[kamikari]

Here in Europe people who are interested in anime/manga/etc are called otakus and it doesn't seem to be a negative word. But when I went to Japan a while back, it seemed as if otaku is a pretty negative word in Japan, describing someone who is overly obsessed in that kind of stuff. I know the girl otakus are called fujoshis and I can only imagine it has similar connotations.

So I was thinking, how would I call myself (or a friend) in a positive way but still so that it makes the other party to understand that me/they are into anime/manga/computers/technology/etc?

At least in my university circles (be it Japan related or not) "nerdy girl" is taken as a slight compliment by many girls and in any case nerd is a rather neutral word (because more or less everyone in my university are nerds).