The Truth Behind Otakus (Modern Japan Final Project) by Adam Deschatelets https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory One of the many youth sub-cultures in Japan en-us 2022-01-18 18:16:48 UTC 2024-11-27 18:46:43 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f47e.png adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998764572 Read everything below ideally from the left side to the right side]]> 2022-01-18 19:00:04 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998764572 adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998954733 Otaku is a term used to describe someone (in Japan) who takes a hobby to an almost obsessive level, usually targeting manga, anime and to a lesser extent, video games.]]> 2022-01-18 20:33:36 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998954733 adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998961210 They are generally styled as "geeks" or "nerds" but to much more of an 'extreme' as compared to how we call people "nerds" and "geeks".]]> 2022-01-18 20:37:12 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998961210 adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998967197 The term otaku first appeared in an essay titled, "Otaku Research" or "The City of Otakus" (Otaku no kenkyuu), that was written in 1983 by editor Akio Nakamori in the magazine Manga Burikko. This magazine published various forms of manga -- action, slice of life, and pornographic. This magazine ran for about 3 years before getting shut down.

From the start, what seemed to characterize otaku, beyond their apparent social ineptitude and isolation, was the need to amass huge amounts of trivial information on obscure, narrow and often juvenile subjects from animated television series to pop music idols to manga to toys.]]> 2022-01-18 20:40:58 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998967197 adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998969427 2022-01-18 20:42:28 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998969427 Akio Nakomori's statement in the essay, painting a picture for what, in his eyes, was an otaku adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998975693 “How can I put this? They’re like those kids — every class has one — who never got enough exercise, who spent recess holed up in the classroom, lurking in the shadows obsessing over a shogi [Japanese chess] board or whatever. That’s them. Rumpled long hair parted on one side, or a classic kiddie bowl-cut look. Smartly clad in shirts and slacks their mothers bought off the ‘all ¥980/1980’ rack at Ito Yokado or Seiyu [discount retailers], their feet shod in knock-offs of the ‘R’-branded Regal sneakers that were popular several seasons ago, their shoulder bags bulging and sagging — you know them.”]]> 2022-01-18 20:46:22 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998975693 Akio Nakomori expanding his description to other 'social outcasts' in Japan such as trainspotters, sci-fi fanatics, and those who idolise pop stars adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998978713 “These people are normally called ‘maniacs’ or ‘fanatics,’ or at best ‘nekura-zoku’ (‘the gloomy tribe’), but none of these terms really hit the mark. For whatever reason, it seems like a single umbrella term that covers these people, or the general phenomenon, hasn’t been formally established. So we’ve decided to designate them as the ‘otaku’, and that’s what we’ll be calling them from now on.”]]> 2022-01-18 20:48:15 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998978713 Link to translated essay if you would like to read more into it adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998983258 2022-01-18 20:50:47 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998983258 HOWEVER adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998989491 The term otaku was not originally invented to have the same connotations that it has been given now.

It was originally used in mangas as an honorific second-person pronoun, essentially a more polite way to say "you". When Nakomori chose the term, it was already being used by manga and anime enjoyers to refer to each other on daily basis (a form of respect, one may say).]]> 2022-01-18 20:55:00 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998989491 adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998998500 2022-01-18 21:01:08 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1998998500 *READER DISCRETION ADVISED* Talks about serial killing adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999007365 The negative reputation of otaku really stems from a serial killer, named the "Otaku Murderer" (real name is Tsutomu Miyazaki) who was apprehended for the killings of multiple young girls.

Miyazaki was previously already a social outcast, being born with deformed hands and therefore being ostracized by his parents and peers. A quick search and look at his room would reveal that he had a rather large stockhold of anime, manga, horror films (mostly slashers), and pornography (all of which was later used in court as an explanation for his divergent behavior).

Since 1990, when his actions came to light, the term otaku had become the main word used to describe negative aspects of society: weirdness, social ineptitude, perversion, and detachment from reality.]]> 2022-01-18 21:07:14 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999007365 adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999009115 2022-01-18 21:08:30 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999009115 FASTFOWARD TO RECENT TIMES adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999017138 The word now has quite a different meaning behind it since the West started getting more into anime, manga, and video games. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Japanese pop culture became a worldwide phenomenon, with very prominent examples such as: Nintendo, with Super Mario Bros., Hello Kitty, Power Rangers, Transformers, and lastly, but certainly not least of the bunch, Pokemon.]]> 2022-01-18 21:14:18 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999017138 adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999020979 While Western audiences were blissfully unaware of the negative implications of otaku-dom, the stigma clung to the term with greater tenacity in Japan. Beginning with The Book of Otaku, a compilation of 19 articles by otaku insiders printed in the 104th edition of Bessatsu Takarajima magazine, released in 1989, the otaku community made constant attempts to reclaim their name.]]> 2022-01-18 21:17:00 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999020979 adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999068977 2022-01-18 21:52:48 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999068977 adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999069771 2022-01-18 21:53:29 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999069771 adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999075231 2022-01-18 21:57:54 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999075231 Sources adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999551679
Ellis, Theo J. “Differences between an Anime Enthusiast, Otaku and a Weeb.” Anime Motivation, Anime Motivation, 21 May 2020, https://animemotivation.com/otaku-vs-weeb/.

Theartist, et al. “Otaku Subculture History.” David Charles Fox, 7 July 2021, https://davidcharlesfox.com/otaku-subculture-history/.

Eng, Lawrence. “The Origins of Otaku.” The Origins of "Otaku", 11 Apr. 2003, https://www.cjas.org/~leng/otaku-origin.htm.

Luecke, Andrew. “The Secret Origins of the Otaku.” Google, Google, Mar. 2018, https://dotandline.net/otaku-subculture-cool-andrew-luecke-excerpt-7ab89952a425/.

ALT, Matthew. “" What Kind of Otaku Are You?:: Néojaponisme " Blog Archive.” Nojaponisme RSS, 2 Apr. 2008, http://neojaponisme.com/2008/04/02/what-kind-of-otaku-are-you/.

Cloutman, Violet. “An Introduction to Otaku: Japan's Counterculture Heroes.” InsideJapan Blog, 10 June 2016, https://www.insidejapantours.com/blog/2016/06/10/otaku-japans-counterculture-heroes/. ]]> 2022-01-19 04:56:23 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999551679 MY OPINION adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999563489 In current Japan, there is a pretty big birthing rate problem because of the sheer amount of individuals who are considered otakus, therefore impeding on social relationships with others. I believe, that after reading quite a few articles on the matter, otakus, or at least the term, had been very 'demonized' or just has really bad connotations, more than it deserves.  I think that people like this, albeit at an acceptable level, can really help and be apart of communities or societies, contrary to popular belief. A lot of the Japanese people's beliefs or thoughts about Otaku are usually based in what they see in the news, etc. such as the serial killing and the perpetrator happening to be an Otaku himself. I think that since there are so many of them, calling them 'sick' or 'twisted' loses most, if not all, meaning since there are simply that many of them in Japan.]]> 2022-01-19 05:06:41 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/1999563489 What happens to otakus as they grow up? adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/2000492555 In recent years, the first real otaku generation is now between the ages of 40-50 and play has turned into work for them. The feeling that they could play or read manga, or whatever it may be, forever went away. However, even though people were very detached from society then, they still have plenty of opportunities for jobs and the like in modern Japan. Technology and computer systems companies welcome otakus with open arms because of their usually inherent knowledge or expertise in technology and allowing otakus to find a job as they wouldn't find one otherwise. This provided a way back into the real world and had a new economic influence, further boosting Japan's already meritable technology economy.]]> 2022-01-19 14:14:41 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/2000492555 Conventions adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/2000514586 Despite the convenience of email and/or anime/manga fan sites that have forums, comic conventions attract a massive amount of people, with 2003's Comic Market (Comiket for short) convention at Tokyo Big Site having some 440,000 attendants per day. Since these gatherings are so popular, they tend to almost 'dwarf' political events that may be happening around the same time. An example would be the anti-Iraq protests in Tokyo that were very big around then, but only had tens of thousands of participants, while otaku gatherings can harbor up to half a million participants.]]> 2022-01-19 14:22:33 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/2000514586 Otaku Breakthroughs adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/2000529913 Otakus, with their inherent knowledge of relatively niche topics, can go on to make amazing works of art for said topics. An example would be the director of the anime Ghost in the Shell, Mamoru Oshii who is a self-confirmed otaku, as well as writer Takashi Murakami.

“Otaku are highly critical and able to discover and judge cutting-edge pop culture,” says Ichiya Nakamura, executive director at Stanford Japan Center-Research and ex-government policy maker at the Ministry of Telecommunications.

“As amateur producers, they also play a role as a breeding ground for future professional creators. People have started to realize otaku’s positive worth as leaders of pop culture.”

However, the line between mainstream culture and otaku culture is fading and there is little Japanese pop culture that isn't affected by otaku culture itself.
]]> 2022-01-19 14:27:52 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/2000529913 adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/2000542808 2022-01-19 14:32:12 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/2000542808 adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/2000545478 2022-01-19 14:33:06 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/2000545478 Declining Birth Rates in Japan adeschatelets20221_1 https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/2000617646 In 2022, the birth number in Japan dropped down to 840,832, which is around 2.5% down from 2019, and the lowest it has ever been ever since the record started in 1899. The number of registered marriages also dropped around 12.5% from 2019 to 525,490, which is a post-war record for Japan. At the moment, Japan is considered "super-aged", as 20% of their population is over the age of 65. The country's total population stood at 124 million in 2018, but by 2065 it is expected to have dropped to about 88 million.

Otakus have a part in this as many men are dedicating their time and life to the isolationist lifestyle that being an otaku entails. This, therefore reduces their time with women, or even just meeting them, and inherently women will be less attracted to these people, and thus, neither side really wants to be around the other.]]> 2022-01-19 14:57:35 UTC https://padlet.com/adeschatelets20221_1/otakuhistory/wish/2000617646