"The Origin Of Otaku"

What is an otaku?

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), cos-play otaku and manga otaku (a fan of Japanese comic books), pasokon otaku (personal computer geeks), gemu otaku (fans playing video games), and wota e (pronounced ‘ota’, previously referred to as “idol otaku’) that are extreme fans of idols, i.e. heavily promoted singing girls. There are also tetsudo otaku or denshamania (railfans) or gunji otaku (military geeks).

Japanese people use this word in a non favorable, negative connotation, which is to describe someone in an offensive way as weird, antisocial and obsessed, so most Japanese would consider it undesirable to be described as “otaku” in a serious fashion; many even consider it to be a genuine insult. The closest translation for otaku in English would be ‘nerd’ or ‘geek’.

Otaku Phenomenon

What makes otaku a new phenomenon? What makes otaku obsessiveness different from other obsessive forms of collecting hobbies? The few common denominators are that otaku are teens or twens, mostly boys who usually wear jeans, T–shirt and sneakers, which might not sound very differentiating as a characteristic but in the fashion–crazy Japan that is a distinction in itself. They despise physical contact and love media, technical communication, and the realm of reproduction and simulation in general.

They are enthusiastic collectors and manipulators of useless artifacts and in formation. They are an underground, but they are not opposed to the system. They change, manipulate, and subvert ready–made products but at the same time they are the apotheosis of consumerism and an ideal workforce for contemporary Japanese capitalism. They are the children of the media. (Grassmuck 1990)

The otaku new history begins in 1970 as an underground subculture, and the begging of the change in usage first came about among collectors of anime pictures. The expansion of the otaku population and its varieties can only be related to the expansion of the mediated world, the varieties of communication channels, as well as the new ways of information distribution.

Certainly, the background of the otaku phenomenon involves a number of factors, but the decisive element are new media and media usages permitting a different access to the world.

Otakudoms

If we look at the Internet as a society, fandoms will be one of the most peculiar social groups existing within this society. People virtually gathering around certain, at the same extent, virtual (in most of the cases) subject, exploiting it in various aspects.

Otakudoms, or more specifically anime and manga fandoms are one of the most enthusiastic and fruitful on–line fangroups. In this context we can see an entirely different picture of an otaku. Usually shy and unsociable otaku are showing great creative potential when they communicate with their group.

Having in mind that, to a large extent, they are created by the media, their real dwelling and acting is always related to one. When we add to this the information fetishism and addictiveness, otaku in the new media environment are acting as superconductors transmitting the data (naturally it is always connected with their interests) all around the net to their fellow otaku with unthinkable speed and diverse output.