What Otaku is

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fl20040406zg.htm

I have been an anime fan for nearly 8 years now. It started with Robotech, Sailor Moon, and Akira, then went into further series and movies. There was a time, mostly high school, where i nearly fell into an obsessive state with it, but recovered at the age of 20. The proper terminology for this obsession is referred to as "Otaku." This article gives a good definition for what an Otaku is, but I have my own:

Otaku - An introverted, obsessed, anti-social, unshowered, pseudo-intellectual that focuses mainly on anime or manga for a lifestyle.

Personally, I can't stand people like this. They feel that they are high and mighty and take pride in being called Otaku, when the reality is, most of them grow up still living with their parents in their basement. Anime and Manga are fantastic and fun, don't get me wrong, but there are points to where it gets totally out of hand. It's time I give the 411 on Otaku from my experiences and from what others have told me.

They are not unique

Many Otaku feel that because they like something not too many people are familiar with, or have that Japanese Pop culture humor, they are unique and special in their own way. Yeah, sure, so am I, my friends, Tony, Nate, my brother, etc. We all like anime and we all have a little bit of that humor. The reality check is that anime is becoming popular even outside the Otaku Clique. Juist because someone watches something totally weird or wears shirts with kanji symbols on them does not make them unique, but more of a fan, or even at some points, a whore to anime and Japanese culture. Its no different then gothic people buying clothes at Hot Topic. I'm not saying Hot Topic is a bad store, I'm just proving a point that just because they sell dark clothes does not make them, or the buyer for that matter, unique in any way whatsoever. All it shows is that the buyer has a different taste than a jock or a prep.

They are not very social

Yes, you see them talking at an anime con. Yes, they have friends. Yes, they do talk to their friends. Then what is the rest of their lives spent doing? Well, school possibly. Work or a career hopefully. Either than that, a computer, TV, DVD player or VHS, and loads of cheetos and mountain dew (not dissing them) is the rest of their life. This is where the introversion comes in. Instead of going outside for a walk, maybe a little sport, or even going to hang out at a party, many Otaku tend to stay in their rooms, surrounded by their many pictures and models, all the while watching anime and reading manga. now, I will admit I have anime wallscrolls, models, and so on and there are times where I would rather sit down and get caught up on a series, but that comes after homework and class or if I have nothing better to do. A typical Otaku hangout is sitting around and watching anime, then psycho-analyzing it or eating or geeky humor. I don't know why Otaku don't get out often. Are they afraid or is it something else?

Personal Hygene doesn't matter

Maybe this is a reason for like of sociality. Otaku get so caught up in what they are doing, they forget everything else, especially showering and grooming. I was guilty of this when i was 17, but I was a teen as well and didn't want to do certian things. I learned the hard way that maintaining a pleasant look is vital in this world. There was a time when I was at TASS (Tucson Animation Screening Society) where I had to sit next to two hefty teens. Their stench was so unbearable, I had to go outside and get breaths of air, missing the good parts of Witch Hunter Robin (it was in fansub production at the time). Otaku get so involved, everything around them just dissolves. This is the same case for school, work, and sociality as well.

They are extremely strange

Not every Otaku fits into this category, but a lot of the ones I have met or been around in a club or at a con are just so weird, it amazes me. When I was at Nan Desu Kan (anime convention in Denver) last september, I was sitting around the dealer's room taking a look at a mystery grab bag I got in a contest. As I was about to open it, two girls came up to me and started singing some song in Japanese. I recognized it from Excel Saga due to the many coughs in it (don't ask). Then they started to say lines to me from the series, pausing to see my reaction. My eyebrow slightly cocked as I began to back away slowly from them. Their high pitched giggles would have rendered me deaf if it weren't for the fact that the room was loud enough to begin with. I guess that's another reason why they aren't social. They can easily scare people.

I'm going to split this into two parts and write later. I'm going out to lunch

To be continued...