What is an otaku?

Otaku. Is a word that’s been attached to my name for as long as I can remember. Not because of how I look but because of how I behaved. But some people have misconceptions. Very few even know what this word really means. Some think an otaku is someone who lives with their parents even after their 20s. Others say an otaku is a geek. Well, I neither live with my parents nor am I a geek. But I am most certainly an otaku. So what is an Otaku?

Here’s the wikipedia definition:

Otaku (おたく or オタク) is a derisive term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime and manga.

In modern Japanese slang, the term otaku refers to an overtly obsessive fan of, or is specialized in any one particular theme, topic, or hobby. Common uses are anime otaku (one who sometimes enjoys many days of excessive anime watching with no rest) and manga otaku (a fan of Japanese graphic novels), pasokon otaku (personal computer geeks), gēmu otaku (playing video games), and wota (before referred as “idol otaku”) that are extreme fans of idols, heavily promoted singing girls. There are also tetsudō otaku or denshamania (metrophiles) or gunji otaku (military geeks). While these are the most common uses of otaku, 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 obsessive 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 term is a loanword from the Japanese language. In English, it is used to refer specifically to any kind of “geek”, though it can sometimes as a fan of anime and/or manga. It also is used to refer to people who appear to be obsessed with Japan and its culture.

It should be noted that the English term geek is not a precise translation of the Japanese otaku. Otaku has a significantly greater negative connotation than geek does in the West, especially as the term geek has become less derogatory. The term otaku in Japanese suggests a creepy, obsessive loner who rarely leaves the house. In English, geek can possibly suggest 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 or boring to others.

While otaku in English-speaking contexts is generally understood to mean geek or even fan, this usage is not widely known in Japan. Casual use of this term may confuse or offend native Japanese speakers.

That pretty much sums things up. Just by reading that article, you already know a lot about me. So we’re not geeks, you could say we’re something much worse. But even though most people find an Otaku to be quite repulsive, I am damn proud to be one. So what if I’m a loner? So what if I lack social skills? So what if I stay in the house all the time? What people don’t know is that we are probably the most passionate people in the planet. The passion and dedication we have for our hobbies is something that most people strive to have for their careers or loved ones. And honestly, every person in this planet has an “inner otaku”. They just don’t know it.