A recent Ask John article on AnimeNation brought up a very interesting idea of what some people believe defines a so-called “true” otaku. The thought is that such a person is one who revels in great anime series that have narrative depth, notably good writing, and are all in all good shows with a good story and cast of characters. While that sounds like a perfectly reasonable definition, the article brings up the possibility that this is in fact not the fundamental meaning of what an otaku is…
The question posed in the article is whether fans of Pokemon should be called true otaku. The person who posed the question argues that a series like Pokemon, that has a rather senseless premise and is lacking in what they call a “grand narrative,” shouldn’t be place on the same level of “otakudom” as fans of anime series with genuine depth and strong themes, like Gundam titles for example. Why are there so many adults who like Pokemon but they don’t like more adult-themed anime? Why do they prefer studying up on various cutesy battling monsters over watching an anime with mature and complex plots and characters?
The clincher in John’s response to this question and the one that most piqued my interest is the following:
“The epitome of ‘otaku’ culture isn’t narrative or literary appreciation; it’s not appreciating intriguing epic stories with powerful themes. The epitome of otaku culture is being able to study, evaluate, classify, and quantify something down to its most fundamental components. In that regard, someone that learns all of the life cycles of all of the pokemon is arguably more of a true otaku than someone who passionately respects Mobile Suit Gundam for its nuanced, thematic story.”
Being an otaku doesn’t mean appreciating a well written fictional story. While otaku certainly can and do love anime for their deep stories and characters, that’s not the main attribute of one. I’ve always heard the word otaku synonymous with “being obsessed with something.” There are all kinds of otaku; Pokemon otaku, mecha/Gundam otaku, magical girl otaku, seiyuu otaku, figure otaku…the list goes on. Not just otaku related to anime and manga either. Japan recognizes all kinds of otaku, like train otaku (obsessed with the Japanese train lines) and idol otaku (obsessed with pop idol singers). And while we don’t use the word here, there are plenty of otaku to be found in Western fandoms such as Star Wars otaku, Marvel Comics otaku, Harry Potter otaku, and many others. Some of the fandoms have their own names for it, such as “trekkies” (Star Trek) and “bronies” (My Little Pony), but the idea is all the same: as John put it, it’s about relishing in “categorizing, memorizing details, and analyzing minute differences.” The measure of how true an otaku is has nothing to do with the genre they prefer or whether it matches their age group or challenges their mental caliber. Rather, the measure is the level with which they engross themselves in every detail, large and subtle, about that media work, immersing themselves in its trivia, categorizing all its facets, and becoming knowledgeable about all its official details, fan-made details, and all other aspects of it. As for why otaku like the things they do – why an adult would rather watch and play Pokemon over watching all the Gundam titles, that’s something every individual has their own reasons for, and sometimes the reasons can’t be explained any better than why one likes the taste of apples but hates the taste of oranges.
With that said, it’s interesting to think about whether we’re an otaku for specific anime or franchises, or are simply casual fans of them. For example, imagine two people who say they like Pokemon. They both play all the new games that come out and watch the anime. One of the two, we’ll call them Person A, watches the anime dubbed on TV from time to time, buys some nice Pokemon merchandise every now and then, and plays the games through soon after they come out, but then doesn’t do much else with them after completing the main storyline and perhaps a few side-quests. Other than that, they might look up some Pokemon info online once in a while to help them with the games, but that’s it. Person B however, watches every single episode of the Pokemon anime as soon as they come out raw in Japanese, and not only plays through all the games, but spends hours putting the best pokemon teams together, studying all the battling strategies, and putting their knowledge to the test against many other players. In addition, they’re always on top of all the latest Pokemon news and amass various trivia such as all the differences between the English and Japanese versions of the show and every little glitch that can be found in each game. To get to the point, both Person A and Person B love Pokemon, but only Person B would be a Pokemon otaku. I’m sure we all have tons of anime that we love and think are great, but there’s typically only a select one, or a few, that we could be an otaku of. Currently, the only titles I would say I’m an otaku for are Pokemon and Haruhi, as well as a general anime otaku. While I like and appreciate many other anime, Fullmetal Alchemist for instance, I don’t like it enough to “study” it beyond just watching the show and maybe finding some nice fan art. An FMA otaku however, certainly would, and much more so.
To summarize, the measure of an otaku has nothing to do with what it is someone is an otaku of, nor whether that work invokes appreciation for good writing and storytelling or not. There are all kinds of otaku, so not being an otaku for one type of anime doesn’t mean someone isn’t an otaku at all. It’s about the level of passionate obsession one feels for that work and how much time, money, and emotion they spend being involved with it. As John put it:
“…the sort of obsessive mentality that draws people to like both hardcore otaku anime and Pokemon is not different at all…even mainstream viewers can appreciate a complex, literate story that’s told well, but only an otaku will care about specific details like particular robots’ weight to mass ratio or how many turns a specific pocket monster can perform a particular attack.”
Before I read this post I never really had a clear concept on what an otaku actually was but after reading this, it really does make the most sense. I like how its basically broken down into specific categories rather than over-generalizing the word specifically to people who watch anime. Taking this post into thought I suppose i’d be an otaku for Fate/Stay night, Fate/Zero, and darker than black (although not quite to the degree of the Gundam example with the weight to mass ratio lol).
Anyway this was a great read =) thanks for sharing
Glad you found it informative ;) Although the word “otaku” has always been associated with anime/manga in Western countries, it’s a broader term in Japan to refer to anyone with that kind of passionate obsession with something. There are all kinds of otaku because there are all kinds of fandoms and things to be obsessed with XD
So, this post makes you an otaku otaku (obsesed about otakus)? :P
Interesting view, and I agree with it as well. I like the definition that it is not limited to manga/anime fandom only, but any genre. I also like the breaking down of it, and makes it a lot easier to use. No one is just an otaku, but an otaku about something. That brings up other interesting questions though… It is difficult to determine, or place limits on otaku-ness, it’s not as black and white. So when does a fan stops being just a fan to become an otaku? You gave 2 clear examples, but there are lots of grays in the middle. Obsessions are just so hard to measure I guess :)
Anyway, great read, and does clarify a lot. I thought Otaku was reserved for anime/manga fans only :P So learned something new!
It is interesting to think about where an average fan stops and an otaku begins – all I can suggest is that when you find yourself obsessing over a franchise’s details, gaining a great interest in trivia, and basically thinking about it a lot, I would say you reached otakudom =P
From the looks of the description, Otaku is like a dedicated fan that appreciates every aspect (as in doing things like buying every merchandise or collecting, making fanart, remembering/reciting favorite scenes, etc). It’s quite obvious that it doesn’t only apply to just anime and manga, but it’s a quite interesting description of it as people tend to confuse it to the lines of people being obsessed with Japan (also referred to as Wapanese or Weeaboo). While I wouldn’t refer myself one as it has a negative connotation in Japan, it’s interesting to learn more about their culture.
Otaku is usually used for media franchises, like movies, TV shows, books, games, etc., but it could also be used for other things like singers and sports. So I guess it could also be used for a specific country and its culture, like Japan, though like you mentioned, that has its own somewhat derogatory names for it, like “weeboo.”
Although the word “otaku” itself does have a negative connotation too…I still find it hard to deny the fact that I probably am one =P
The otaku term might have a negative connotation but that’s usually only used by people that don’t really like anime at all or think that everyone who likes anime is the anti-social person with nothing better to do with their life. So it’s more or less another label similar to being emo or a freak. Once your out of high school it doesn’t really apply anymore it’s only when your going through the point of your life were everyone has to label you.
Another awesome post! Keep up the good work! The subject caught my eye, so here I am reading it at 5 am in the morning. Your right, as your title even suggests, there is no ‘true’ otaku. There are many ‘kinds’ and their view of otaku-ism is different person to person.
As funny as it sounds, I asked an old friend several years ago (before I was on the otaku path) what an otaku was. She simply said ‘You don’t know what it is until you are one’. I’m not sure whether she was being serious or not, but it almost feels true. I still hold that definition in mind, but I’ve created my own definition through the years. I think being an otaku is having passion for something, be it anime, manga, idol, or even trains as you said. Your otaku passion moves your heart and becomes a part of your life. Whether it dies or lives on in you for the rest of your life, it was and always will be a part you.
What your friend said is very interesting; it’s probably true for some otaku, though I’m sure there are some who are either in denial about their obsession or simply prefer not to use the word. I prefer to use the word “fan” over “otaku,” but since I made it clear in the post that I believe there’s a difference between a regular fan and an otaku, I often put words such as “major” or “big time” in front of “fan” so people know I’m not just a casual fan =P I also like to use the word “passion” rather than “obsession” too.
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/keyword/%A5%AA%A5%BF%A5%AF
http://dic.nicovideo.jp/a/%E3%82%AA%E3%82%BF%E3%82%AF
^Some simple and functional otaku definitions
The moment you get complicated and subjective ideas like “depth of narrative” involved, it’s clear you’re moving away from an actual working definition and into self-identification and soul searching territory. And that’s the main issue with people making up new definitions for the word – they aren’t defining something, but an “us” or a “me”. Though I suppose the instinctive need for this kind of identity and group formation is perfectly natural and should not be surprising.
Thanks for the links; I like the idea in the first post that another attribute of an otaku is simply spending lots of time and income on your hobby. I suppose whether you define otaku based on “depth of narrative” or “depth of obsession,” both involve a subjective definition – who’s to say how deep a narrative should be or how obsessed one needs to be in order to be called an otaku? You’re right that it probably boils down to people wanting to create a group identity ;)
This article is a good read. It’s pretty nice how the majority of western anime fans connote otaku as simply “being obsessed with something” and not touch upon the negative connotation of the word. As Chikorita points out in her comment, I prefer to call myself an anime fan than otaku since the word has a negative connotation.
Like I said a couple of comments up, I too prefer to call myself a “big fan” than an “otaku,” since you never know how some people will interpret the word. The only time I might call myself an “otaku” is among fellow fans, like here on the blog or with my good friends who are also otaku to some extent =P
It’s strange how otaku is taken by so many people to mean anime otaku when it could actually apply to anything. I grew up when the term was derogatory so I’ve typically avoided using it and I don’t classify myself as an otaku of any sort. Yes, I do watch anime almost every day and yes, this has been going on for 17 years, but once a series is done that’s usually the last I see of it.
I’ve been sort of on-and-off about using the word “otaku” to describe myself. At times I too felt it was derogatory and didn’t use, choosing to call myself an “anime fan” instead. And other times, especially when I got older and understood the true meaning of the term, I realized I really am an otaku for some things, for better or worse, but it’s not necessarily something to be ashamed of. But from what you’ve said, you don’t really sound like an otaku to me – just a good all around anime fan, not one who obsesses over certain series ;)