusiveness, if they feel the need, but it would not be the cause of that reclusiveness. And there are many other things that would serve the same purpose. I am close to being the kind of otaku that you are talking about. But that is because I am naturally introverted. I was reclusive, as much as possible, long before I even heard of anime. |
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Touma
Posts: 2651 Location: Colorado, USA |
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Well, we do need definitions so that we can be sure that we are all talking about the same thing. But in this particular case I thought that you did a good job of defining what you mean by "otaku" in your first post. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15596 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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I have Aspergers Syndrome, so I was alread Awkward in social situation, shyness, and being as clueless about possible comited relationships as the average clueless male lead. I would say that anime otakuism seemed to be a very appealing thing for me to get into for some reason.
I am actually interested in your insistance on having concepts instead of definitions. I find that I usually learn much better through concepts than learning in the way that most people usually do. It is the difference between looking at the face value of something like simply knowing the formulae A=L+OE in accounting, and understanding what each part means and how they fit together. (that probably makes little sense to people who do not understand accounting) There might be something in that main characters often have very few, if any, friends, and end will often end up in a situation of a desirable relationship in some way falling onto the person with out the need of much effort fro the protaganist. It attracts people that often naturally have the quirks. |
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EricJ
 Posts: 876 |
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Me, I'm starting to wonder if AS was the reason I was so geeky in high school, yet retain an encyclopedic knowledge of.....everything. 
To geeks, all knowledge must be collected, and social interaction can take a backseat. So now you have a medical reason for that old "Afraid of girls and prefer comic-book babes" cliche'. I often weary very quickly of social interaction myself, but I'd always thought that was just my own innately snooty nature. And the reason we're arguing over the definitions (and all that underlining is starting to look a little, um, familiar  ) is the reason stated above: To the Japanese, "otaku" means "creepy pedophile", as that's how the word first got started.
Over here, it's trendy to say you prefer Sailor Mercury to Sailor Jupiter, but I wouldn't go around saying it outside of Akihabara. (There's that funny, and very Western-tweaking, moment in Nodame Cantabile: Paris Chapter, where a French anime fan calling himself "otaku and proud of it" meets a genuine Japanese one, and is traumatized for life. 
I suspect that our trans-Pacific neighbors, when they DO notice our use of the word, are snickering behind our backs.) |
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bllanosr
Posts: 212 |
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WoW. No need to apoligize, it's your thread/discussion and I think I get what you are saying. I can play that game. Since we are not using definitions, I will go by the concept you portrayed here:
From that concept, WoW (as in World of Warcraft) players sometimes fit that stereotype and exhibit those traits? If so, then the answer to your discussion that anime is the effect not the cause of "otakus" general "weirdness" is not always true. I think it's safe to say, that we all know someone (or of someone) who used to be a regular, normal, average person who would go out and have a social life before he/she started playing WoW. In fact, I know of a girl who used to complain all the time that her boyfriend wasted all his time playing WoW. He got her to play WoW, and she stopped being the girly-girl she used to be. In the end, she started to play more than he did. In fact, she broke up with him becuase he started to lose interest in WoW and stopped joining missions/expedition with their WoW team. So in that scenario, WoW was actually the cause of the girl's reclusiveness and awkwardness. As for the discussion of cause vs. effect, that's going to be different from one otaku to another. Yes, some people are more inclined to find hobbies such anime and online gaming to fit their social awkwardness, but it's not always going to be an effect of it. More so in online gaming since it litterally allows you to be reclusive but still be "connected" to the world. So if you want to claim that your [lack of] social traits made you inclined to like anime even before you knew about anime, that's fine and dandy. If you want to wave/twirl/fly your rainbow pied otaku flag proudly - go otaku, Go Otaku, GO! Just don't be surprised if others just don't get it. Also if you are autistic and have Asperger syndrome, you probably wouldn't even realize that you are a "weirdo" cause that would be normal to you and you can't pick up on other people's body language [as in they are laughing at you (Carrie)]. |
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P€|\||§_|\/|ast@
Posts: 3498 Location: IN your nightmares |
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The other reason I discourage use of definitions is because I'm genuinely interested in opinion regardless of existing bias and subjectivity. Those aren't bad words to me. We are all different and I like hearing and absorbing the viewpoints and personal quirks of others. That's rather strange coming from someone who's so interested in science, but I think bias and emotion are an integral part of the big picture. Also, I do want to address something that Haterater asked: Whether, if focusing on a particular definition of otaku, I am referring to the one that pertains to the western usage of the word or the Japanese brand of otaku. The answer is both really. I think the major difference between how otakuism carries with it a certain form of respect in the west, but in Japan it's considered to be derogatory has A LOT to do with perception of otaku within their respective parts of the world. In reality, whether you are an otaku in Los Angeles, Madrid, Tokyo or Sydney there still exist inherent personality and temperament similarities between them. Of course I don't discount the fact that many people who aren't otaku also exibit some of these personality quirks that I have pointed out in the opener. |
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Geoffrey88
Posts: 34 |
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I will talk to a single person, but when more come around, I tend to step back and let them talk it out for a while, with very few, rare exceptions. It reflects in the structure of my circle of friends: it is very broken and almost none of them really know each other. As well, I am rather disinterested in meeting new people.
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hyojodoji
Posts: 586 |
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A Japanese woman, who teaches Japanese in France, was puzzled over gaijin's 'wrong' usage of the term 'otaku'. http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/pidoochien/diary/200501170000/ When a Japanese person heard/saw gaijin's 'wrong' usage of 'otaku', it is possible that he/she cannot suppress a wry smile (or a chuckle) at it. 久米正雄が言うところの、「微苦笑」ってやつですかね。 |
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JamesFox
 Posts: 11 Location: Summerville, SC |
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Otakus these days often toss whimsy out the window
Don't believe me? explain why nobody bought DVDs of the following - Nerima Daikon Brothers - Gregory Horror Show - Lupin the 3rd Part 2 |
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