Hostility towards the Otaku Community

[Lady Lulu]

I find it hard to believe why anyone would hate otaku, yet to my sad realization there are a lot who seemingly do. I remember putting up flyers for the Anime Club back when it was first starting, and so many were ripped down. We kept replacing them, though, heheh. And I know a few people who've openly attacked my otaku pride in a harsh way. I just can't imagine WHY people would hate us! It's not like we're bashing them over the head and telling them to watch Anime. And if we make a club for it or hold occasions where we can all bond, why do some people try to depricate us? It's something that bothers me a lot and I don't get bothered much, mind you. It's just really unfair.

There's even some degree of prejudice sometimes. There's always been some dispute between the "classes" of people at schools. The otaku comunity is made up of a diverse people, so we've even been coined with a lable ourselves. Lol, I've heard us called the "Animites" they could've been a little bit more creative, ne? But I notice too that people tend to avoid you a lot if they see you're an otaku. Either that or they call you obsessed just because you write "I Am Anime" or something on your bookbag and your binders feature anime pictures. I don't call them obsessed when they paste their teen idols all over the place (cringes). We get a lot of bashing and it can be rough, that it can. But we also need to know that we are not "freaks" of any kind. We are merely anime enthusists, people who like anime. We have the right to like it and nobody else should use that proud Otaku Spirit against us.

[Natalie]

My roommate once told me that the people in the anime club at her high school seemed to think they were better than everyone else. It was just the vibes they sent off to everyone. My roommate herself is not an otaku, but her brothers (who she actually likes) are very into video games and anime, so I know she is not just saying that because she thinks we are freaks or something. She is very tolerant of all my plushies and posters and forigen music ^^ Perhaps the problem is that some people have given your group a general negative stereotype based on one negative encounter they had with some otaku, or someone just ticked off the wrong "popular" person and got you all a bad name. Or maybe it really is that high school kids are so immature sometimes that they simply fill their time by ostracizing their peers. ::Sighs dejectedly:: At any rate, I never had a problem with Otaku hate, except for the fact that someone came into my dorm room one day and drew facial hair on my Yuna and Rikku posters >.<

[The Jay]

As long as there are groups that deviat from the norm there are going to be people that find a reason to dislike them

I've never suffered Otaku hate, but most of my friends have either really into videogames or anime, I just took it to the next level recently going to the cons and (eventually) dressing up. Heck, now I'm doing a film about it.

Maybe the fact that I live in a city that's fairly diverse is another part of it too, I'm not sure. I still have run into people that would rather make criticise of me, but I usually just blow it off.

[Lady Lulu]

Blowing it off is usually the best way to go. Although sometimes it hurts after a while of bashing. Especially when the animosity comes from a fellow otaku.

[ShikamaCHU]

I never did see why people have to be so mean. It's like they think we have an "Otaku disease"  or something. I think they just WISH they had interest in something. I mean, These people are just bored...they have no hobbies or no plan for the future. The ones with hobbies and stff to do tend to leave us alone right? It's totally the insecure ones that make fun of us. The ones that really have nothing better to do.  Seriously dude, they think spending $400 bucks on a pair or ugly shoes is like, hip. That's more than a Snowboard. No one needs shoes like that in high school. They should give the money to me...I need a Snowboard... Anyway, how is collecting 50 cell phones cool? I dunno, I'll have to ask the 'popular'  bored PPLZ, who feel the need to have that many phones at once. Dude...one or two is all 'ya need. Unless you're making 50 calls at once...and...they're...NOT.

I figure that these people just WISH they were as cool as us. We're Shway man, The amount of cellphone-itude we use...won't give us brain problems, and the ring tones aren't a show of macho power (uh...it's a RING TONE people...not a muscle) for us....our shoes fit...aren't more expensive than our lives on the black market,  AND we make up better disses....just not while these people are actually picking on us. We think them up in our spare time.
But, at least we THINK in our spare time.
HA!
So that it. We may not have much of a life..but it's still a life. We're all pretty well off...considering the alternative. Scary.

[Lady Lulu]

DANG STRAIGHT!! XD

[Dhsu]

I'm just going to come out and say (at the risk of being unpopular) that being otaku, in my opinion, is NOT a good thing.  At least not in its original connotation.  A keychain or sticker or two to let everyone know you're a fan is great and everything, but putting I AM ANIME and I AM FINAL FANTASY on your bookbags and binders?  Sorry, NOT cool.  More often than not, otakus just end up being elitist and annoying.  "You watch DUBS?  EWWWW, HEATHEN, NOT WORTHY."  "Pokemon?  That's not TRUE anime!"  They think they know everything, and pretend that they can understand Japanese.  "Oh, that's so KAWAII!!!!"  "Shut up, you BAKA." Gimme a break.  I also know of a disappointing majority that want to go to/live in Japan and wish they were Japanese for no other reason than anime and video games.  And schoolgirls.  Because they think they're all hot.  Yeah, right.

Fans are one thing.  Fanboys are an entirely different (and very dangerous) animal.

[Maester Seymour]

An otaku is someone who is very dedicated to a particular thing, used mostly with anime. Being an anime otaku is NOT a bad thing. You know what, I write I am Anime I am Final Fantasy on my bags. Because I actually have ways to let people know what I am all about, doesnt make me "not cool". And you know what, "cool" people can cram it. I am what I make myself out to be, and I don't need the approval of a "cool person". I'm not one of the people who hate dubs, I think both are fine I don't have a preference.  You know,  I'm not going to lie here, but I go both ways on things like pokemon. It's clearly directed at kids and thus I call it kiddie anime. I really dont like it because im not a kid. If I know people who like it, the more to them. I'm not going to say its not true anime because its anime. It may not be geared toward me but it is for some.  It is true however that many otaku are...a little cocky. Myself included. I don't deny it.  And you know what, I do want to visit Japan one day, im sorry if it bothers you that I'd like to one day visit a country with culture that I'm interested in.  We are all otaku. Because you've had a brush with some different ones, doesnt make us all like that.  BTW, I dont wish I was Japanese. I'm proud of being an otaku, and if you can postively search out others like you, you'll have a bond that goes deep. It's a medium that can last a lifetime. ~~John

[Dhsu]

Before you go around calling yourself an otaku, just realize that the original Japanese term is NOT referring to someone who likes anime or video games a lot.  It's used to describe someone who is ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED and has NO LIFE outside of their little fantasy world.  If that really describes you, then...well, I have nothing else to say.  That's the reason I'm really glad Mike and Natalie decided to name the site FanPlay instead of OtakuPlay, because "fan" reflects the people here a lot more accurately than the term "otaku" does.

Anyway...I still think saying "I am anime" or "I am Final Fantasy" makes no sense whatsoever.  Having action figures and posters and stuff and pencils and notebooks and stuff is cool, but saying you're the human incarnation of a Japanese animation or RPG is just going a LITTLE too far, wouldn't you say?  Consider going for a traditional official T-shirt or hoodie instead.  It's a much less arrogant way of displaying your "otaku pride."

[ShikamaCHU]

Woah...it's getting scary...We're all friends here....

I hate to admit it...but you're not completely wrong.
Originally the term 'Otaku' was something disgraceful. Not a happy meaning. But...This term was warped when it came to America.
We Americans...We like to change things....Like words. Words that used to mean something, no longer mean whatever that something was. Like...the term 'Bloody' in Brittan can be a curse-like word...but here it means...bloody...as in blood...Duh.

As I said before. We like to change things. Turning practiclly everything into something else...pizza,cars...Whatever it meant over there....may not be as powerfull over here. In our North American little minds, 'Otaku' Just means 'Huge dedicated Fan of Much Knowlage-ness' it no longer means 'Stinky-butt scary worthless smart-ass crazed lonely freakoid'.
Mmmmm...discriptive...

Just think of it as having TWO meanings. The American 'Big Fan' Meaning...Or the Orginal looked-down upon meaning. That way, you can feel really great that you know the true meaning of the word...even if it means absolutely nothing in the western hemisphere.

About the 'Living in Japan thing' It's kinda like visiting ANYPLACE. My friend wnt to Ireland 'cause she thought I'd be cool. Another of my friends goes to China to sightsee and to shop. (I hear the shopping's great there) I wanna go to Japan...Because I love Sushi. My love of sushi started when I was seven. Three years after religiously watching 'Speedracer', Gigantor, Samurai Pizza cats, KDS, and Totoro. Before I even knew the TERM Anime, I had decided to go there and have all the sushi in Japan. Only Now I've realized they have a culture and stuff...with pointy weapons...
Just because we call ourselves 'Otaku' Dosn't mean we don't know what it orginally meant, it's just that...no one cares here. So we use the term liberally. We don't ALL want to be Japanese...I don't...They don't have blue eyes there...I like my blue eyes, that's all I've ever gotten compliments on. If I were Japanese...they'd be...not blue. I'm sure many AMERICAN otaku don't want to be Japanese.

I like Poke'mon.....Alot. Cute Fuzzy things like...Eevee...and Espyon...And Miltank...And. Beast-Boy...Wait-no...Beast-boy's not a Poke'mon...

Not all dubbs are bad. The Lupon dubb is better than the subb. Funny as all heck. You're Under Arrest Dubbs kick arse...The Rune Soldier ones are good too. Cowboy Bepob isn't bad at all. But there ARE alot of bad ones...Like...Inu-yasha...that's reicarnation of BAD...The world can do without the Escaflowne dubb, and the Trouble Chocolate dubbs can rot in heck and not be missed....Just to name some.
There's alot that can go either way...like Last Exile, Yu Yu Hakusho and Kare Kano. All three of those sound exactly the same...Just the guys sound more...guy-like...which is okay I guess.

The Half-Japanese thing can get a little over-done but hey...whadya' gonna do? Just Ignore the squeeky fan-girls chasing after the Bishie.They do no bodily harm, and after enough Cons...It becomes just backround noise. Many stop being able to tell the Japanese from the English after awhile. When you read something a character's saying in a novel like "That's Interesting" or "Where is this place?" (Both phrases show up alot in Required School reading) But you hear it in your head as "Omoshiroi" or "Koko wa Doko?". Same with hearing the half-Japanese.
So..Basiclly. Just DEAL dude.

Many of us self proclaimed otaku are not-snooty-ish...That whole...lacking in self-confidence thing, and the 'open mind' thing hinder that to some degree. Some of the know-it-all dudes can get annoying....but they mean well. Always think the best of people until proven painfully wrong y'know? Don't be too judgmental of people before you really know them. Dosn't it wear you out to be so mad at everyone?

Sorry I can't spell...It's late.

[ShikamaCHU]

The Post before was for Dhsu...I had started on that post before Michael did his...so he's my reply...*Ahem*

DOOD! 7 years?  Cool...that's like...forever!
You gotta tell us about the sushi in Kyoto. And the Scenery! I'd be totally cool if you could take pictures and post them on your site somewhere.

So are you on like... an Exchange student Program thing or something? Like with the A.S.S.E. People?

[Piano Squall]

7 years of Japanese and I'm still not fluent, it's sad... the language is so hard, I wonder why any country would choose to use it, lol.  And don't even get me started on the kanji... I mean, they're kinda like pokemon, you'll never really get 'em all.  Anyway, I'm finally going to Kyoto through a program.  It's not the same one you mentioned, this one's called KCJS and it's through my college.  You get credit for the classes you take and live with a host family.  There's going to be the Tokyo Game Show con out there, as well as POSSIBLY a concert by Master Nobuo Uematsu during that time.  I'll plaster the forums in photos of these events and more when I get back for sure.  I'm very interested to see what the Japanese fans act like in their natural environment.  I wonder if it will be like an American con?  Do you think they randomly glomp eachother?  Will they laugh and point when they see a 6 foot 2 tall white nerd Squall cosplayer banging anime tunes on the piano?  I'll find out all this and more and give a full report! ^_^

[Ameria-chan]

...You're kidding, right Michael-san? XD You wouldn't be a nerd, you'd be a GOD. Natalie-san, you must protect him! If he goes around as Squall at a con in Japan, there's going to be squealing Japanese fangirls for miles! I've heard Japanese girls think foreign guys are cute. Maybe it's a rumor, but I wouldn't put it past them. XD

[Lady Lulu]

As the creator of the slogan "I AM ANIME and I AM FINAL FANTASY" I strongly take offence to your slaughter of my simple phrase. This statement that appears on my bookbag was merely something I thought of during my Creative Writing class that I thought would be catchy. I use it as a sign to other Anime and Final Fantasy fans that I am one of them. In this way, I would open up opportunities to meet new people who share my same interests. It is NOT a rediculous saying meant to boast or brag my "otakuness." Using it is not foolish or uncool in any way. It is simply a matter of freedom to express. As in art we express through vision, I as a writer express through words. These are the words that I chose to describe myself and I offer to others who may feel the same way. Don't get me wrong, I'm not just purely made up of Anime and FF, though most of my other actions revolve around them quite a bit. But all I ask is that you APPOLOGISE for insulting my words. Although to you they may not be "Cool," it doesn't really matter to me. I like them because they describe me, and if you don't like them, tough titties!!! (lol)

As for otaku, yes, I am fully aware of what it means. However, the context of the word has shifted over time to describe any fan of anime. So, just because we choose to call ourselves otaku does not mean that we have no other life outside of anime (though I am fully aware that it is indeed the proper translation of "otaku") I also don't believe in going too overboard. However, writing some words on a bookbag or decorating your binder with anime-themed things is not going overboard at all. Most of us know where to draw the line.

As for the issue of our "high-and-mightiness" I have to admit that a lot of us posess that, though you do wrong in making that into a general statement. What you said is truly stereotypical and foolish in itself. I advise that you watch your choice of wording next time.    Each otaku (or fan of anime) differs in their own ways, it's this uniqueness that makes us diverse. Bashing an entire group as you just did would be like saying that all black people are robbers. So, just to let you know, please do not generalize, for it will be you who will look the fool then.

PS. SHUT UP you BAKA!!! That's so kawaii!!! nn

[Piano Squall]

::looks distressed:: please, please, let's calm down everyone.  There's nothing to fight about now, let's talk about anime!  Umm... what does everyone think about Scrapped Princess?  It's new, but the plot and animation is great!