Topic: "OTAKU" -Am I, Are You?

[tan]

   ok that sailor moon pic is gona give me nightmares.....hahahahahahhaha

      as far as absessions i got too many to list i practically obsess on anything i try.....but if i had to pick one i would have to go with gaming.....imma game till i die i am sure of it, i never let a game go till i beat it, and yes i am still playing diablo....6 months down the road and i haven't beaten it yet, i would say i am game obsessive cause i have seen myself put like 80 hours a week of game play into games when i really get into it  i know i need a life
tan

[Tallulah]

Hey BigB,

I think maybe the term OTAKU has evolved somewhat since you were here.  The term is now almost completely negative and, while loosely translated as 'geek' or 'nerd' it connotes someone who is so obsessed by something (anime, computers, video games, etc.) that they lose all social skills and prefer to live in isolation.

There have been many cases recently here in Japan of sociopaths (often teens) who have committed atrocious acts (i.e. beheading classmates, raping women and stabbing teachers) in which those who knew them described them as OTAKU. 

From invert (OTAKU) to pervert (CHIKAN).

In many of these cases, these inverts cite being bullied at school as the main motivation for their crimes.

I'm into Trailer Park Boys, but being here in Japan and so close to these freaky stories, I don't think I would go around calling myself a Trailer Park Otaku.

I'm not saying you can't call yourself a haircutting Otaku, I just wonder what Japanese people really think when you call yourself that.

Now fuck off!

I got work to do

  You know when I noticed your location from another thread I wondered how you would feel about this.  I was aware of the hate crimes that had happened in your country as well as several of the more negative words connotations, but I've sort of made a promise to myself to be a little more comedy oriented in this forum, and yes it has much happier connotations to most Westerners so I went with that.  I know nobody here wished to offend, and no one here likes people who hurt children!  It's a dirty word among some of the Anime fans here (I am in the USA not Canada so there may be a difference there) as well.  But I will never grow tired of laughing at the sailor moon costumes (or "cosplay" as I sometimes see it called), never.  I've only ever seen one really good one and it was on a very pretty girl.  Peace.

[igotworktodo]

Hey Tallulah,

Wassup!

I'm an ex-pat Canadian living here in Japan, so this thread doesn't offend me in any way at all.  That Sailor Moon Otaku pic is hilarious.  You should see the shit I'm forced to watch on TV over here!  Fuckin' wacko, man!   

Incidentally, my wife, like Big B's, is Japanese, and when I told her about a thread where gai-jin (that's foreigners) are calling themselves Otaku-this and Otaku-that, she just laughed and said, "That's like saying I'm a gardening loser because I'm into gardening."  It just didn't make sense to her.  I think this thread idea is cool and interesting.  I just thought it would be good to inform the group that the term 'Otaku' has evolved from it's 'fan' or 'freak' connotation, which is fairly benign, into something darker and more like 'loser' over the past two  or three years.  I don't know the last time Big B was over here, so I just thought I'd give a heads up cos I know he sometimes has in-laws and visitors from Japan stay at his house and I worried they might wonder what the fuck a Trailer Park Boys Otaku is all about!

Peace.

Now fuck off!

I got work to do.