''Clarification of an Otaku'' I must say that's an interesting thread.
Your description is also very detailed. I give you credit for that! XD
Still, I just wanted to add this text to this thread.
I found this text while searching the web, so basically it's not mine but I do think many people looking in a negative way, towards okatu's. I think it is wrong to describe otaku's as people who are shutting themselfs completely.
It's not like you can't do other things besides watching anime/manga or playing video games [that is, if you are an otaku], because I think the ''otaku'' is a very flexible conception and must not be used to negativly sketch an otaku in one way.
I mean, there are plenty of people claiming to be an otaku, or have become one in a way. You can't become an otaku when you want to, it's just a thing that suddenly happens. There are plenty of otaku's who can simply live their lives without getting psychically ''unstable'' of some sort. They too can make friends, doing their jobs, and take their place in society.
If you want to read the text I just found on the web, then it is listed down below.^^
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The current status of "otaku" and Japan's latest youth crisis
A decade ago, another social phenomenon, the rise of otaku, troubled Japan. Roughly translated, otaku means nerd. It refers to people who shut themselves away, spending their days absorbed in anime, manga and video games. They were considered freakish, and a high-profile crime blamed on otaku triggered considerable hand-wringing, much like the concerns about hikikomori. Yet the nerds are considered normal now, even trendy. "The old way of thinking was that the physical world was the real world." But now we can create two or three or more virtual worlds. Those who stay at home and have no one to talk to in the physical world may be able to connect in a virtual world. We cannot say it is right or wrong. It is one way of living."
It seems that the Japanese public has now become more aware that otaku-ish fanaticism does not necessarily imply antisocial and violent behavior, and that deeper social problems (economic uncertainty, the pressure to fit in, cutthroat academics, bullying, overly busy parents, etc.) are more likely to cause real psychological damage in youth.
In comparison to hikikomori, otaku seem like well-adjusted members of society, if only slightly weird.
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I coloured a tiny bit of the text in blue, because I think people can easily mix up the true meaning between hikikomori and otaku.
Note: ''hikikomori'' and ''otaku'' are two different terms, and do not have the same meaning.
BakaCrisis wrote: For me, otaku generically refers to someone with an almost unhealthy (okay, just plain unhealthy) obsession with the anime culture and subculture, specifically dependent on the adjective in front (like car otaku).
No offence or anything like that, but I do think you are mixing it up with someone being a hikikomori.
Basically,''hikikomori'' means: a Japanese term to refer to the phenomenon of reclusive individuals who have chosen to withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement due to various personal and social factors in their lives.
Personally I think that, what I coloured in blue is true! Otaku's are just a bit weird, nothing more.
Well, let's stop here shall we?(^__^).
Matane!
