42% of Japanese “Otaku”
- Categories: Anime, News
- Date: Apr 29, 2013 06:16 JST
- Tags: Collections, Comparison, Old People, Otaku, Schoolboys, Schoolgirls, Statistics
Otaku are once again pondering statistics showing that of over 130,000 Japanese questioned, some 40% consider themselves “otaku,” with an even higher proportion – 62% – of teenagers saying the same.
When 137,734 Japanese were asked “do you consider yourself an otaku when it comes to a particular area?”, 42.2% answered they thought they were.
Admissions solicited from those who confessed ranged from a love of games or sports to soaps and seiyuu.
The statistics for those reckoning themselves otaku were further broken down by gender – with 45.7% of the admitted otaku being men and 38.1% women (what the remainder were is not specified) – and age:
Teens: 62.0%
Twenties: 55.6%
Thirties: 46.4%
Forties: 44.8%
Fifties: 36.7%
Sixties: 26.9%
Seventies: 23.1%
Eighties: 23.3%
Although “otaku” carries a generally negative if not highly discriminatory nuance and even in Japanese is strongly associated with stereotypical male anime fans or the idol otaku even they despise, it would appear the term still carries enough of its nuance of the earnest hobbyist, ardent fan or well-versed expert for it to be easily admitted to.
Just what proportion of those owning up to being “otaku” would also fit into the definition of “creepy otaku” is far from clear – although it seems extremely unlikely more than a fraction would have owned up to it had it been so worded.
Amongst actual creepy otaku there has been some resistance to so many commoners appropriating their label – the usual complaints being along the lines of “these are just brats posing as otaku” and “their definition of ‘anime otaku’ may just be ‘liking anime’ so it’s no wonder.”
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A *real* otaku has at least 5 dakimakuras.
All others are just posers.
;-)
True outer god otaku hide their power level.
They do not need to rely on stereotypical trope to publicize their apocryphal knowledge.
Daimakuras are a sign of a shallow poser pathetically seeking attention in meaningless ritual.
Only a true otaku can be a leviathan in the depths.
Like your pirated cheap ship
>42%
The Japanese's meaning of life is to embrace the otaku soul.
42% of Japanese people will die a lonely virgin.
Nah. More otaku among Japanese mean that less discrimination towards them, mean higher chance the get to choose as dating material..
So, does this mean that the heavy negative connotations that always came with the word "Otaku" in Japan are finally changing? More people are embracing the word and accepting it the way it is used outside of Japan?
maybe now "Japanese experts" will stop ranting about 'you call yourself an otaku? don't u know an otaku in Japan is a bad thing huh hur hurr why would u call yourself one u idiot hurr'
It's all about the difference in being an otaku or to be called one, dude.
Doesn't Otaku means fan of something? This doesn't mean they'te all fan of anime or manga...
the word meaning in japan is something like "obsess about something", when use it alone, by default it'll mean about anime/manga. Correct me if i'm wrong, i don't speak japanese xD
Actually the word means "you" (or more specifically "your house" but used in the meaning of "you").
In the 90s people who would be considered otaku today used the word when talking to each other instead of more common words like anata or saying the persons name and other time the whole group became known by that word.
While you're not wrong, it only refers to anime/manga/games by default to westerners. You normally don't use the word alone in Japan because whoever you're talking about won't have any idea what you're referring it to - hence all the prefixes that developed over the years, mainly because of the western view of the word.
It means, "Your house," and was used to refer to people who would spend copious amounts of time in their house preferring to do whatever hobby they had instead of going out and socializing. As the term, itself, gained in popularity, it, also, gained the negative connotation it has today, where otaku are viewed as, more or less, socially inept, awkward, and, more often than not, perverts, especially otaku of the male persuasion.
You do prove a point. JAPANESE ARE STUPID SHIT PEOPLE!
Usually one's race is always determined by a IQ and Japan just proves how much of it is low. By making PEDO shit and all.
Normally one race SHOULD BE SMART ENOUGH not to insult other ones but since JAPAN IS STUPID due to it being OTAKU than this shows how much a dumb race they need to be genocided for.
Conclusion? Japan should GTFO from the anime into a reality.
wtf is that nazi crap about determining races ?!
i saw it in a documentation about the adolf hitler and the ss nazi regime.
some parts of the video included: how does the perfect arian (male) look like? and they made a "design" including: proportions, BONESTRUCTURE and stuff like that... of course the yellow hair with the blue eyes has been mentioned with pride...
and so on....
maybe inspired by hetalia too?
cant remember it clearly anymore.. but the chara was refering to his homeland as us...
"do you want to defy us? (while there was noone there except the talker and listener)
The biggest irony is that Hitler himself looked closer to a Jew than a "perfect" specimen with blond hair and blue eyes.
7:11 WTF did Japan ever do to you ya little shit Just because it's the internet doesn't give you the right to piss people off. GTFO of sankakucomplek stop trolling B4 i digital slap your ass!
Well, wasn't Hitler part Jew anyway?
What is this ad-hominem bullshit.
Who the fuck is upvoting this racist idiot?
I find it funny that people on this site get all up and arms over racism towards the Japanese. But if it's Japanese towards anyone else, it's not a big deal.
thinking about it... if the racism thing is not here.. what would "fans" from other countries do?
racism happens everywhere...
but in anime everyone can laugh about it which is not happening in rl.
You think it's just with the racism? Things are messed up all over sankaku... almost every thread is full of hypocrisy and bigotry.
Have you degraded a Korean lately?
Race is determined by genetics, although the term has been used differently in the past. IQ certainly has nothing to do with it.
By the way, I consider myself Human. What are you?
The fuck anon 7:11
Japanese are actually in the top 3 amongst the nations with highest IQ.
IQ is not an accurate measure if intelligence. The positive relationship between IQ and education is not accidental.
Conclusion? You should GTFO Sankaku Complex, and leave anime fans alone.
on that note, I find the term "creepy otaku" (kimo-ota) rather amusing. It sounds like such a negative term, but if you pay attention to the spoken dialog in OreImo, you'll notice Kirino refer to herself as one with absolutely no qualms.
actually those japanese 'otaku' are just confusing otaku for maniac, which is what happens when you poll casuals.
"Admissions solicited from those who confessed ranged from a love of games or sports to soaps and seiyuu."
liking sports and soaps makes you an otaku now?
does japan have girls that hold up a copy of final fantasy and say "omg i'm such an otaku"
it looks like you have no idea what the word "otaku" stands for.
Actually no. While technically "otaku" means fan, it's not as broad. Hobby must be either rare or considered wierd.
Even in US, though there's more and more people open about their, "wierd" hobbies, most "freaks" and "geeks" still prefer to keep their hobbies in closet to protect their so called "public image".
I guess it's a lot stronger in JP, with their "the nail that sticks out should be hammered down" mindset
wait, WHAT????????????????????????? SHE HAS GREEN EYES????????????????????????????
Just define "otaku" broad enough, and everyone becomes one!
It's like when "normal" people in the US call themselves nerds. "Lol, playing COD. I'm such a nerd."
So just people who watch the Big Bang Theory or the Japanese equivalent. Nothing to see here.
It seems pretty obvious that the term 'otaku' has softened up in Japan, to become much the same as it is in the west- a fan or aficionado of a pop culture.
After all, 30 years ago being a 'Trekkie' was a horrible, embarrassing thing wasn't it? And today being a Star Trek or Star Wars fan is perfectly mainstream. Likewise it seems the Japanese 'otaku' is no longer the crazy OCD of Otaku no Video, 30 years past.
So it's same as "geek" here?
Besides I think it's just matter of exposure. It's easy to be called "wierdo" when people know next to nothing about your hobby. If they have point of reference (say yet another superhero movie based on DC or Marvell comuc book), they find it less alien.
Me, I was always intrested in armor warfare, people were all like "you like tanks? Like RC ones?". Now suddenly it's "legitimate" hobby, since lots of people play World of Tanks, so yeah, tanks are cool.
Japan is doing quite well for a nation with 42% of its population as socially inept hermits.
Yeah, I heard their birthrates or average citizen age for example are exceptionally good. That definitevely has something to do with over% of the population being socially inept hermits...
here's one for you. fuck what other people think, do your own thing and be happy...
Preach it bro, I embraced the otaku within me and don't give flying fucks what other people think
In a society that demands conformity in all things and above all else?
Yeah...good luck with that.
"Do your own thing" ...as long as it's also my thing. If you're a Brony or furry or anything like that, then that mantra is quickly forgotten.
Like wise!
japan is doomed, only 8% of potent males.
i don't even consider myself an otaku and im watching like 8 shows this season.
You have watching anime obsession. In other word, you are anime otaku. Believe it.