What does make a TRUE Otaku?

Otaku makes me think of hardcore anime fans, to me someone who would rather watch anime/read manga then watch normal tv/books (just an example, not true to everyone Im sure lol), will want to own anything to do with their favourite animes/mangas/games/japanese icons (Sanrio as an example) etc

Weaboo/Wapanese makes me think of the above, but also anime fans who wish they were Japanese, but their idea of what it is to be Japanese generally comes purely from anime/manga. Also for some reason seem to beleive that they can go to Japan, become a manga/anime artist straight away and find a gorgeous wife/husband and Japanese society will adore them.
 
Mollfie said:
Weaboo/Wapanese makes me think of the above, but also anime fans who wish they were Japanese, but their idea of what it is to be Japanese generally comes purely from anime/manga. Also for some reason seem to beleive that they can go to Japan, become a manga/anime artist straight away and find a gorgeous wife/husband and Japanese society will adore them.

I just call those people "fools" :)

A lot of the weeaboo crap is just racist though (against white people, frankly, at least in the context of the article and the usual 4channer trashtalking). Like the linked article which proudly boasts that a white person speaking Japanese at all is wrong. What? Learning things is now in itself a bad thing? I don't think it's wrong for any person of any colour or creed to learn more about others.

I see far more people moaning about these elusive, possibly imaginary people who think Japanese people are a superior race than I ever see genuinely posting things like "Japan > UK". I don't think there are any on this entire forum that I've spotted yet.

R
 
Rui said:
Mollfie said:
Weaboo/Wapanese makes me think of the above, but also anime fans who wish they were Japanese, but their idea of what it is to be Japanese generally comes purely from anime/manga. Also for some reason seem to beleive that they can go to Japan, become a manga/anime artist straight away and find a gorgeous wife/husband and Japanese society will adore them.

I just call those people "fools" :)

A lot of the weeaboo crap is just racist though (against white people, frankly, at least in the context of the article and the usual 4channer trashtalking). Like the linked article which proudly boasts that a white person speaking Japanese at all is wrong. What? Learning things is now in itself a bad thing? I don't think it's wrong for any person of any colour or creed to learn more about others.

I see far more people moaning about these elusive, possibly imaginary people who think Japanese people are a superior race than I ever see genuinely posting things like "Japan > UK". I don't think there are any on this entire forum that I've spotted yet.

R

I agree that's like saying all those kids who are learning french or german in school is wrong.
 
I hated French. I thought that meant I hated languages in general but it turned out I loved German and Latin. So it was just French. I think this may be in part due to us being forced to learn French rather early here from teachers who don't actually speak the language themselves, leading to confusion from the start.

Though I grudgingly admit it has come in useful before, even though I can't remember much except stock phrases.

R
 
Lol, I myself don't watch other types of TV shows, perfere to buy an anime DVD and watch that and read manga at school rather than a "normal" book. Would you say that I'm an otaku?
 
Mollfie said:
Otaku makes me think of hardcore anime fans, to me someone who would rather watch anime/read manga then watch normal tv/books (just an example, not true to everyone Im sure lol), will want to own anything to do with their favourite animes/mangas/games/japanese icons (Sanrio as an example) etc

Weaboo/Wapanese makes me think of the above, but also anime fans who wish they were Japanese, but their idea of what it is to be Japanese generally comes purely from anime/manga. Also for some reason seem to beleive that they can go to Japan, become a manga/anime artist straight away and find a gorgeous wife/husband and Japanese society will adore them.

I think it would be harder to get a job over there if you're white or black.
 
Rui said:
I hated French. I thought that meant I hated languages in general but it turned out I loved German and Latin. So it was just French. I think this may be in part due to us being forced to learn French rather early here from teachers who don't actually speak the language themselves, leading to confusion from the start.

Though I grudgingly admit it has come in useful before, even though I can't remember much except stock phrases.

R

Gaaaah, Latin, bane of my existence...although I will admit that learning it helped my German and French no end. It was jsut he mindless repition of verb/noun tables that go to me. "Sum, es, est, sumus, estis, sunt....zzzzz"

Also knowing Latin makes me annoyed every time I hear anyone say veni vidi vici because they pronounce it with a hard v instead of a soft one, and have the final word sounding like "veechee" rather than "weekee". Gah.
 
MrChom said:
Gaaaah, Latin, bane of my existence...although I will admit that learning it helped my German and French no end. It was jsut he mindless repition of verb/noun tables that go to me. "Sum, es, est, sumus, estis, sunt....zzzzz"

Also knowing Latin makes me annoyed every time I hear anyone say veni vidi vici because they pronounce it with a hard v instead of a soft one, and have the final word sounding like "veechee" rather than "weekee". Gah.

Yes I think the way they teach it could use a little brightening up. I'm not sure the tables actually help anyone at all. Finally getting stuck in and translating things was fun though. As were trips to places that were actually interesting in the name of study.

Most [English-speaking] people on the internet can't even spell/pronounce English correctly as far as I can tell, allowing for typos :(

R
 
xxXXmoomooXXxx said:
Lol, I myself don't watch other types of TV shows, perfere to buy an anime DVD and watch that and read manga at school rather than a "normal" book. Would you say that I'm an otaku?

Not on that alone, but you could be on the road there. What it does make you though for sure is cool, in my esteemed opinion :)

R
 
MrChom said:
Personally I dislike the term, mainly because of the original connotations of it. It's meant as a pejorative, not a strong one, maybe on about the level of nerd. And that's basically what it is. It's all about the shut-in with no social skills, who can only barely function in normal society.
Pretty much my thoughts on the matter. :thumb:
 
Lupus Inu said:
To be a real Otaku you must be more awesome than this guy:
No... In my opinion, that's just wierd. XD Looks like he's trying to become a troll.

Otaku is just a definition of a dedicated fan. I've already explained my viewed range of anime fandom, from the fair-weathered, to the fan, to the otaku.

And otaku are diverse in their own way from it's differences in it's elements. One may have a bigger collection than the next, who may have more imported DVDs than another, who may have an entire museum of collectables. Even in differences in personality, some can be timid outcasts, others are loud-mouth pests, even psychotic.

The word otaku just describes the level of fandom, not a definition in the dictionary of a psychological/behaviour disorder.

I would call myself an otaku (whether I'm looked down upon or it has a bad rep), because I enjoy it so much, and I do spend good money on it. This includes figures and doing my own drawings (even if they aren't professional).
Hell, I'll admit it now, that anime has gotten me through the toughest of times, whereas "friends" haven't given much support for anything, like I'm just something scraped off their foot.

So to be called an otaku would fill me with pride and belonging, much more than meeting the random person who invites you to parties just to add up the numbers...
 
Rui said:
I just call those people "fools" :)
R

Indeed they are lol

I knew a few boys at secondary school who thought that everything Japanese was automatically better than anything to do with the west.

xxXXmoomooXXxx said:
I think it would be harder to get a job over there if you're white or black.

It would be, unless you have certain skills/qulaifications. A few of my japanese friends have said that it is very hard because most places will want to employ Japanese people (especially when it means they could have someone of the same level of qualifications without any language barrier), even in the case of teaching English as a second language, alot of places are getting much more strict on who they want to employ (qualification wise) so you can't just turn up and teach just because you speak English.

One of these friends, her English boyfriend is doing a degree in Japanese Economics, he's guarenteed a job in Japan because her father is going to employ him in the family business. If he tried to get a job otherwise, he'd find it very difficult.

That's not say that some people don't succeed and do very well for themselves lol
 
Rui said:
Why is it people who say "weeaboo" also never know how to use apostrophes for plurals (don't)?...
I don't think I know how to use apostrophes for plurals properly.. :(

Now, seriously, I think that the problem some might have with the stereotype is that the general idea of an Otaku by the japanese it that fat guy at paranoia agent with dolls on his room.... if you seem that, you know what I mean.

I consider myself a hardcore fan, I do many, if not almost all those things people listed in here. I'd call me an Otaku while talking to westerners, but would use this word carefully in the presence of japanese.
 
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