Hey all, we’re back in 2015 for another round of exciting passion blogs! Ihave decided that I want to continue doing Anime-related blog posts but since I haven’t hd the time to watch anything new I will start off my blogs this year with a spotlight on Otaku culture.
What is Otaku? The term originates in Japanese, meaning roughly “someone else’s house”. The current meaning describes someone who is a fan of something, but slightly more intense than that. In Japan, you could be Otaku about anything. If you really liked trains, you would be a train Otaku, if you really liked weapons, you would be a weapons Otaku. However, in the rest of the world, Otaku tends to describe a person who is a big fan of anime and manga.
A big part of being an Otaku is purchasing merchandise that references your favorite shows. You may buy some shirts with show titles on them or otherwise reference a show that you like. For example, look at the shirt I am wearing now. People also buy posters, plastic figures, other articles of clothing, mugs, mousepads, bags, wallets, phone covers, etc. These products are not inherently any different than their generic counterparts but the important part is that it display your favorite fandom. In a sense, you buy certain products to validate your liking of a show. It sounds rather weird to someone who hasn’t experienced it before, but it’s not supposed to impress anyone who doesn’t understand the references. In fact, one could argue that because anime has such a niche audience, purchasing merchandise related to shows is a way of communicating to other fans what shows they enjoyed. The Psycho-pass shirt that I am wearing now tells other psychopass fans that I am “one of them”. In a world where Anime fans have yet to become mainstream, merchandise is a way of connecting to fellow fans.
It gets pretty weird.
Another important component of Otaku culture is cosplaying. Cosplay is short for costume play, which isn’t some sort of weird kinky thing that involves costumes and roleplay, unless you are so inclined ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). Cosplayers dress up as their favorite characters and attend conventions. It’s a bit like halloween except you can do it whenever you want to. The US’s biggest conventions are Anime Expo and Otakon. In 2013 I went to Otakon and cosplayed as two characters from two different shows.
Here’s my friends and I as characters from Psycho Pass.
Little known fact, the first ever Otakon was held 27 years ago in State College, PA run by Penn State students. Now it is held in the Baltimore Convention Center and attracts 30,000+ people annually. Nowadays Penn State students run a new convention: Setsucon. Setsucon actually took place at the Penn Stater Hotel this past weekend. I volunteered at this convention along with some of my friends. Over 1200 people attended this small town convention.
Me and some other staffers.