Etymology
Part of a series on
Anime and Manga
Anime eye.svg
Anime
History
Industry
Original net animation
Original video animation
Fansub
Fandub
Companies
Longest series
Manga
History
International market
Mangaka (List)
DÅjinshi
Scanlation
Publishers
Longest series
Demographic groups
Children
ShÅnen
ShÅjo
Seinen
Josei
Genres
Harem
Magical girl
Mecha
Yaoi
Yuri
Selected biographies
Shotaro Ishinomori
Shoji Kawamori
Rakuten Kitazawa
KÅichi Mashimo
Katsuji Matsumoto
Leiji Matsumoto
Hayao Miyazaki
Go Nagai
Toshio Suzuki
Osamu Tezuka
Yoshiyuki Tomino
Year 24 Group
Fandom
Conventions (list)
Clubs
Cosplay
Anime music video
Otaku
Yaoi fandom
General
Omake
Terminology
Anime and Manga Portal
v
t
e
Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family (ãŠå®…, otaku), which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun. The modern slang form, which is distinguished from the older usage by being written only in hiragana (ãŠãŸã) or katakana (オタク or, less frequently, ヲタク), or rarely in rÅmaji, appeared in the 1980s. In the anime Macross, first aired in 1982, the term was used by Lynn Minmay as an honorific term.[1][2] It appears to have been coined by the humorist and essayist Akio Nakamori in his 1983 series An Investigation of "Otaku" (『ãŠãŸãã€ã®ç ”究 "Otaku" no KenkyÅ«?), printed in the lolicon magazine Manga Burikko. Animators like Haruhiko Mikimoto and ShÅji Kawamori used the term among themselves as an honorific second-person pronoun since the late 1970s.[2]
Another source for the term comes from the works of science fiction author Motoko Arai. In his book Wrong about Japan, Peter Carey interviews the novelist, artist and Gundam chronicler Yuka Minakawa. She reveals that Arai used the word in her novels as a second-person pronoun, and the readers adopted the term for themselves.
In Japan
In modern Japanese slang, the term otaku is most often equivalent to "geek".[3] However, it can relate to a fan of any particular theme, topic, hobby or any form of entertainment.[4]
The former Prime Minister of Japan Taro Aso also claimed himself to be an otaku, using this subculture to promote Japan in foreign affairs.[5]
On the matter, in recent years "idol otaku" are naming themselves simply as Wota (ヲタ?) as a way to differentiate from traditional otaku. The word was derived by dropping the last mora, leaving ota (オタ?) and then replacing o (オ?) with the identically sounding character wo (ヲ?), leaving the pronunciation unchanged.[6]
The otaku term can be applied for both males and females. Reki-jo are female otaku interested in Japanese history.
In English
The term is a loanword from the Japanese language. In English, it is usually used to refer to an obsessive fan of anime/manga and/or Japanese culture generally, and Japanese video games.
The term serves as a label similar to Trekkie or fanboy. However, use of the label can be a source of contention among some anime fans, particularly those who are aware of the negative connotations the term has in Japan. Unpleasant stereotypes about otaku prevail in worldwide fan communities, and some anime fans express concern about the effect these more extreme fans can have on the reputation of their hobby (not unlike sentiments in the comic book and science fiction fandoms).[7]
The term was popularized by William Gibson's 1996 novel Idoru, which has several references to otaku.
-Credit to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otaku
![[Image: m76mup.png]](https://i50.tinypic.com/m76mup.png)
![[Image: BladeMaster_zps914de9e9.png]](https://i1144.photobucket.com/albums/o490/gogetassj50/BladeMaster_zps914de9e9.png)
![[Image: UwZsp7A.png]](https://i.imgur.com/UwZsp7A.png)
![[Image: jTdFIBh.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/jTdFIBh.jpg)