Forum - View topicBrain Diving: Otaku, Where Art Thou?
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Levsta
 Posts: 17 |
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Really interesting read, I gotta say. Admittedly, I won't be picking up the book myself, but I think it's definitely worth a look-see the next time I stop by the bookstore. I have to agree with the fact that this sort of subject matter is better suited as a website rather than a book, though the article explains the reasons for writing a book instead plain and simply.
Either way, very nice! |
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dewlwieldthedarpachief
 Posts: 751 Location: Canada |
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I don't see the problem if anime fans in the English speaking world want to use the word "Otaku" differently; that's just inherent to the organic nature of language. Nevertheless, it feels like people just want to be fans of anime and draw a line there; I'm glad that someone is willing to put it into perspective. I might give it a read sometime.
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grooven
Posts: 1424 Location: Canada |
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Well now a days even if the information is on the net, just how accurate is it? Some Professors don't even allow internet sourcing anymore. (Not to say published works have their mistakes)
Saying why is it printed? Is like why have anything printed. Any rate I own this book because I couldn't be forced to look online and sort through mindless rants, it is all here and present. Makes a good read once in a while. The art I don't care about , it rather is more annoying than anything. Some things I didn't like about the book was how some things were left out of or some really stupid things were included. I wondered why Touhou wasn't there for one since it is quite an otaku topic. I'm just old school and love research so having a complied boo that I haven't fully read and can go back to read, amuses me. I can also lend it to those who are the clueless types about anything of otaku. |
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vapwaazu
 Posts: 115 Location: Sydney, Australia |
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The book's cover is the first time I've ever seen someone write otaku with the "wo" character rather than using "o"
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OtakuExile
 Posts: 202 Location: Neo Vegas |
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I like the "contemporary anime" poke at people who don't know what otaku are about. |
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jyuichi
 Posts: 125 |
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ヲタク is not that rare though a bit odd in this context. If I remember correctly it came out of idol otaku trying to separate themselves from other otaku. The term ヲタ(with out the ku) is common for idol otaku now. EDIT: Shouldn't post on forums at 2AM xP Ignore the idol comment, annf explains the w/otaku meanings below. Last edited by jyuichi on Tue Dec 14, 2010 3:15 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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mckg1
 Posts: 287 Location: From Puerto Rico living in Japan |
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I gatta say, i enjoyed this article. It brings up some interesting points on otaku culture. I might checkout the book.
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Anime World Order
 Posts: 389 Location: Florida |
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I inadvertently closed the tab and deleted my entire post as I'd finished it, so now I'm hastily retyping what I can remember.
The front cover of The Otaku Encyclopedia features a female mascot character asking "onii-chan, what does moé mean?" Within the first few pages, it is then noted that her NAME is "Moé." This indirectly sums up the state of things, as it's pretty moé to be so colossally dense that you have to ask your "big brother" to tell you what your own name is. I consider The Otaku Encyclopedia to be the prose equivalent of the anime Lucky Star. Both offer a largely positive, somewhat moé-centric snapshot of what Japanese otaku culture was like at the time of their creation. The downside to this approach is that it makes for a product with an extremely low shelf life. The key point from the column, and one that bears repeating since it's easy to gloss over, is that the vast majority of this book's contents focuses on the contemporary (which was 2008-2009 if memory serves). Akihabara is heavily fad-oriented, such that the things people really care about can (and does) shift quite quickly. Case in point: there's little/nothing in this book about Touhou, which is currently dominating much of otaku interest over there. Other than yaoi/BL, female-related otaku pursuits don't get much mention either, if any. And for all the interviews contained within, nobody seems to particularly say anything of note. As such, as time goes on this book's contents will become increasingly irrelevant to those looking for knowledge on Japanese otaku culture. For those primarily focused on the US side of things, most of what this book talks about doesn't apply much to here in the first place. The end result is that a few years from now, not too many people are going to care about most of the content contained within The Otaku Encyclopedia, despite the fact that it bears a blurb stating "you cant possibly be called an otaku without this book." (Given the source of that quote, perhaps I should have said "because of" instead of "despite"...) Its value as an "encyclopedia" is therefore a bit limited. I would never dream of directing someone that wanted to know more about anime to this book. But The Otaku Encyclopedia still does have value, for as a direct result of its focus on the "now" it makes for a good "snapshot" of Japanese otaku culture from 1-2 years ago. I say think of it less as a tome of knowledge that you need to know and more like a collection of transient facts for those looking to feel the info high. |
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Annf
Posts: 578 |
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That's actually never been true in Japanese. The "wota = idol ota" thing is a foreign invention. In Japanese, otaku, wotaku, ota, wota, are all the same thing; just variant/slang/abbreviated versions. Some people will try to give various meanings to the difference between using o and wo but none of them have ever been consistently used. For more info (Japanese): http://d.hatena.ne.jp/keyword/ヲタク Last edited by Annf on Tue Dec 14, 2010 10:22 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Gilles Poitras
Posts: 476 Location: Oakland California |
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Patrick was going to do a web supplement but I guess things got away from him as it has not materialized. I think I'll drop him a note and see what he says.
He still does his tours of Akihabara which I understand are very interesting. No he does not show you where the shops are the tour is actually on the history of the neighborhood, likely even the local shinto shrine which many regulars to the area do no know the location of. I sat and chatted with him once after he had completed the tour, several people asked to have their picture taken with him, one couple asked him to take their picture with Akihabara buildings in the background. |
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Jrittmayer
 Posts: 304 Location: New Jersey |
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I'm just sick of people, especially ignorant fans who know next to nothing of anime and manga pre-2000 or other Japanese culture in general, declaring themselves so called "otaku". In my opinion, the word has lost its meaning/signifigance, at least in the western world, thanks to the abundance of weaboo otaku wannabes throwing around words like "Otaku" and "Kawaii" and "Desu" etc. This "author" seems exactly like one of these people, granted, I haven't read his book but just from what you wrote he seems like just another "recently turned otaku wannabe" trying to cash in on "whats cool". That phrase alone, "An insiders guide to cool Japan" makes me completely lose any respect for the validity of anything this author writes. Being an Otaku is not in any way "cool". This is just something delusional western weaboos have thought up.
/rant Sorry about that rant but people like this annoy me to no end. EDIT: I liken this to everyone and their mother calling themselves "hardcore gamers". No, being a "hardcore" gamer does not mean you play Call of Duty or Halo all day...but I digress. It's similar in the way that these morons call themselves "otaku" whjen all they've ever watched is Naruto. I could go on all day but I think I'll stop...until someone tries to counter my argument (Which I gladly welcome, I love debating). 
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ZakuAce
 Posts: 525 Location: SE Wisconsin |
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It's not really a surprise that the book tries to put fandom in the best possible light. The blurb says "an insider's view" which really means "a fan's view" and I think we can agree that most fans have a hard time being objective about what they are fans of. No fan wants to tell outsiders of the darker sides of their fandom.
I was going to write more but I can't seem to put what I want to say into words...maybe more later. |
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daizer_go
Posts: 4 |
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To be fair, the idea seems to have taken hold with the Japanese as well, along with the concept of "soft power." This is why we've been hearing about the Japanese government trying to promote anime abroad. Which they've done by imposing harsher censorship on it, instead of, say, improving working conditions for animators or taking steps to save the industry from impeding financial ruin. With friends like these... But anyway, this book does seem to be just another addition to the Danny Choo/Roland Kelts echo chamber of dreck. The world does not need another book defining "otaku" and interviewing random cosplayers. What we need is more translated works from the Japanese viewpoint, like Hiroki Azuma's "Otaku: Japan's Database Animals." How about Toshio Okada's recent writings on otaku, which tackle the much more interesting topic of a clash between the old and new generations, and a disillusionment with newer trends (something "Japan Cool" stuff fails to mention)? For that matter, what about collections of interviews with actual creators of animation and manga, where they give some substantial insight into their motivations (like the now-outdated "Fresh Pulp," or "Anime Interviews: The First Five Years of Animerica")? Hell, how about a Gonzo-style savage journey to the heart of the otaku dream? Find some animators and manga assitants, and look at their lives, warts and all. Get involved with different kinds of otaku, the idol-ota, train-ota, and so on. Get normal people's perspectives on otaku, and the very real hostilities they have. I would read the SHIT out of that. |
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satokoji
Posts: 4 |
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I've been reading this site for years now but never bothered to register until now. Mainly due to this discussion.
I purchased the book and enjoyed it. Granted, there are shortcomings with it, but not because of the author, but rather the subject matter. Pop-culture is transient by nature, even more so in Japan. What's hot this month is considered out-dated next month if the requisite fan support never forms. Because of this, any book dealing with the trappings of "otaku-ism" is going to be nothing more than a time specific snapshot of fandom. Azuma's book is more of an early ethnography of the fans themselves and can't be compared to Galbraith's attempt to simply organize and categorize fandom at large. Because Galbraith's book is not an academic analyzation, any biases he may have should be forgiven. If anything, he may have been better served to title his book as more of a personal interpretation of "otaku-dom" circa 2000's. Yeah moe is bemoaned by myself and older fans, but Galbraith truly believes in the movement and has some interesting insights as to why it has become so popular: http://patrickmacias.blogs.com/er/2009/10/podcast-hot-tears-of-shame-x-episode-thirtyfive.html http://www.rightstuf.com/rssite/animeToday/individual/?ForumThreadName=FT0000001411&Offset=0&ReturnTo=Index&SearchTerms= As far as Okada is concerned, I respect the man and everything he's done for anime, but everyone at some point starts to wax nostalgic for the good old days, myself included. I think what's happening is that we, as fans, are getting exactly what we wanted without having considered what would be the inadvertent results. We all cried for anime/manga to be accepted and more readily available. What we didn't stop to think about is that when a niche hobby is mainstreamed, it becomes diluted and loses a lot of the characteristics that made it unique. The ideas of "Cool Japan" and "soft power" is that very diluting process in action. True otaku/nerds/geeks will never die out, they just move on to other areas where they can be left alone (I'm looking at you Nakano!) and can flourish. On a personal note: I just think it's cool that I can actually discuss this stuff with AWO and Gilles Poitras, people I have admired for a long time, and with fellow fans who don't devolve a discussion into insulting each others' mothers. |
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dewlwieldthedarpachief
Posts: 751 Location: Canada |
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But wouldn't it be more delusional to expect western otakudom to assimilate into the impenetrable foreign niche that changes at a whim in the country of origin? Cultural exchange isn't simply a matter of transfusing the stuff; it has to become customized to the particular needs of the new audience. At the same time, I can relate with internally cringing at any ignorance encountered that could simply be remedied with a google search. Japanese language is no passing interest of mine; I intend to carve a career out of it, so I have no trouble imagining I can at least equate your snobbery in that regard. But people like me are fundamentally different from the high schooler prancing about with cat ears; it's an important distinction that if not properly applied would result in no end of suffering from yours truly. |
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