features

What do Japanese people think of when they hear the word 'otaku?'

9 Comments
By Casey Baseel

Like with any language, the meanings of certain Japanese words change over time. Take the word “otaku,” which is originally a polite way of saying “you.” It’s so polite that overusing it can make a person sound a little wishy-washy, giving the impression that he’s not really comfortable with interpersonal relationships in general. Of course, if someone isn’t spending his time interacting with other people, then what does he fill his days with? Presumably, his solitary, or at least niche, hobbies such as watching anime. And so otaku picked up a second meaning of “obsessive nerd.” That was 30 years ago though, so a recent survey sought to answer this question: What do Japanese people imagine when they hear “otaku?”

Japanese corporation DIP (which stands for Dream Idea Passion) runs a group of employment websites where job hunters can look for part-time and full-time positions. Recently, though, Dip held a survey about Japan’s otaku, garnering a total of 1,843 responses from men and women between the ages of 10 and 49. While only 37.4% identified themselves as otaku, it’s hard to imagine the remaining two-thirds decided to take the time to fill out a questionnaire on the subject without at least some experience with the hobbies most commonly associated with otaku in Japan, which include anime, manga comics, video games, idol singers, trains, and technology in general.

While the increasing number of self-proclaimed otaku in Japan means the label has lost some of its stigma in recent years, many apparently still feel it’s not something to be particularly proud of in certain circles. More than 30% say their friends don’t know about their otaku leanings. Almost 40% said their parents were in the dark, and only a hair more than half answered that their siblings were in on the secret. Nearly one in 10 responded that no one knows about their burning yet concealed otaku passion.

This of course begs the question, what negative perception are Japan’s otaku trying to avoid by not letting it be known that they’ve got an apartment full of Gundam models or a brain full of fighting game combos? To find out, Dip asked all of the survey participants to answer another question, “What comes to mind when you hear the word “otaku?” Following are the top 15 responses.

15. Pants with a lot of pockets – 4.8%

We start off with a bit of a surprise, as cargo pants have become pretty ubiquitous in Japan. Still, when you’re lugging around at least one handheld video game system, a cutting edge smartphone, and a fistful of 100-yen coins to drop at the arcade or bank of anime trinket vending machines, it’s nice to have enough pockets to keep everything separated.

14. A recent jump in stylishness – 6%

As previously niche hobbies like anime and video games move more and more into the mainstream, the odds of a hot guy or cute girl also being an otaku are climbing higher and higher, with some even arguing they make ideal dating partners.

13. Paper shopping bags – 13.7%

Japanese supermarkets only use plastic bags, but anime shops regularly place customers’ purchases in long bags made of thick paper, so that their goodies don’t get bent or scratched on the way home.

12. Plaid shirts – 13.9%

Combine one with a pair of multi-pocket pants for double otaku-ness.

11. Bandanas 14.5%

When you spend so much time wrapped up in your hobbies, it’s hard to find the time to go for a haircut, so a bandana or headband to keep your bangs out of your eyes is essential. Extra points if it’s emblazoned with the nickname of your favorite idol singer or voice actress.

10. An increasing number of girls – 18.9%

For most of the ‘80s and ‘90s, the otaku world was largely a boys’ club, but the increasing number of anime and video game titles designed for girls, spurred on by their willingness to pay for them, means you’re more likely than ever to find female otaku.

9. Backpacks – 23.5%

Because you’ve only got two hands, which means there’s a limit to how many paper bags of gear you can hold.

8. Someone who likes video games – 37.8%

While more and more cross-promotion and merchandising is blurring the line between video game, manga, and anime series, games remain the least likely of the three to be associated with the word “otaku.”

7. Someone who likes manga – 38.8%

Manga just barely hangs onto the second-place spot among the big three otaku hobbies.

6. They’re entering their golden age – 41.5%

At least some people don’t think being an otaku is anything to be ashamed of.

5. Akihabara / Akiba – 45.6%

Akihabara remains the worldwide mecca for all things anime, video game, and maid-related. The neighborhood has gone along wholeheartedly with the perception, and even the nickname Akiba, which started out as strictly a part of otaku parlance, is now widely understood in Japan.

4. Someone with his or her own world – 46.8%

Whether it’s for better (a well of passion they can go to at any time) or for worse (a delusional refusal to face reality), there’s no denying that otaku are well-versed in escapism.

3. Someone who knows a lot about one thing – 47.9%

A lot of the things that otaku get so wrapped up in are actually pretty prevalent in society. In Japan, almost everyone rides a train or uses a computer daily, and you can’t watch TV or go into any shopping center without hearing at least a few songs from the most popular idol groups. What makes someone an otaku, though, is a time and energy commitment strong enough to seek out all there is to know about the subject.

2. Someone who likes anime – 50.4%

This one was bound to come up eventually. Survey participants were far more likely to think of an anime lover than a manga reader or gamer when picturing an otaku in their mind’s eye.

1. Someone obsessed with his or her hobby – 61.9%

The top response, though, showed that the most common image of an otaku had less to do with liking something, but more to do with not liking anything else. In the end, it doesn’t seem to matter if you’ve got a bookshelf of manga or line up overnight when a new video game console gets released, as long as those aren’t the only things that get you fired up.

So even if you’d rather not be called an otaku, if you feel like filling up your DVR with the newest anime or your SD card with photos of rare trains, go right ahead. Just make sure those aren’t the only things filling your calendar. Sources: Livedoor, Iroiro, Dip

Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- “You’re an otaku!” Defining Japan’s nerdiest word -- How nerdy are you? Use this handy formula to calculate your “otaku coefficient” -- Five reasons nerds make great boyfriends: Japan’s geeky otaku list their pros

© RocketNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.


9 Comments
Login to comment

Here is my problem with otaku/Japanese soiecty. You are either otaku or you have no hobbies at all. No lone has a bunch of interests, sports, cars, video games, cooking. They have one. They are baseball otaku, and their entire life is baseball baseball. Video game otaku. They do nothing other but play games. In the USA you have a guy that will watch a baseball game on tv, play some video games with buddies. Go drive his sports car, listen to msuic, and read a comic book. That is the average guy. With average interest. Here in japan you have to be train otaku, or akb48 otaku and 99% of the time that is your only interest

5 ( +7 / -2 )

@inakaRob true! But on the other side it's this focused interest of Japanese that made them some of the best manufacturers in the world, in particular with Technology.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Has anyone been following the otaku cult around Natalia Poklonskaya?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Nice article - usually overseas people will think of an otaku differently from people based in Japan.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

And so otaku picked up a second meaning of “obsessive nerd.” That was 30 years ago though

Perhaps the author is correct however cant ever remember hearing otaku for "obsessive nerd" in the 80s (or the 90s for that matter)

1 ( +1 / -0 )

To me, as an outsider, the world otaku is related with someone that likes anime/manga/videogames a lot and they are capable of creating their own wiki- something about an anime/manga, videogame.

As for me, we use the term "nerd", but I can't related to otaku, that's because it is also very close to being knowledgeable or someone who likes to read a lot about any other stuff, like Comics by Neil Gaiman/Alan Moore, Harry Potter, Kamen Rider TV shows, sci-fi movies, j-music, anime, jdrama etc. and otaku with the "obsessive thing" is very narrowing to me.. because in that case I have so many, that it would hardly count as an obsession because i like everything...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I have interests in Anime & Manga. However I wouldn't associate myself with being an otaku because I'm not obsessed with it. Its good to have interests and different things interest different people. Compared to the hikikomori who are obsessed with Anime, Manga, games, Jpop singers etc. I have a family, social life and a well paid job. Regardless of all that though and without a doubt some people would most likely still call me an otaku but ah well.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I like anime and everything about. I don't watch it every single day like a hardcore person would. But the question is, am I an Otaku? I would say no because its not the only thing I am interested in. To name a few, I like outdoors, cars, football etc.

The article overall was a nice read about Otaku.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Huh. Well, I'm a self-proclaimed Otaku, though I really don't see how some of the things on the list translate to being an Otaku. I'll start as the list did; with Cargo Pants (or Combat Trousers as they're known in Britain): These are much more commonly worn by people in the military, specifically the army, or by engineers/mechanics/plumbers. I don't see many Otaku types wearing these. They don't seem to like them that much. Jeans still seem to be the standard article.

A recent jump in stylishness? Personally I'd say that's a matter of opinion. One person's stylish is another person's idiotic. Don't forget that some people believe that wearing your trousers (or pants if you use that term) below your crotch is stylish, while many others believe that leaving your backside hanging out makes you a right pleb. As for paper bags, I don't know about that at all. I haven't seen a paper bag outside of a confectionary store since the 90's.

Plaid shirts...gross. I would associate that more with Chess Club nerds than anything else, the type of people who grow up to be 40 year old virgins (not that there's anything wrong with that before you bite my head off, I'm just stating an observation). As for bandanas; well, I didn't realise they were still fashionable. Again, I haven't seen those since the 90's, with the exception of one stoner I occasionally encounter. They seemed to be popular back when rap music was cool, and there seems to be some kind of relation between bandanas and Latino Stereotypes, though I haven't figured out what.

Backpacks are associated with Otaku? News to me. I just carry a backpack because it's more convenient than stuffing my pockets. Not all of them have zips, so a backpack tends to be more secure. The interest in video games I suppose I agree with. Most Otaku I know are pretty hardcore Xbox fans. That's an understatement actually, they ostracize me for being a Nintendo fan. Oh well. Manga is certainly something that springs to mind when hearing Otaku, but I've always preferred anime personally. As for escapism... I don't like the term, or the meaning that other people tend to affix to it, but I won't deny that it's a common trait amongst the Otaku I know. In my case though, I've had an extraordinarily active imagination long before I became an Otaku. I was "escaping" reality for close to two decades before I discovered anime.

Someone who knows a lot about one thing would more accurately be described as a specialist, not an Otaku. But, that's a vague statement really. I assume that the participants of the survey meant that this one thing is not related to professional careers. I suppose someone knowing a lot about one trivia topic could be classed as an Otaku, but again, based on the Otaku that I know, we seem to have a much broader range of knowledge. Myself in particular, I seem to know a lot of useless trivia. And the final point: An obsession with their hobby. I can't agree with that. That's not something exclusive to Otaku. Obsession is more common than you might realise, and takes different forms. Additionally, it's a matter of perspective really. What might seem like obsession to one person will undoubtedly seem as mere interest to another. It's only when obsession goes too far that people can agree on that being as such.

Still, an interesting article on what people in Japan perceive when they hear the word 'Otaku'. I wonder how that perception will change over the course of the next few years?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites