[anrakushi]

my reply would have been earlier but my net stopped working.. anyway:

i think is anime becomes a large part of your life then you can class yourself as an anime otaku.

remember there are many types of otaku, i find the train ones interesting because you'll find them in japan sitting there at the end of platforms waiting for trains to come to photograph them. they have some good equipment for this job too. they take it very very seriously.

kunitokotachi - i agree with you on all fronts coming from my own experiences in Japan seeing how the anime lovers were treated by general japanese. your examples of american tv shows is a little extreme on the young side but i realise you were just making a point. i would compare it more to people getting overly excited over cartoons aimed at school children when they are beyond 18

SSJup81 yes people over 18 do watch anime, a baseball one was reasonably popular while i was there (left japan in august). but remember there is a difference between watching them and getting overly excited over them. think of it like an adult who still likes to sit down and enjoy simpsons, family guy etc... but doesn't get into conversations about the show with friends and think about them a lot.

and yes manga is read by over 18s there are even adult (xxx) ones aimed at the adult age group. again don't think of it in the overly interested category, have deep discussions with friends about it kind of way. you will find people on the train reading manga but i found the majority were reading regular books.