Otaku

[ramchop]

Otaku is the Japanese word for 'nerd' or 'geek' and for the most part around here it's a good thing so don't sweat it.

Haven't had a poll for a while, and it's a slow day.

[devicenull]

just had the coolest discussion with the TA for first year japanese... she didnt seem to realize how many otaku there were in her class or why they were even bothering to take the class.... i didnt feel like pissing her off (seeing as she is cute and helps me with many grammar and vocab questions).. so i left her in her uninformed state. our classes here go something like this in terms of attendence:
1st year: 4 sections, 20 students each
2nd year: 2 sections, 10 students each
3rd year: 1 section, about 6 students total.

it's a great weeding out process that gets rid of the non-serious students, and the funny thing is that it isnt all the difficult :P

[Big Booger]

Back in the states, my god, I took Japanese and was surrounded by the Cosplay posse.. They came to class sometimes in character.. I was totally freaked out with that shit...

Some of them didn't even listen to the lessons, they drew anime and crap like that..

And the worse part was when they'd speak, they would use Anime voices....

By the 3rd year, I was the only student in the class. It was like having a private tutor.

Sucked for the teacher though when I would skip, she'd be there alone.

[yellowlightman]

Back in the states, my god, I took Japanese and was surrounded by the Cosplay posse.. They came to class sometimes in character.. I was totally freaked out with that shit...
Some of them didn't even listen to the lessons, they drew anime and crap like that..
And the worse part was when they'd speak, they would use Anime voices....
By the 3rd year, I was the only student in the class. It was like having a private tutor.
Sucked for the teacher though when I would skip, she'd be there alone.

My class this year had a guy who wore a reproduction of a pendant worn by the main character in Final Fantasy 8.

I think with the word otaku, you get different meanings on either side of the Pacific. In anime circles here in the States it's not a bad word, and used often with pride. I get the feeling that it tends to have a different (more negative) meaning in Japan.

[GargoyleTS]

Ok, I will admit it: In an intro to japanese class I took, I used Anime voices. But only the Evil Authority Figure/Hero-Cops' Boss voices! None of that whiny shojo-hero BS. (I think that's it. The fan-service junk for girls stuff) I had to do something, cause the class was ass-boring! We read a sentence, then every-one around the table repeats in turn. We take turns reading the scripts in the book in pairs to the class. I swear our teacher learned some of this at an eikaiwa, cause the first night we got homework to do, but nothing after that. Of course, what could we really expect to learn 1 night, 3 hours a week for 8 weeks? So yes, I had some fun with it and the teacher seemed to enjoy it as it did keep the class interested and wasn't too outlandish. (though doing them as Ranma-chan during smoke-breaks had people dying!)

[Big Booger]

Ok, I will admit it: In an intro to japanese class I took, I used Anime voices. But only the Evil Authority Figure/Hero-Cops' Boss voices! None of that whiny shojo-hero BS. (I think that's it. The fan-service junk for girls stuff) I had to do something, cause the class was ass-boring! We read a sentence, then every-one around the table repeats in turn. We take turns reading the scripts in the book in pairs to the class. I swear our teacher learned some of this at an eikaiwa, cause the first night we got homework to do, but nothing after that. Of course, what could we really expect to learn 1 night, 3 hours a week for 8 weeks? So yes, I had some fun with it and the teacher seemed to enjoy it as it did keep the class interested and wasn't too outlandish. (though doing them as Ranma-chan during smoke-breaks had people dying!)

yeah, but you were doing it as a joke.. these kids were for real LOL

Nuts oh.... totally.. I think they were fucked at birth or something.. maybe their mom pushed to hard and they bumped their head on the pelvic bone LOL

We did 5 days a week, 50 minutes everyday. And met sometimes on Saturdays and Sundays for events. Imagine sitting in a class full of Otaku, and they all are doing their damndest to impersonate Sailor Moon.... or Cloud from Final Fantasy..

[kotatsuneko]

how bout doesnt bother me )im an ex otaki) ? ^^

anyway the western use and definition of the word used in the way the poll suggests (as in obsessive fan of things japanese) and the use of the word in japan (an obsessive fan of one subject, show or actor) were different up until the miyazki incident, when the term came to be associated with anime/manga freaks, specially those into sex/horror series )in the media and general public at least) so i suppose it depends on the generation the individual is from and their familiarality of the term..

tv/linguistics otaku? well that wouldnt bother me too much.. ^^

[Caustic Saint]

The Miyazaki incident was the first time I ever heard the word. It was in an article in the first issue of Wired back in '93.

That's where I developed my definition of the word from - "overly obsessive freak who hyper-focuses on one thing." Given that, I find guys in the US who say "I'm an anime otaku" to be kind of creepy. Most people who are hardcore anime fans (not the fans of hardcore anime - that's different) will describe themselves as "hardcore." The self-applied otaku label is for the guys trying to feel more-Japanese-than-thou.

Maddox described them best in this rant Wearing a Japanese shirt doesn't make you Japanese:

Everyone knows someone like this. They refer to themselves as "otaku" and they embrace everything Japanese, not necessarily because it's something unique or interesting, but because it's Japanese. They wear clothing with Japanese or Chinese characters on it that translate to English phrases like "good will" or "long life." They wouldn't be able to get away with wearing a shirt that said "long life" in English because it would just look stupid, but as soon as it's translated into kanji it suddenly becomes cool and mysterious? Please. Since they'll sooner die than admit that their fascination with everything Japanese is a sham, you'll occasionally sense how uneasy they become when confronted with something Japanese that's so lame and obviously for little girls that they almost start to back off from the mountain of stupid they've climbed up on. Almost.

[Andocrates]

I can say "baka yaroo" just like an anime villian.

[GargoyleTS]

I never even heard of the Miyazaki incident until you posted that Caustic! I saw the fan-made Otaku! movie when I was like 15 (back in the late 80's) and that's where I got my idea of what it was like. And I still didn't think of my self as one for a long time until I got a revised meaning of the word then realized I was one. (Big robots and mystic martial artists baby!) I think the first anime movie I ever saw was Fist of the North Star. First anime series was stuff like Speed Racer (which was okay) and I remember skipping school for the first time to catch the premier episode of Tranzor-Z (Mazinger Z original Japanese title) when I was in 3rd grade. Ah, memories...

[ramchop]

I must say I'm a bit surprised at the results. How many in Japan voted for option #2?

And here's a question to lower the thread into new depths. All this talk about Japanese teachers, I know of many instances where an English teacher has paired off with a student. Has the reverse ever happened?

[GomiGirl]

I have never understood the anime scene. It reminds me of the trekkies or the old D&D crowd etc. It seems to be mainly guys who have a fascination with cartoon characters with super powers and chicks who are so unreal.. (as in not real)

I have nothing against it - each to their own and all that - but I have never understood it.

I think the salary-man obsession with manga is related to the level of maturity of the guys reading it.. not the age but the maturity level. The interesting people are the ones reading books and not escapism like manga.

[Taro Toporific]

All this talk about Japanese teachers, I know of many instances where an English teacher has paired off with a student. Has the reverse ever happened?

That's the MAIN reason J-females become Japanese teachers to aliens. In 20 years, I haven't met a female Japanese teachers who hasn't done "that", even the lesbians.

[GargoyleTS]

Well, my teacher was certainly cute enough, but her husband (american) would probly have had a problem with it.

To GG: Of course it has to do with maturity level, as well as a difference in the sexes. Men are visual, women are mental (you know what I mean!). We wanna see it, you wanna feel it (experience it). I read novels. Action, adventure, sci-fi, fantasy, historical etc. I love reading! I love anime too! The vivid exaggerated artwork, the usually fast-paced animation, and a vision of the possibilities of warfare in the future. What male child didn't wanna be a hero when he grew up? We still hold that dream as adults. For some it makes us bitter, for others it rears its head at the right moment and allows us to go beyond ourselves to acheive something wonderful. And until that time comes, I dream...



...and get to see hooters do gravity-defying things!

[Kanchou]

Eh, I can't stand to be called an otaku. Sure I like anime, and I have an interest in Japan, but that's it. I don't want to be compared to real otaku, and I sure don't want to look like one of those "ooh, Japan is so great, I wish I was Japanese" American fans...

I'm almost glad that my school doesn't teach Japanese any more (bastards decided to cut it 3 or 4 years ago, for some reason), because that means I don't have to sit through class surrounded by geeks who just want to understand raw versions of Fushigi Yuugi, or want to create their own subtitles for Sailor Stars... Plus it gives me a nice excuse to go ahead and just go to Japan. heheh.

PS: "Ore no uta o kike!"

har har.

[Andocrates]

[Bedi]

So You Want To Learn Japanese...

[Molokidan]

I hope that "So you want to Learn Japanese" guy is just trying to be sarcastic and funny. . .most of what he said isn't true. Japanese is easy to learn with some dedication and resolve.

[Caustic Saint]

I hope that "So you want to Learn Japanese" guy is just trying to be sarcastic and funny. . .most of what he said isn't true. Japanese is easy to learn with some dedication and resolve.

I guess you didn't make it all the way to the bottom then.

Author's Note: This whole essay, although sprinkled with truisms here and there, is a joke and should be taken like one. I'm actually a Japanese major myself, and even if I've given it a bit of a hard time, I love the Japanese language, and I think everyone should give it a try.

[devicenull]

I hope that "So you want to Learn Japanese" guy is just trying to be sarcastic and funny. . .most of what he said isn't true. Japanese is easy to learn with some dedication and resolve.

shh, dont shatter the illusion that it is an impossible language...the fact that it is easy might cause them to revise it to make it more difficult so they can remain unique if they ever got wind of it

[Andocrates]

What I hate is when you think, "Wow, I'm really starting to get Japanese" and reality comes along and kicks you in the teeth. The more you learn the more it screws up what you already learned.

I think the reason Japanese people are so picky about Japanese "TSU not SU" is that is the way they learned. I wrote someone a note the other day and forgot to add a dash to ka, she sat there for a minute looking uncomfortable and when she couldn't stand it anymore she grabbed my pen and added the hash mark. I laughed out loud.

[kamome]

What I hate is when you think, "Wow, I'm really starting to get Japanese" and reality comes along and kicks you in the teeth. The more you learn the more it screws up what you already learned.

I think the reason Japanese people are so picky about Japanese "TSU not SU" is that is the way they learned. I wrote someone a note the other day and forgot to add a dash to ka, she sat there for a minute looking uncomfortable and when she couldn't stand it anymore she grabbed my pen and added the hash mark. I laughed out loud.

Well, it's no different from getting uncomfortable with looking at poorly written Engrish or hearing 'l' instead of 'r', and having the urge to correct it.

Besides, if you don't add the hash mark after 'ka' it becomes the katakana rendering of the same sound. So to the Japanese eye, omitting that mark is the same as a misspelled word - it's just grating to look at.

[Buraku]

Japan's suicide rate jumps
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1943423,00.html

Japan's Female Dorks! The Actual Ones!!!
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/top/japans-female-dorks-the-actual-ones-182210.php