I’ve long found this argument to be merely a fight about semantics. By its traditional definition, yes, “otaku” is not something to be proud of. But definitions get warped and changed with time and usage, and especially when its imported into another language. This is normal. Within the community, the generally accepted definition is nearly synonymous with “anime/manga fan.” The connotations of that are varied, but there’s generally a good balance of positive and negative associations. Outside of the community, I doubt most people know or care what “otaku” are. They will just place them in the same category as geeks and nerds, which, as you say, already have both positive and negative connotations.

As such, I no longer have any problem with people calling themselves otaku and being proud of it. Similar things are already happening with “fujoshi.”

Lol a certain famous someone we all know did this to most of the “otakus” we see around the world. Whether or not he planned it or did it for a good intention is anyone’s guess, but quite frankly, I am all with you on the term “otaku” being a negative connotation and that anyone who calls himself one should be kicked in the balls if he is not really one.

Kiri said it best. In the Western world, the word “otaku” is something that fans hold onto and are proud of. This isn’t Japan.

There’s also no upside to calling yourself the N-word if you’re African-American, or gay/lesbian if you’re homosexual, or jook-sing/bamboo/banana if you’re Chinese and white-washed. But people do it anyway, whether it is through song, a parade, or simply amongst friends.

Call it pride, call it defiance, whatever. If people can turn a negative symbol into a positive one, then power to them.

Kri and Introspect already covered pretty much all of what I would have said. Whilst it’s definitely understandable to not want to be associated with the term Otaku in Japan, here in the West, the term is so morphed and unrecognizable from its original meaning that it could probably be used without ever incurring the same negative connotations.

You say otaku, I say o-taco.

Isn’t the PM of Japan a self described otaku? He likes that freaky Rozen Maiden anime doesn’t he? Creepy.

kri, introspect, and snark got it right. you’re actually the ignorant (and biased one) for believing negative stereotypes about people and that they should be upheld. yeah, there are weird and creepy people in japan. there are weird and creepy people everywhere in the world. but if an individual is unhealthy, put it on them. don’t blindly group people together, and say, anyone who fits this categoy otaku is socially disgusting, and people should not claim the word and use it positively.

i live in japan, and i can tell you from experience, otaku is seen as a negative thing. but so what? foreigners are often seen negatively here too. because japan is still a extremely homogenous society. are you okay with that? should we look at foreigners as outsiders (probably a “category” you fit in to japanese people) that should never completely belong here cuz they do too? i scoff at that. loudly.

defiance needs to grow in this country. people need to break out of the norm. i’ve never known any other people who have it so ingrained in their culture to comform. in my opinion, there’s no joy in that. if you saw smile-less faces I do every day, you’d know what I mean. People here are supressing their joy for hobbies, just because they’re so afraid to stand out in public. Consequently, strangers don’t interact. I recently heard of a case where an old japanese woman in a crowded area wasn’t helped after being pushed down by someone. I myself have been in a situation where I fell off my bike and needed aid, but not one person around me stopped to help me. This is a dangerous amount of conformity and introvertedness that I will not stand for. Even if I am in this country. When in Rome will not stop me from enjoying my life when it doesn’t mean harm to the lives of others.

I’m otaku. I’m proud. I’m damn proud.

great drawing at the top btw. i think its super cute.

@Kiri and company: The thing I’m trying to say is that people shouldn’t call themselves something without knowing full well what it actually is. In the west the word otaku is the all-in-one umbrella word for people that like all things related to anime, but these people should know the history behind it before spouting “otaku pride” nonsense. Otaku is a negative term in and of itself, regardless of being in Japan, America, or anywhere else in the world. There are things to be proud of, and there are things not to be proud of. Otaku falls in the latter. Otaku is the far extreme of fandom bordering on fanaticism. There’s nothing wrong with liking anime and all things under that umbrella, but calling oneself an otaku is unnecessary.

@Panther: I’ll gladly join you.

@Jura: [CSI Miami] That’s one taco — You don’t want to eat. YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH! [/CSI]

@anonymous: Forgive me for being biased, but everyone is biased. Yeah, conformity is the norm in Japan and the bystander effect is all too obvious with so much diffusion of individual responsibility with regards to the social interaction you mentioned. Same thing happens here in the US and everywhere else in the world though. We as a worldwide society are gradually shutting ourselves in our own little bubbles because of all the outside noise that happens around us. This is getting totally off-topic, though if you’d like to discuss psychology and sociology, I’m up for that anytime.

Anyway, otaku is not something anyone should strive to be. Anime/manga/VN/game fans are okay. I just don’t think people should use the word otaku so loosely because it’s the easy umbrella word for all those things.

I understand your position, but I also think that most people in the community (or at least, in the blogosphere) are well aware of the origins of the term and all of the negative traits that it implies. And yet they still embrace it, and there, the word evolves. The term itself isn’t what you should be standing against, just the things it once represented, and perhaps still represents in Japan. By all means, call shame against the antisocial droves of fanboys and girls with poor hygiene. Tell them that they should strive to better themselves. But “otaku” no longer represents only such a population, and so to rail against all self-identified “otaku” now is to attack a much more general group of fans, most of which aren’t who you actually have anything against.

Kiris last blog post…On Learning Japanese & My Japanese Coach for DS

noirs, I agree. Everyone’s biased. I’m biased too. Humans can’t help but make schema to make sense of the world.

The difference, and the danger, is the negative labeling of people that leads to fear, and fear leads to the separation and isolation I was talking about. In your replies, you haven’t addressed the negative stereotypes you seem to believe in. “… You should feel great shame because you identified yourself with the lowest common denominator? Excuse me? What? Even consideirng your apparent definition of what an otaku is, I think much lower kind of bottomfeeders are murderers, drugdealers, rapists. Nothing in your own definition of otaku infers he or she is the kind of person who hurts others.

Going back to that world you’re talking about… Why do you feel a need to tell people how they should live? What words they should use. Shout from the roof tops, “I hate that people say otaku as a cool positive thing” if you want. But your argument has no effect on me.

And ditto to just about everything Kiri said. Words evolve. Time and space change things. What’s offensive yesterday will become acceptable today.

You guys say this isn’t Japan, but the uninformed fans insist on having everything as close to the original Japanese anyway. It’s a pretty hilarious conundrum, mostly ending up with stuff like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VjSfnhCNm8

Myself, I just feel people are too lazy to find a word to describe themselves, because, you know, that takes actual brain cell usage, and we all know how intelligent the average anime fan is often portrayed as having in various forms of media. So they just all go around with that “Otaku” word, despite not knowing the actual meaning behind it. Amusingly, this is probably the opposite of the spectrum from the usage of words like “Nakama”, where malinformed folk go “omg liek Nakama can never be translated as Comrade/Friend/One Of Us, you should leave it as it is, it’s so much more meaningful!!11″ Precision of language becomes ignored here.

Here in the west it’s pretty much become a stereotype of sorts I suppose, much like emo or goth or punk or hippie, and the likes. While stereotypes are generally negative, people seek to call themselves something because society demands that we not be unique individuals but labeled as something. I don’t take offense in being called an otaku, or whatever else someone might call me because they need something to identify what type of person I am, and humans are generally too ignorant to recognize people as individuals, so they cling to these labels. I understand the meaning of the word, but it doesn’t bother me if people frown upon my hobbies and use it towards me. I’ve been labeled many things, positive and negative and if it helps someone identify who I am easier, I guess it’s ok. I do agree with what you’re saying though, otaku pride isn’t exactly something I’d say I have, I’m not proud I’m just being who I want to be. So yeah, I try and not use stereotypes to describe myself, but sometimes it’s just easier to defame yourself. Otaku has come to mean for me more of a term to describe miscellaneous interests, such as when labeling something that doesn’t quite fit into a figure review or whatever, when posting on my blog.
Persocoms last blog post…Louise Gothic Punk Ver. 1/8 PVC by Alter

Frankly I don’t think it’s such a big deal at all. The term “otaku” is something that can be lighter and more playful in the Western anime culture then it is in Japan. Plus just because a dictionary says something is a socially “negative word” doesn’t mean that people can’t be proud of being associated with that word, the world isn’t that black and white. But I certainly understand your anger, it bothers me when girls walk around with shirts saying that they’re “The B*tch” or something,

lovelyduckies last blog post…Duckie is One Stylish Otaku

The actual meaning of otaku is a very overly formal form of the word “you” or “your house”.

Originally, this term became associated with anime fans in the early 80’s and no one is really sure why. Some believe that the most likely reason is that in anime at that time, some characters were using it as a sign of respect for others, and the creators of some anime used it to show respect towards each other, and then the fans picked up on it.

For a long time, ‘otaku’ just refered to any fan of anything, not just anime and other things we now consider otaku culture.

However, in 1990, a man who killed 6 elementary school girls was arrested and after searching his home they found pornographic anime and manga. The media immediately began using the term otaku when refering to him and the term started to be associated with the socially awkward unshowered masses because of this. So, just like with video games, society was using anime and manga as a scapegoat for the problems with society.

Because of this incident, ‘otaku’ got its negative association. It has been gaining positive association, however, in recent years. Many times when I watch japanese talk shows, the speakers or guest proudly state that they are otaku, and they are definitely not socially awkward or shower impaired

So, the only reason ‘otaku’ has any negative association is because people look at it as being negative, when in fact, there really is no justifiable reason for it to be viewed that way.

Otaku is a word that crops up very often in anime, be it in the original voice track or an English dub. Therefore if you watch a lot of anime, theres a good chance that you know the Japanese meaning of the word and all of the connotations that ride with it.

This might be a bit of a longshot, but I’m pretty sure this is strong evidence that the fans outside of Japan are fully aware of what the word “otaku” originally meant, all the while spouting it with its evolved meaning.