Do any of you guys like being called 'otaku'?

[AF SUCKS]

I'm wondering if anyone here doesn't mind that tag, or if you do why does it bother you.

I was at karaoke last night and was singing a few songs in Japanese and picking some for the bartender to sing. This American girl sitting near me asked me how I knew Japanese.......then she asked me if I was "otaku or something". She was an American girl sitting with a few of her friends who were Chinese-American. I was kinda pissed about being called that so I turned my back and ignored her second question.

So if you like it.......say why.

If you don't.......say what it is that bothers you about it.

[Señor Nobody]

It's just what I am. I don't like it or dislike it. Why should it bother me, so what if I like anime? I like what I like.

[daft]

Wouldn't bother me.. I'm just not a commited enough fan to be considered otaku, I think (manga, collectables, figurines, cosplaying, obsessive indulgement, ect... just isn't for me). I'm simply in it for the anime. ^^''

[Gjallarhorn]

No, I don't like being called an "otaku". There's a huge difference in the way that Americans use it, and the way the Japanese use it.

[Seta Souji]

I haven't been called that yet, but I'm a pretty arrogant guy so when ppl insult me i never get offended, cuz im awesome. I WOULD get upset if ppl i'm very close with tell me i'm stupid or weird for liking a particular anime/manga/movie.

but back to the subject, I don't like or dislike being called that. I just don't care.

I was at karaoke last night and was singing a few songs in Japanese and picking some for the bartender to sing.

Dude, thats a tight karaoke bar if your bartender sings with u. I've only gone to korean ones and they're very nonsocial.

[AF SUCKS]

No, I don't like being called an "otaku". There's a huge difference in the way that Americans use it, and the way the Japanese use it.

Exactly.

And I've been called it as a joke by some Japanese friends over my little obsession with Hamasaki Ayumi. All in fun, but there's a darker meaning behind that word that I know seeths with a little hatred.

The other post that mentions over indulgane and cosplay, yeah, if a Japanese person is going to call you one it's not a good thing.

But having this American girl say this to me really irked me. Still does sort of. Don't know why.

Dude, thats a tight karaoke bar if your bartender sings with u. I've only gone to korean ones and they're very nonsocial.

Me and Reina chan go back a while.

[Miss Moonlight]

I could care less either way, because I don't really fit the term.

I think it would annoy me slightly when it's used in the wrong way (someone who simply likes japanese things isn't necessarily an "otaku"), but that's pretty much it.

[Doom85]

I wouldn't be offended. The "English" version of otaku doesn't necessarily imply a lack of social life and other negatives that the Japanese version generally assumes. Now, if someone was clearly trying to be insulting by using the Japanese version, that's another story, but me and my friends who are into anime refer to ourselves as otakus (and considering our anime DVD/manga/figure collections, we're definitely qualified), and we're not offended by it. It's just the anime/manga version of "geek" as far as we're concerned.

[Legend of the Twilight]

I don't really care. I've never been called that before. I've been called nerd for liking anime before, but never otaku. I don't think I'd even really think about it if someone did though.

[AF SUCKS]

I wouldn't be offended. The "English" version of otaku doesn't necessarily imply a lack of social life.

The thing is it's a Japanese word, there is no "english meaning". That's an implied meaning.

[Nazo_Otaku]

Well, I know there are different levels of otaku, so I don't really mind being otakubara. lol

[SeraphimAriaRhapsody]

I'm wondering if anyone here doesn't mind that tag, or if you do why does it bother you.

I was at karaoke last night and was singing a few songs in Japanese and picking some for the bartender to sing. This American girl sitting near me asked me how I knew Japanese.......then she asked me if I was "otaku or something". She was an American girl sitting with a few of her friends who were Chinese-American. I was kinda pissed about being called that so I turned my back and ignored her second question.

So if you like it.......say why.

If you don't.......say what it is that bothers you about it.

I can't since I don't tend to show or talk about it with others in real life.

If anyone were to call me an otaku, I would just brush it off.

And what was the other question in relation with this offensive word Hibiki?

[mstrmnd48]

i have never been called an otaku. but i feel like one and don't mind if i'm called one.

[kero_-_chan]

im a proud nerd........so how could i not be a proud otaku, ive got collectibles, tonnes of dvd box sets, posters, plushies and im 20...and male......i AM otaku, so why would i be offended by being called what i am.

i guess im different to OP but the question still applies, im proud of being a socially awkward anime/manga geek

[Doom85]

The thing is it's a Japanese word, there is no "english meaning". That's an implied meaning.

Nevertheless, that's what it is used at here in the US and probably other countries like the UK as well. Pissed is an English word, but it means two totally different things in the US (angry) and in the UK (drunk). Neither one is "more correct", but if you're in one of those respective countries, it's reasonable to say you should use its local "meaning".

Anime's definition is used "incorrectly" as well in America, but it's nothing to get upset about, heck the two anime fans I know who are Asian (one's Japanese, the other is Korean IIRC, I haven't seen her in a while) use "anime/otaku" in the manner used in the US. Unless the person genuinely meant to offend, I wouldn't be upset being asked if I am an otaku. The reason you should be upset is because the person seemed to be using the stereotype that knowing Japanese automatically makes you an otaku, that is something to be offended by. However one should not feel like "otaku" itself has to be a negative label. You might even offend those of us who do call themselves "otakus" with such an attitude (not me though, I'm very hard to offend, so we're cool).

[Forgotten Show]

I've never heard of the word before. Guess that means I don't have much of an opinion about it.


Bad Memory

[Wio]

But having this American girl say this to me really irked me. Still does sort of. Don't know why.

My first gut diagnosis is that you hate American girls. It's really easy to get annoyed by the thing you hate. Maybe you can figure it a better reason yourself.

Also, any word that America imports into their style of English is not subject to its original meaning. "Otaku" isn't any different. That's why you get words like "otakus", part of the "otaku" paradigm, which couldn't exist in Japanese in the first place. It's not a hole lot different for English words imported into the Japanese language either though.

[Miss Moonlight]

My first gut diagnosis is that you hate American girls. It's really easy to get annoyed by the thing you hate. Maybe you can figure it a better reason yourself.

Also, any word that America imports into their style of English is not subject to its original meaning. "Otaku" isn't any different. That's why you get words like "otakus", part of the "otaku" paradigm, which couldn't exist in Japanese in the first place. It's not a hole lot different for English words imported into the Japanese language either though.

You should really refrain from "diagnosing" people you don't know anything about.

[Rem Nightfall]

I don't really know what Otaku is in the sense that the English spun what it means. If I knew the real term then I could see whether I would want to be labeled an otaku or not.

[AzureDark]

I personally dislike being called one. I believe I'm a lot more decent than what the common definition usually says about the term (or at least what I know it means...) - and so do most of the people who are being called as such, by the way.

Of course, like all obscure terms different people use different definitions. Some may even think the term is a positive one so, I can't fault people for using it the way they do.

[Baka Tenshi]

I don't think I have ever been called one though I constantly read manga at work and I talk about anime and manga all the time. I wear anime tshirts and such. It would not bug me. =3

[Shinigami_55]

i dnt mind that people call me an otaku,because i really dont care what those people care, and here in europe,many people accept the term otaku like a way of life,like recieving a medal for it,
So it would not bored me!

[Miku214]

I don't mind really, as long as it's in a casual and fun way. If it's said in a way that's supposed to be offensive, like nerd or geek then yes, but in America, otaku usually just means someone who likes anime.

[AF SUCKS]

My first gut diagnosis is that you hate American girls. It's really easy to get annoyed by the thing you hate.

Are you a doctor?

I don't hate American girls, I was taken off guard becuase this is something I wouldn't expect one to say.

[AF SUCKS]

im a proud nerd........so how could i not be a proud otaku, ive got collectibles, tonnes of dvd box sets, posters, plushies and im 20...and male......i AM otaku, so why would i be offended by being called what i am.

i guess im different to OP but the question still applies, im proud of being a socially awkward anime/manga geek

See, my friend Naoko would think you were "kowai"............scary.

She used guys like you as her example of what an otaku is to her.