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Would anyone else here consider themselves an Otaku?

Che_hyun is correct. You really don't want to label yourself an "otaku" while your in Japan. It literally means that what ever you're an "otaku" of you basically worship it... in an unhealthy manner. If someone were to call you an "otaku" that's a not so subtle insult. sweatdrop

Example: From manga you sometimes see the "fanatics" that wear anime shirts with cute anime girls on them, know everything about certain select anime and literally stalk the voice actors or people that look like them... this is considered an "otaku".

I do not consider myself an anime otaku. I have a few manga and anime, but I'm really not that hardcore about them. sweatdrop

Otaku has different meanings in Japanese...it could also mean ***** also something you would call someone if they were being obsessive over something unhealthily.

rofl rofl rofl rofl

I think more people need to be informed of what an "otaku" really is... sweatdrop

The term 'otaku' isn't as bad as it used to be, but it's still not a positive thing.

I remember when I was living out in Nagano, a Japanese guy describing his friends, who go fishing whenever they have free time, as "釣りオタク". xd

I hope that gives you guys any idea of the widespread usage of the word.

As an American fool who took the word "Otaku" the wrong way before she had the chance to look it up in a Japanese dictionary, I must state my position on the word:

It is NEVER a good idea to label oneself something that has a cultural base that they do not understand. By adopting a word from a foreign tongue to describe oneself and then attributing to that word a vague and incomplete or even entirely inaccurate meaning, we create a culture of ignorance for ourselves. This goes for ANYTHING, not just us, but any peoples or culture. It's like the American government labeling all Muslim peoples terrorists because they are too heated up and angry to clearly understand the people who actually commited the acts against the State.

That being stated, I enjoy reading manga-I use it as not only a source of entertainment in my mother tongue, but as a supplement to my Japanese language skills; I also greatly enjoy anime and have a lot of fun attending conventions and events with my friends. I also thouroughly enjoy video games, so much so that I work for a gaming company-Gamestop. I am a NERD in that I have geeky interests and am intelligent, but never again will I happily call myself "otaku" like some sort of fool-I know better.

Well, that *is* the gist of what an otaku is. If you want to use the word "ファン (fan)" go for it. It just means, well, fan and is usually reserved for actors/actress/sports fans. I'm sure you could use it to describe your liking of Japanese manga and anime though. Oh, and I completely forgot about: 愛好者 (あいこうしゃ) 'aikousha' which means enthusiast/fan/devoteeone who loves something. Though that's still a bit of a strong 'fan' word... I'd go with the 'fan'. 3nodding

DAMMIT MAN!!!! gonk