オタクotaku
Quick definition:Otaku is a Japanese word for a person with an intense devotion to a hobby, and in English it commonly refers to a dedicated fan of anime, manga or related culture.
Meaning
Otaku originally describes a person who is deeply absorbed in a particular interest, to the point of collecting, studying and discussing it in great detail. In Japan the word can apply to many hobbies, such as trains, cameras, idols or video games. In English-speaking fandom it has become closely linked with anime and manga, and an anime fan may be called an otaku.
The word carries different shades of meaning. In Japan it was long used with an unflattering sense, suggesting someone socially awkward or obsessed, and some people still avoid it. Overseas, many fans use it proudly as a label for enthusiasm and knowledge. Context matters, and Japanese speakers may treat it more cautiously than fans abroad.
Otaku culture has grown into a major influence on conventions, shops, cafes and online communities, and a whole district of Tokyo, Akihabara, is famous for catering to fans.
Origin:Otaku is a polite Japanese second-person pronoun, written with a character meaning house. Some enthusiasts used it as a formal way of addressing one another in the 1970s and 1980s, and it was popularised as a label for obsessive fans in the early 1980s, though sources differ on exactly how this happened.
Example:Someone who watches every episode of a series as soon as it airs, collects figures and posters, joins online discussions and attends conventions would usually be described as an otaku in English-language fandom. In Japan, the same person might be called an anime otaku or a game otaku to name the specific interest.
Did you know?When used as a label for fans, the word is usually written in katakana or hiragana rather than kanji, which marks it as a separate meaning from the polite pronoun it came from.
