Kinda a stupid question...
 

ok I know work dominates your life as an adult but this has been on my mind for quite awhile....please don't laugh or flame me T.T

Ok like...is going shopping at (god smite me for my spelling) Akibahka? and like going to arcades and being a total Otaku like.....completly frowned upon? XD I know this sounds completly rediculous but I want to get this out before I lose sleep over thinking about this XD. Some people told me that being in your 20's and 30's at an arcade causes lots of people to like harass you and such. I seriously doubt that any of this happens but like I said thinking about this drives me crazy so I would like some other peoples opinions. *hides under rock*

Obviously, this is going to depend on your specific behavior.
If you`re running about screaming like a 10 year old - then people will certainly be put off (to say the least).

But as for just going to those places - Why would they harass you? There are more than enough people of older age groups doing the same thing that you likely wouldn`t even stand out. And at the very worst, all you`ll get are raised eyebrows.

Hmmm....

I think the term Otaku is used differently in the West than in Japan.

My language buddy describes Otaku as guys who are into anime/manga/video games, who can't find a girlfriend and who are just all round, anti-social losers.

Whereas I believe people in the West call themselves Otaku if they are simply into anime/manga/video games but aren't necessarily losers.

ahh ok. it's just cause.... I remember there was this guy who was like....in his 30's? playing Time Crisis 3 and alotta people were giving him a hard time =/. guess it just dpeneds on the area.


I ment it in the wester definition lol. except me personally is a loser haha

The arcade I used to go to in Nagoya always had it's fair share of salarymen well into their 30's and even 40's - perfectly normal. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Dude, if you go to Akiba to have fun, play games, buy stuff, whatever, it's not like people are gonna make fun of you. That would be like getting laughed at for cosplaying in Harajuku or being rich in Ginza...

But if you get all crazy and start imposing on people, then yeah, people might "frown upon" you (and more!).

Why do you care ?? Do what ever u want f*** what other people think !

You're a rockin' guy Ronin, and you always have amazing things to say.

But man oh man, you are dead wrong here.

The fact that Oktaus exists, regardless of whatever country they're found in, are proof that the devil is real. And that abstinence doesn't work for everyone.

As for the above poster, it depends a great deal. I see a few old guys (I'm talking mid-40's to late 50's) at some of the conventions I've been too, which is incredibly weird. 20 to 30 is still really young, so long as you're not acting like you 10. Remember, time and place.

Though as far as arcades are concerned, it's my personal belief that age should never be a requirement. I'd shave off 10 years of my life if I could catch a grandpa tearing it up on a DDR machine, or a Vietnam vet playing Time Crisis 3.

Well the specific meaning is a more polite version of Anata (you) like when you're talking about the other person's family or such. And I heard the little kids are using otaku as someone obsessed with anything
But yeah, otaku has become a word for anime obsessed people. And I mean like anti-social, never seen the sun; the works.

Are you kidding? You could be a 60 year old dressed in a banana suit in Akihabara, and no one would say a word (though some might look twice, trying to figure out who you were cosplaying, or wondering where you got the costume as they might want one too).

I've seen people in Tokyo dressed more strangely than what I just described. Every day here is Halloween (with a few other holidays mixed in), so don't worry about it.

i've seen plenty of old men/women at arcades in japan. mainly playing the card based games, but still games. i don't see a problem with age in the arcades

Ha!

I think this is definately a legit fear!!!!!!

Honestly, I've freaked out about the same thing and I'm still in my teens.
I've never truelly been pressed with this issue, as I haven't gone to Japan.
but after I got interested in the Japanese language, my japanese friend introduced me to anime, and I found myself really liking it. And like any cartoon(American and Japanese alike, I'm a cartoon-aholic^^), it pretty much consumed my life. After about a year...I started noticing other people were interested in it, like a lot, like I was! And I was talking to them...and I noticed they were really annoying, and that there life seemed to revolve around anime... like there was nothing else......and I was scared and annoyed. When I started HS, I swore off anime...to the public, though for a while, I still slept with my plushies. lol^^
But I still now wonder, if this is Japanese culture, and I'm in Japan, trying to celebrate the culture, while not insulting it, would I be better off just accepting it, or pretending I don't really care...But idk, it's just.....a different world, you know?



As to your question, I don't think it will be a problem. As I've said, I haven't actually been to Japan(*sob*), but I know if I saw a cool looking old dude, in dress or in face, then I'd be like BOMB!!!!! And all excited, but if it was a nerdy dude all by himself, or with a bunch of nerds, I'd be like "Nerd! He lives with his mom"....which just shows you how judgemental I really am...And I figure if I'm this bad, and I consider myself a pretty nonbiased person, then the majority of the world could easily be worse...so it all depends.

But of course, the best advice anyone can give is.

F*** WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

^^

i say who cares im 24 an still find time to pop in to an arcade to play .....guilty gearXX is a personal favorite

I think you are only overthinking it by about 1000%.

Most arcades in Akihabara are full of 20 and 30 year olds who have no time to judge anyone else for hanging out in an Akihabara arcade because they themselves are hanging out in an Akihabara arcade.

Interesting... I know that otaku is also the word for house/home. It's more polite than uchi/ie.

It technically is. But it`s used in a similar way as people use "uchi" to refer to self. Uchi is me/my house - Otaku is you/your house.

Oh and...
This is the best answer for the thread.