Tag: otaku

Otaku, derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family (お宅, otaku), appeared in the 1980s. In the anime Macross, first aired in 1982, the term was used by Lynn Minmay as an honorific term.

In modern Japanese slang, the term otaku refers to a fan of any particular theme, topic, or hobby. Common uses are anime otaku (a fan of anime), cosplay otaku and manga otaku (a fan of Japanese comic books), pasokon otaku (personal computer geeks), geemu otaku (playing video games), and wota (pronounced ota, previously referred to as idol otaku) that are extreme fans of idols, heavily promoted singing girls. There are also tetsudou otaku or denshamania (railfans) or gunji otaku (military geeks).

While these are the most common uses, the word can be applied to anything (music otaku, martial arts otaku, cooking otaku, etc).

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.

The negativity which modern society shows towards otaku and otaku culture is historically partly attributed to Miyazaki Tsutomu, who became known as The Otaku Murderer in 1989. His bizarre murders fueled a moral panic against otaku. However, the public appearance of most otaku is the major reason for them to be shunned by society today.