Thread: Made in Japan
View Single Post
Old 03-26-2010, 05:22 PM   #15 (permalink)
Jetée
The Reforms
 
Jetée's Avatar
 
Location: Rarely, if ever, here or there, but always in transition
and the concluding, final third piece in the chronicle on what it means to be an "otaku", and how the trait is nearly-innate for every single Nippon person to inherit and fulfill (though they may deny it).

Short Summary of its history and meaning across channels:
Quote:
In modern Japanese slang, the term 'otaku' refers to a fan of any particular theme, topic, or hobby.

The loan-word 'maniakku' (from the English "maniac" and "mania") is sometimes used in relation to specialist hobbies and interests. They can indicate someone with otaku leanings. For example, 'Gundam Mania' would describe a person who is very interested in the anime series Gundam). They can also describe the focus of such interests (a 'maniakku gēmu' would be a particularly underground or eccentric game appealing primarily to 'otaku'). The nuance of 'maniakku' in Japanese is softer and less likely to cause offense than 'otaku'.

Some of Japan's otaku use the term to describe themselves and their friends semi-humorously, accepting their position as fans, and some even use the term proudly, attempting to reclaim it from its negative connotations. In general colloquial usage however, most Japanese would consider it undesirable to be described in a serious fashion as "otaku"; many even consider it to be a genuine insult.


Furthermore, in English, the word, which is borrowed from the Japanese language origins, is usually used to refer to an obsessive fan of anime/manga and/or Japanese culture generally, and to a lesser extent Japanese video games.

The term serves as a label similar to Trekkie or fanboy/fangirl. However, use of the label can be a source of contention among some anime fans, particularly those who are aware of the negative connotations the term has in Japan. Unpleasant stereotypes about otaku prevail in worldwide fan communities, and some anime fans express concern about the effect these more extreme fans can have on the reputation of their hobby (not unlike sentiments in the comic book and science fiction fandoms).

Whilst a person who may be socially awkward but who is also intelligent and may be fairly "normal" aside from their interest in certain typically 'geekish' pursuits (video games, comic books, computers, etc.), otaku is closer in connotation to the English nerd, but the closest English-language analogue to otaku is probably the British English term anorak. Both of these English-language terms have more emphatically negative connotations of poor social skills and obsessive interest in a topic that seems strange, niche or boring to others.
I also know that there nearly 30 differing variations in the Japanese old and new languages that mean something akin to the definition of "obsession", and this is but one (popular) example of the "practice which is both sought and involuntary betwixt".

And with my affinity to give you as much resources as possible, I also came upon a topical article in anecdote about what seems so strange to some, yet still familiar, altogether and over again.

Japanese Obsessions: An Observation into Otaku, Op-Ed | The New York Times
__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.
Mohandas K. Gandhi

Last edited by Jetée; 03-26-2010 at 05:28 PM..
Jetée is offline  
 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360