Japanese word meaning obsessuve fan of anything. Westerners use this word to describe someone who is a dedicated fan of Manga or Anime.
( o-tah-ku) In Japan, otaku is a fairly derogatory term used to describe an obsessed fan of something (not necessarily anime). In North America, however, the term is often a badge of honor for hard-core anime fans. Sometimes also used to refer to anime fans in general.
used in anime to refer to anime fans that have become so obsessed they sometimes "live anime" so to speak.
Translates pretty well as "fanboy" or "fangrrl". ( Otaku applies equally to boys and girls.) In Japan it's considered to be a bit disparaging, and it is used for any kind of fanatic who doesn't have a life. In addition to anime otaku, there are military otaku, car otaku, computer otaku, etc. In the US, it has become a standard term for fans of anime, who proudly use it to refer to themselves.
fanboy. In North America it tends to refer exclusively to anime and manga fans. In some regions it is considered an insult, because of the negative connotations in Japan, while in other regions anime fans both male and female have adopted it as a badge of honour.
When you speak to an unknown person, you should call him politely "otaku" in Japanese. Virtually equivalent to Sir in English. But recently, it has acquired a second sense, i.e. "maniac fans of mangas or of videos", because of a lack of contact with the outer world, they use frequently "otaku" when speaking to others. In order to deserve this term, you should possess at least 1000 examples of those items and perhaps 2000 in Japan.
Nerd, freak. This word is also a polite way to say "your house," but in the early 1980s, it began morphing into its current, more prevalent meaning. Journalist Akio Nakamori wrote a series of articles in 1983 entitled “The Study of Otaku” (Otaku no Kenkyuu) that talked about the qualities of hardcore anime, manga and video game fans. more ...
what obsessed fans of video games, animé, e.t.c. call themselves. It's also what you should be. If you're not, see seppuku.
an obsessive fan of any one particular theme, topic, or hobby
a term used in Japan for someone who is obsessed with something
a variety of geek specializing in Anime and Manga
a hardcore fan of animé and/or manga. Although used with pride by many western fans to describe themselves, the term carries as negative a connotation in Japan as 'Trekkie' does here. Pronounced ‘o-tah-koo'.
Japanese term for “obsessed fan.” While considered somewhat derogatory in Japanese (like “fanboy”), Western fans use it more affectionately.
Japanese word denoting an obsessive fan of anything, in the sense of being narrow and anti-social. Sometimes used in the West without derogatory connoitations to refer to a dedicated fan of anime or manga.
Anime fanboy or fangirl. Generally good thing in America, aparentlycloser to being a geek in Japan.
A term given to someone, with a almost unhealthy interest in something, mostly pertaining to japanese culture, whether it is Anime, Gaming or Tokusatsu (see below). Otaku usually place these hobbies in value above everything else.
In Japan, otaku is a derogatory term to describe an obsessed fan of a particular subject, not just anime. However, the term is often a badge of honor for hard-core anime fans in the West.
In Japan otaku is a derogatory term for a "stay-at-home person"; such as someone who has an obsession with anime, manga, video games, etc. English usage of "otaku" varies, but is mostly commonly used simply to mean a serious anime/manga fan.
Originally a polite form of address, Japanese now often use this word to refer negatively to people who are so deeply into manga or anime that they have difficulty interacting with the real world. In the West, the word is far less derogatory, used merely to describe a hard-core fan of manga or anime.
(lit.: "your family" or "your household") in Japan, "fan (of anything) obsessed to an irresponsible, unhealthy degree"; in the US it is typically misused to mean "fan of anime/manga". Kids apply this to themselves eagerly, but this would never be done in Japan.
A Japanese term used to describe hardcore fans which is often used to describe hardcore fans of sci-fi, computer games, anime and manga. Although used with pride by many western fans to describe themselves, the term carries as negative a connotation in Japan as 'Trekkie' or 'geek' does here. Pronounced ‘oh-tah-koo'.
Japanese word used by English-speaking anime fans to refer to an avid anime fan. In Japanese it is more of an insult (having a lot of negative connotations) and more general. An "anime otaku" would be something like saying an "obsessive anime fanboy" in English, but you could also have a "mecha otaku" (person obsessed with mechanical stuff), a "computer otaku" (obsessed computer geek), or any other variety of otaku.
Japanese word for obsessive, often used in a disapproving manner, it is more of an insult (having a lot of negative connotations). An 'anime otaku' would be 'obsessive anime fanboy', a 'computer otaku' would be an obsessed computer geek, etc. However this term is taken by many US Anime enthusiasts as a badge of 'honour' to mean an obsessive anime fan.
A Japanese word that many American anime fans think of as meaning "big anime fan." In Japanese it literally is an informal "you" word, more or less translating to "homeboy/hey you" – HOWEVER, beyond that it has a connotation meaning tremendous addict/fanatic who probably will never be willingly touched by a heterosexual member of the opposite sex.
Though in Japanese, this word carries the negative connotations of 'geek,' 'nerd,' or 'obsessed fanboy,' anime fans in countries other than Japan use this term casually to refer to anime fanboys. These are the folks you see at Anime Expo that often smell not so fresh, know the exact act of the exact episode that any line of dialogue ever spoken in a certain series appeared in, and spend most of their salary on anime. Or maybe that describes you. However, the use of the word is not limited to outside of Japan; you may recall a movie from the '80's called Otaku no Video that illustrated the life of an otaku in Japan.
A dedicated anime fan. In Japan this term implies unhealthy obsessiveness with anime, while in the U.S. it carries no pejorative connotation and hence is used proudly by anime fans.
a person obsessed with a hobby or activity, someone who puts that hobby above social interaction see also fan boy
An obsessive fan. Borrowed by western anime fandom to mean an obsessive anime fan.
Japanese for "home," it became a derogatory term for an individual who is obsessed with manga, anime, SF, and so forth. The English term would be "fanboy". Western anime fans have taken the term for their own and now use it to identify to themselves in much the same way "Trekker" or "Trekkie" has been used.
This word can have a very negative meaning depending on the context in which it is used. In Japanese society its usage is widely understood to mean someone who is an anti-social maniac. But in the International anime community the word has evolved into a slang reference meaning obsessed fan. Serious devotees of anime and manga call themselves otaku.
Otaku is a Japanese pejorative term used to refer to a variety of obsessed people.