otakus annoying?
 

hey everyone

i was watching this video and i was just wondering if this is how asians really think of american otakus. so any opinions is appreciated.

YouTube - Ask an Asian guy? Anime part 3 of 3

I don't think so. It's a good thing that anime and everything has been brought into America. We've found something to occupy us and found something relaxing in our busy lives. This guy has a point though and I agree. I hate the fact that people get cocky just because they know Japanese or something.

I half-agree with the fact that otakus get annoying. The "otakus" that annoy me are the ones that pretend to like anime and whatnot just because they think everyone else likes it. Like the people at my school who think they are now anime fans because they watch one damn show (Naruto *rolls eyes*). They dress up like the characters, they wear the headbands, they quote them, it's just plain ridiculous.

This guy's pretty cool. I might have to check out his videos more often. *subscribing*

The ones who annoy me are the ones who are literally obsessed with anime/manga, go around spouting out random Japanese phrases (Kawaii!! Sugoi!!), and expects Japan (if they go) to be like their favorite anime or manga series. Those types make those who are literally interested in Japanese or other Asian cultures look bad.

fortunately I'm old enough to be out of the atmosphere where i have to witness most anime loving people. people tend to be exposed to such people in educational institutions. in fact this forum is not my only exposure to such people.

This doesn't apply to everyone who likes anime, so please don't get offended people reading this.. but... anime loving people tend to have this image of Japan that it is like some kind of paradise, an anime lovers heaven. while akihabara may be such a place the rest of japan is certainly not. anime/manga otaku are seen as the geeks they are in japan also, women don't like otaku's there anymore than they do in whatever country you live in. japan is most likely a complete contrast to the image many anime lovers seem to have (from my experience)

I agree with SSJup81 that they make those people who are generally interested in Asian and in particular Japan look bad. The students at the university i went to in Japan asked why are so many of the foreigners so weird? referring to those that were into anime so much.

i have an immense interest in Asia, I study it's culture, history, languages, even politics. I don't liked to be referred to as an asian lover if i'm put into the same basket as anime lovers who have little idea about asia.

As for ordering in a restaurant in the language of the place, I don't see a problem with that. As long as the person doesn't do so in an over confident boastful manner there is nothing wrong with trying to put the language to use. What is bad is that many non-asians are unable to identify the difference between vietnamese, chinese, japanese and koreans so when they go to say a Japanese restaurant they might have a chinese waitress who doesn't speak Japanese. many people say xiexie (thank you) to the staff at chinese restaurants but the staff can be vietnamese and so on.


this is indeed about the geeky love of Japan. but aside from the otakus, i feel no asian should be bothered by people who have a genuine interest in their culture and i think frankly, they should be happy if they know more about asian than they do, it is great they have this interest. it is strange that if a white person is seen as being really asian many people feel that is bad but if an asian person is really white that is fine. i don't like that attitude that some people hold.

The otakus that annoy me are ones who can't venture past the most accessible series (Naruto, DBZ), really, there are plenty of GREAT titles out there, why only stick to ones that are wallowing in hype?

But...I'd take a crazed, anime/manga fanatic any day over someone who has no interest in anime/manga.

Any person with an interest in the Japanese culture - even if primarily in the anime/manga culture - earn some respect from me.

We just had this problem at the university that I work and attend. Every year in the fall Japanese students come to my university to "study English intensively" from August to December. Actually, a lot of them really only come to hang out in America. Anyway, I've been helping the Japanese students out every year and I've been getting the same response from each group. They always laugh at "otaku." It was really interesting this year because a friend of mine is the President of the Anime Club at the university and he wanted me to be a translator because he invited the Japanese students to the club meeting. Once the Japanese students found out that these 20 plus members were into anime they stopped hanging out with them and talking to them. I remember one of the Japanese girls asked me, "Do they seriously sit around here and watch animations?" Now, there are some Japanese "otaku" too mind you. Basically, "otaku" are kind of seen as nerds, wierd individuals, childish, etc. It appears that when Japanese people (a lot of times) hit a certain age they stop watching animations, etc. The best analogy I can use is comparing it to someone here in America at age 18 or older still passionately watching "Barney," "Sesame Street," "Dora the Explorer," "Lazy Town," etc. It was the same when I lived in Japan too. Obsession with anime doesn't go over too well. A few of my Japanese friends may sign up on this forum and they will able to explain how they few in greater detail and feeling.

I still like anime, but, not obsessed with it and can take it or leave it. I read manga more than I watch stuff so I guess I wouldn't fall under the category of "otaku" in this regard.

Out of curiosity, though, are there people over 18 who might still watch anime series or read manga in Japan? Not the kiddie stuff, but more so the "older audience" stuff, but not obsessive about it? Would they still be seen as nerds?

That is a very good point.

I dont know the exact definition of a otaku. I watch anime and play novel games all the time and I like watching animes with lots of philosophy and analysis of human society. Am I being a Otaku? I am neither crazy about collect figures or something like that. I just like the philosophy in animes. And how's that annoying? I dont understand lol. P.S I am Asian lving in US lol

There's this place that my cousin and I like to go to called 庭の花. It's pretty much a sushi place. The lady that greets you is Japanese and she does orders sometimes too. She seems to know us by face now since we go there every once in a while. I usually try my best to order in Japanese and she corrects me if I make a mistake. She has to be one of the nicest ladies I've ever met. My cousin jokes about how nice she is. She definitely enforces that stereotype that Japanese are very nice and polite.

Now, my cousin, he can tell the difference between Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people. He's into Asian stuff too and works with Koreans, which is probably why he can easily tell them apart compared to most others. Most just call all Asians Chinese.

Yes, there are some 18 or older in Japan that watch anime and read manga. There are Japanese "otaku" as well. In fact, my friend's father watches "Naruto Shippuden" and never misses an episode. However, people don't see one anime or manga as more adult than the other in Japan like we do in other parts of world. Just think of it like this: anime is anime and manga is manga. Also, I want to clear up this notion that anime is different than cartoons; I know you didn't bring this up I just want to clarify for others still confused. I going to explain this as a Japanese person. The world "anime" is written in Japanese using katakana. It looks like this アニメ. Also, "anime" is short for "animation." Now, katakana is the second system of writing in our country and we use it to write foreign words and sometimes to write brand names and dialect. In this case, anime comes from America.

I knew that (anime being short for animation). I'm always explaining it too. Gets annoying after a while.

my reply would have been earlier but my net stopped working.. anyway:

i think is anime becomes a large part of your life then you can class yourself as an anime otaku.

remember there are many types of otaku, i find the train ones interesting because you'll find them in japan sitting there at the end of platforms waiting for trains to come to photograph them. they have some good equipment for this job too. they take it very very seriously.

kunitokotachi - i agree with you on all fronts coming from my own experiences in Japan seeing how the anime lovers were treated by general japanese. your examples of american tv shows is a little extreme on the young side but i realise you were just making a point. i would compare it more to people getting overly excited over cartoons aimed at school children when they are beyond 18

SSJup81 yes people over 18 do watch anime, a baseball one was reasonably popular while i was there (left japan in august). but remember there is a difference between watching them and getting overly excited over them. think of it like an adult who still likes to sit down and enjoy simpsons, family guy etc... but doesn't get into conversations about the show with friends and think about them a lot.

and yes manga is read by over 18s there are even adult (xxx) ones aimed at the adult age group. again don't think of it in the overly interested category, have deep discussions with friends about it kind of way. you will find people on the train reading manga but i found the majority were reading regular books.

Yes, you are absolutely right. It gets very annoying explaining it to people who just don't get it. It also annoys me when people say Japanese cartoons are better than cartoons here in America. I happen to think cartoons like "Avatar The Last Airbender" is awesome.

Yes, I admit I did go overboard. lol.

animation is an english word with origins to latin. and animation is not an american invention so it is a little bit wrong to say the word アニメ comes from america. correctly it should be アニメ comes from the english word animation. sorry to be anal about it.

I get tired of people talking about Japanese stuff too. You know, "all anime sucks"! The main reason is because it's illogical to judge something if you've only seen like one thing.

No problem, glad to be corrected. I sometimes forget that the English language is derived from Latin, Greek, etc. Also, I'm going to start using your definition of "otaku" from now on; "People who make anime their life." This reminds me of some of the students at my university that I have observed walking around campus with a Naruto headband and other gear.

I have a Naruto headband. I bought it at an anime convention I went to last year. I bought it just to say I did. :p I've never worn it, though. I'd feel stupid doing that.

That aside, another thing that annoys me about "Japanophiles" are the ones who are convinced that everythign that comes out of Japan is to be worshipped and liked.Wow, sounds exactly like me. I can be really into a series (animated or not), but not to the point where I'm obsessive over it, even though my cousin and I might make random references to stuff like Family Guy every once in a while since we both like the series.

Sorry, didn't mean to double post.

Grrrr...personally, I couldn't give a damn. I love anime and I love manga. I watch it all the time. I read it all the time. I collect figures, posters, etc. I play anime based video games (among others) and I wouldn't give any of it up for the world. I am currently learning Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and furthering my studies in German. I am a 17 year old college freshman with a double major in Marine Biology/German and a minor in Chinese and keeping at LEAST a 3.2 GPA. While that does not make me a genius, it's still pretty good. :mtongue: I also have an avid interest in many cultures of the world (mostly history and customs), particularly German and eastern Asian; although, I am also very interested in India .

My point here is that you can be one of the craziest anime fans out there and still have a LIFE! I have friends who absolutely HATE anime. They know I like it and could care less.

Some people in the U.S. think I'm crazy and hate that I like it so much, so why should I expect Japanese people to think differently? I find that stupid. Either you care or you don't. I don't. I like what I like, and if you don't like it then more power to you. Anime fans should stop bitching about other people who disagree with watching it all the damn time and just liking it in general. They just don't. End of story. Move on!

Yeah, but owning one is different than parading around a university campus (of all places) with it on your head and simulating Naruto fights with buddies. If you were at a convention or something like that where people are doing cosplay than it is excusable. If you think about it, we do a type of cosplay in other countries sometimes. Good example would be in America on every Halloween. Kids dress up, adults dress up and go to clubs and party. So, we have this one day of cosplay once every year too.

That's different, though. You're not letting anime consume your life like someone obsessed. You seem to have a balance here.

I should've specified. I meant to say that I've never worn it since I bought it at the convention. I had a Momiji (Fruits Basket) cap too. I wore it with the headband while there. Outside of the convention, I didn't though. I mostly like plushies, and that's something I like collecting.

We are not talking about individuals like you who aren't completely obsessesed. You have to admit that there are some people who go overboard. There is nothing wrong with buying posters, collecting anime related items, and watching and reading manga. Hell, I watch anime myself sometimes. Here is some of the things I was criticizing.

1. Playing ninja with some buddies on a university campus of all places.
2. Spending tuition money on anime and books instead of spending it on tuition.
3. Showing up to your first day of Japanese class dressed up as "Sasori" from Naruto and refusing to sit in your desk when sensei asks because you want to sit Japanese style on the floor.
4. Asking me to teach you how to say, "I'm going to kill you bastard and send you to hell!" in Japanese so you can use it on some random Japanese person and watch their facial expression just because you saw it in your favorite manga.

I broke down laughing at this. Seriously, Sasori? So, Japanese class is a cosplay opportunity for them. lol

I used to take Aikido (did lousy in it) and that seiza style way of sitting is annoying. My feet always went numb having to sit that way while my sensei spoke or droned on before and after lessons. They used to cramp too.I really laughed hard at this.

Yeah, as matter of fact my friend was taking basic Japanese class with the "Sasori" student. That student and two of his buddies were a continual headache for that teacher. The teacher ended up cancelling classes some days.

Well then yes, these are the people that should be sent to mental institutions. How the hell do they even show their faces?

Good lord, you just described what goes on around my campus every year...

Every semester we get about a half dozen Japanese exchange students. And every semester the anime club jumps all over them like a pack of wild dogs fighting over a hunk of meat. Maybe thats a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea. It's almost difficult to watch. . .

ha, I'm only half-Asian american so I don't know if my opinion counts but I find crazyAmericananimefans to be a little weird, but not really that bad since they kinda live in their own world anyway. Saying "kawaii kawaii neeee" is hella annoying, but I understand that it probably becomes second nature or something after watching too many cartoons.

One thing that I cannot stand is dissing Chinese/Korean culture because it's not Japanese and getting this sort of fake "Japanese pride" just because they like anime. It's disrespectful and plain irrational. Japan is a very cool country granted, but I find that many anime-fans start hating on any other country that is not Japan.

One thing American anime fans need to realize is that when they get to Japan, they are really NOT gonna blend - not even in Akihabara, especially if they dress crazy or like their favourite character. People will probably just see you as another crazy nerdy foreigner.

very true very true..

something i found interesting from my university days (in australia, not in japan) was that those in my japanese class who were the anime otaku were all asian. they were mostly chinese and vietnamese though. i only know one caucasian anime freak in person, but he is not dress up crazy level, the rest i have met have all been asian. so it is interesting to me that in america there seems to be heaps of caucasian anime otaku but in melbourne i have mostly met asian ones. perhaps because i'm not in highschool, no longer in unversity etc so im not meeting this newer younger wave of caucasian anime otaku that america is experiencing. or maybe it is just not as bad here.. haha.. who knows.

I sort of agree with this video.

I think that he has a point in that some otaku are annoying, but you're always going to have some obsessed group for any fandom. (Trekkies are another good example.)

However, anime is not really what you could all "popular". Yes, it is popular within a certian amount of people, and is popular among the subculture, but calling it "popular" as in "mainstream" is not correct. We're not there yet ~ !

hmmm...I'm sorry if people don't agree with my opinion (I'm not sure if this has already been said I havent really read all the posts, because I'm lazy) but I think an asian american who was born and raised in america isn't really any more asian than any other american. Sure they are racialy asian, but that's not really what deffines what culture you identify with. It's really about what culture you grew up in. That's really what defines you as a person. So I don't think that person really had a right to be speaking about what he was speaking about.

He can say he is interested in asian culture but to say he is a part of that culture makes him just as much of a poser as any japanophile. Besides he pronounced the word "manga" wrong.

my opinion
 

thanx for all the replys :D
i dont know if everyone is going to agree with my opinion about the video, but i think the part were he said that asians get mad because its like we are taking a part of there culture is not right. there are people in every country that like parts of other culture. but just because they like it dont always mean that they are trying to take it. in a lot of other countries you will see people that like other cultures for example in america there are people that like anime and like to go to conventions and so on, and in japan there is peolpe that like african american culture and like to wear baggy clothes and listen to rap. but we dont get mad about it. me personaly think it is ok to use methods from other cultures to express youself as long as you dont go as far as kunitokotachi said. :p

now that is just funny :mtongue: im glad im not like that. im more on ssju81 level.

Well, at least he didn't call them "Those backwards books" DX


*agrees with both points*

I'm too lazy to quote, but I agree with whoever said they hate those who think they're anime fans because they watch Naruto & DBZ. First offs, Naruto and DBZ are shonen, and thus, are not liked by me (Sorry, I'm full on shojo Manga/Anime). And secondly, It's being aired in AMERICA, which means they're taking NO EFFORT to watch it. They just flick on the TV and watch. The least they could do is go out and buy manga of some other series. Plus, one anime series does not make an anime fan. xD;;;

Though so many people know about Naruto, Pokémon, DBZ, and sometimes Sailor Moon, it's not well known. I mean, really, I'll take a manga into school, and I don't know how many times I would used to hear them called "Those backwards books". Though most people at least know them as "The comic books from Japan" (Or something along those lines) now, it's still annoying. Anime and Manga are becoming apart of American life, they should know the correct name by now. >T

As for myself, I jokingly call myself an Otaku. Though I do balance my life and Anime (Half the time I forget to watch an anime episode or go and buy the next volume to a series), it's something me and my friends joke about. I enjoy the animes and manga and love the stories, not just the fact "OMG IT'S FROM JAPAN". I'm attempting to self-teach myself Japanese, and I do hope to spend a summer there after my Senior year of High School, due to my job interests and such, but still. I know that Otakus are the geeks in Japan. And either way, doesn't mean I am one for reals. (Did I really just use "for reals"? O__o)