What is an otaku ?; Meaning, history, types and more

Otaku culture is one of the most curious aspects of Japan, which is the most striking in the West.

This term that has already crossed the borders of half the world may have a negative connotation for some. But without a doubt, it hides many many more secrets than we know them and we can come to understand foreigners.

As much as lovers of Japanese culture want to imitate the Japanese, the truth is that there are two very different types of otakus in the east and west.

It is impossible that outside of Japan we can reach the level of fanaticism they have in the country of origin of anime, manga, video games and cosplay. But you can always keep trying!

In order to better understand it, it is necessary to delve into the beginnings of these urban tribes.

Do you want to know more about what otakus are? What is the otaku youth culture? What is true in the urban legends that are commented on the Japanese otakus?

We tell you everything you need to know about the term otaku, how they live it in Japan, the differences with otakus from other countries in the world, what types of otaku are there and much more. Keep reading!

What does otaku mean?

The word otaku (お た く / オ タ ク) is used in Japan to designate a person who has an obsessive fixation on a specific hobby.

It is a concept of the Japanese language that still does not appear in the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE).

The Japanese not only call a fan of manga, an anime series or video games otaku. This term also serves to designate someone who has an obsession with a musical group, with food, or any other fixation.

Outside of Japan, in countries like Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and even in Spain and Europe, the meaning is somewhat different.

In the West we understand that an otaku is a geek of anime, manga, cosplay, or japanese culture, either in a general way, or with an obsession directed at a specific character, series or theme.

Due to the interest that the Japanese have of living their greatest passions in the West, there are many different points of view on what it means to be an otaku. We are going to analyze it from within the Japanese culture.

What is a Japanese otaku?

An otaku in Japan is a person who is very interested and who knows a lot about a specific topic. It presents what we could call a great obsession for something, with a level of knowledge about it higher than other people.

However, these types of people also have a negative aspect. They usually have some social problems and lower level of basic knowledge in other common areas. Throwing himself 100% into his favorite hobby limits him to living a normal life.

In Japanese otakism, a person can be a fan of many things. Manga and anime are the most common hobbies, but they can also be fans of other subjects such as trains, flowers, computers, photography, a television series, a singer, or the culture of a foreign country.

What are otakus like in Japan?

Being otaku is a movement that today has decades of history. However, today, young people are still the ones who are most obsessed with certain topics.

The japanese boys and girls who classify themselves as otakus usually present a rather peculiar profile:

• The vast majority go to join a group, within which they form their identity. In these groups it is normal to share a hobby, but also to dress and act in a similar way with each other.
• Usually they identify with Japanese culture topics, but they are also related to other urban tribes typical of foreign countries. In Japan you can find groups of punks, gothic otakus, and any other popular urban tribe.
• Within the groups there is a series of rules that must be strictly followed. Both within the dress code as in the way of acting, they establish their own canons that they comply with in a very disciplined way.
• There are guys who can even reach confuse fiction with reality. Although it is not the most common, an otaku person could reach an extreme situation, locking himself in his own parallel world as can be the case of the Hikikomori.

These extreme cases are precisely what have made the term otaku nowadays is understood as something negative.

However, a real otaku show your passion with pride, and is able to separate his daily obligations from his hobbies, without letting it affect his daily life.

Is an otaku the same as a hikikomori?

Although these two terms are not usually confused among the Japanese, outside the borders of the country sometimes we associate them as the same.

However, otaku boys and girls have nothing to do with hikikomoris. The characteristics of each one are practically the opposite.

While otakus are people who tend to form groups due to their interests, hikikomoris are young people who avoid all kinds of social contact.

The latter are usually boys who do not leave their houses or their room (sometimes they go out to shower), who are dedicated to their passion which is usually video games, manga or anime, but always alone.

In the most extreme cases, hikikomoris do not bathe, lead very unhealthy lives, eat poorly, and hardly see sunlight.

On the other hand, an otaku in Japan, although they may also have an appearance that a priori is strange to us, yes that enjoy the company of other people, and in fact they share their hobbies with their friends.

What is being otaku in Spain?

In Spain, on the other hand, we have totally different otakus images. This also occurs in other countries outside of Japan, where it is not known in depth what are the foundations of these urban tribes and people interested in certain topics.

In the west we call any lover of Japanese culture otaku. Above all, they are usually those who have Japanese manga obsession, movies, anime, video games, typical Japanese sports, food, a music group or even television series.

These hobbies that young people have lovers of the Japanese country they are the ones associated with this particular term.

While in Japan it is common to see groups of young people wearing a certain clothing in any given day, in the West it is more shocking and cosplay is an activity that is reserved only for a comic convention, with the excuse of dressing up on Halloween or carnival.

The way of living the same passions outside and inside Japan are very different, although the word otaku is used quite correctly in Spain when we refer to experts or obsessed with a topic determined.

Otaku history

The obsession that the Japanese have for certain hobbies is something that goes back many decades.

However, the term otaku was used for the first time in 1983 by comedian Akio Nakamori, as a pejorative word for anime fans.

The anime fan groups themselves took it so well that they themselves began to use it to refer to themselves.

Some years later the word acquired a very negative meaning in Japanese society. This was related to the assassin named Otaku Tsutomu Miyazaki, who became famous for killing girls in 1989.

In Otaku's house they met anime tapes with violent and sexual content, which the media came to link with the otaku culture that was beginning to emerge among young manga fans.

Although it had nothing to do with it, many Japanese confused both terms, and there are still some adults in Japan who follow associating the otaku expression with something very dirty.

It was in the wake of the 90s when the word otaku was losing its negative connotation little by little.

In addition to comic book fans, some other hobbyists referred to themselves by the same term, to show that they too felt a passionate interest.

In Anglo-Saxon-speaking countries there are those who translates the term otaku as "geek", "nerd", or "geek".

However, one thing does not quite equate the other. In no other country in the world are hobbies lived so fervently as in Japan, lto the cradle of otaku culture around the world.

Types of otaku in Japan

There are as many types of otaku in Japan as there are different hobbies. The subjects that the Japanese are passionate about can be very varied, but let's mention some of the most common:

• Manga otaku. People who are fans of Japanese comics in general, or a series in particular.
• Anime otaku. In-depth connoisseurs of Japanese animation, or followers of a series or anime movie.
• Omocha otaku. Action figure collectors, animation series, comics or other themes
• Geemu otaku. Fans of video games or consoles. The term gamer appears in this type. They are lovers of video games like Fortnite, Pokemon, Naruto ...
• Tetsuko otaku. Train fanatics who often collect model trains and even locomotive driver uniforms.
• Gore otaku. People who have a great devotion to horror movies, blood and gore in general.
• Maho otaku. Followers of movies, books and stories related to fairies and fantasy.
• Pasokon otaku. People who know a lot about computers and computing.
• Vocalovers. More specifically, there is a movement of followers of Vocaloid, a computer program to synthesize the voice widely used to make the voices of animated characters.
• Wota. Fervent followers of the Japanese music groups J-pop, or Korean K-pop music.
• Cosplayers. Passionate about costumes or themed dresses, there are different groups that usually wear them in their meetings or for day to day.

Besides all these, there are many others types of otakus throughout Japan, as well as new hobbies and groups that appear every day in the rest of the world.

The cradle of otaku in Japan

When you ask any veteran otaku what is the cradle of this movement in Japan, they will all coincide with the same place: Akihabara neighborhood in the central tokyo.

Famous for the thousands of video game, manga, anime and costume stores, every day they gather in its streets many groups of boys in costume of your favorite characters to hang out.

Akihabara is the area of ​​Japan where the largest amount of collectibles stores, as well as cafeterias and themed premises.

Some of the most famous are maid cafes, some small cafes where the waiters are disguised as different anime characters to make you feel in another totally different world.

If you go to Japan and want breathe the authentic otaku atmosphere, take a walk through the streets of 'Akiba' at nightfall.

Enjoy low the neon light, the music of the locals and the bustle of the people, you too will feel like one of these fans.

Others known otaku places in Japan They are Ikebukuro, Nakano Broadway, Jump Shop Tokyo, Suginami Animation Museum, International Manga Museum in Kyoto, Universal Studios Osaka… although Japan for otakus is immense.

Why are there so many otaku in Japan?

The popularity of these groups of young and old who become experts and spend all their free time enjoying a specific hobby It is due to Japanese anime.

It is not normal the madness that the Japanese have for the endless series, the characters that star in them, and the amount of merchandising and advertising around them.

Really the otaku culture was born in Japan after World War II. Anime and manga became the best entertainment, which is still valid among the more mature population, and every year more children are hooked through very varied stories.

Today otakus are not only followers of the anime and manga, but these two aspects continue to be the most common.

The fact of collect a large number of books and videotapes throughout their lives With your favorite series, knowing all the details of the story, and even the dialogues of the characters, entails a level of fanaticism that does not occur anywhere else in the world.

Otaku day in Spain

As a curiosity we also want to add a fact that not many know. There is otaku day, not only in Spain, but also Worldwide, in which the pride of these people who put all their passion in their favorite subject is celebrated.

World otaku day is celebrated every year on December 15. In Western countries, the celebrations usually coincide with some manga, anime and cosplay fairs, giving young otaku the opportunity to go out to unleash their fanaticism.

Have you ever participated? We're waiting for your comments and opinions! And if you liked the article about otaku, don't miss these other blog articles either:

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