Friday, June 17, 2011

The Different Types of Otaku

This is something I kinda made up, but I'm not the first to come up with something like this.  I have thought a bit about this and I think I have come up with a pretty good and solid map to the otaku attitudes starting from the Barely-Otaku Mellow Admirers to the die-hard unhealthily obsessed weaboos.  I'm sure one of these descriptions will fit you or someone you know.  Enjoy.

Level 1 - The Come-Acrosser
This can hardly be considered an otaku, but it exists nonetheless.  The Come-Acrosser are people who suddenly found one episode of one anime on televsion, usually Cartoon Network or Adult Swim.  They take interest in this show because of the story line or a specific fight scene or character and begin to watch it, but really can't watch any other anime.  Usually the anime they "come across" is Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, or Inu Yasha.  Eventually, the Come-Acrosser gets tired of sticking around for so many episodes and they realize the show will keep going on and on and on and they finally get bored of it and stop watching it.

Level 2 - The Mellow Admirer
This is usually the stage every otaku goes through but only sticks with it for a few months before moving onto the next level.  Some people never leave this stage.  The Mellow Admirer likes anime and watches whatever they can find on television, Comcast OnDemand, or YouTube.  They enjoy dubs and can't stand it when they find a subbed anime.  Mellow Admirer's usually like the anime that every otaku has known, but to them, it's as if they just discovered it and it's the most awesome thing in the world!  Their behavior is actually seems silly to the much older and more experienced otaku.  Mellow Admirer's also can't stand higher levels of otakuness because they feel that "they like anime, but they don't believe they can ever act like THAT".  Mellow Admirers should never be invited to a convention.  They usually won't appreciate going to one.  Usually it is the Mellow Admirer who discovers hentai.  Lucky them!

Level 3 - The Fanboy
This is usually when an otaku can start being called a "Weaboo".  The Fanboy expresses interests in going to conventions and might go to one or two and enjoy the panels, usually cosplaying as a Death Note character.  They also start liking subs but still prefer dubs over subs.  About 30% of their money goes to anime-related things like posters and plushies.  They also might start buying manga from their favorite anime.  They also are starting to get into better anime, but the kind that you don't usually know about from just watching television.  You may find Fanboys searching anime websites and forums for some great anime.  Their speech may also be speckled with words like "Kawaii" and "Baka" as well as a lot of things they talk about have to do with anime or the manga they read.

Level 4 - The Actual Weaboo
This is when an otaku because extremely annoying to non-otaku folk and some people may even not enjoy their company at all.  The Actual Weaboos now watch anime that have no dubs at all and actually they become increasingly annoyed with dubbed anime and claim that there "isn't enough emotion" in Ameircan anime.  The well-known anime like Naruto and Pokemon become their least favorites and reffers to those types of anime only as "my starter animes".  Conventions are a yearly thing for them and they usually spend months trying to save up money for them just so they can splurge in the mountains of merchandise.  Usually 40% of their money goes to anime related things.  They also start buying cosplay costumes on the internet or in stores and sport them at conventions.  Usually, they dress as Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or some well-known anime character.  Their speech has also gone from only a few Japanese words to entire phrases they ripped from an anime, and also pronounced and said just like the character who delivered the line.

Level 5 - The Otaku
 This is the level every Actual Weaboo reaches.  Their room is covered with plushies, posters, and Japanese toys.  The anime The Otakus watch are usually anime that no one knows about, except those who have already reached this level too.  Otakus not only attend conventions multiple times a year, but they usually run panels at the conventions or volunteer with a show at one.  About 60% of their earnings go to anime merchandise.  Otaku usually never buy manga unless it's on sale or brand new and usually reads anime on the internet.  If they didn't do this, almost all their money would go to manga, with the amount that they read.  Usually Otakus become interested in visual novels and other Japanese video games.  Though Actual Weaboos and Otakus can be very similar, the major difference between the two is that Otaku have a deeper appreciation for Japan as a whole, not just the anime and manga.  They may try to go to more Japanese restaurants or cook Japanese dishes.  Japanese culture absolutely fascinates them and they yearn to go to Japan one day.  Some even try to save up or enter contests to win trips.  Otakus are usually looked up to from other levels as the big sister.  If someone from a lower level wants to ask about a certain anime, usually the Otaku will know something about it.  Otaku isn't something to be ashamed of and usually takes years to get to.

9 comments:

  1. I'm definitely an otaku by your description. Thought I have no luck winning any contents for a trip to japan, I usually try to eat all my dishes with chopsticks. Yes, even rice!

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  2. "Otaku usually never buy manga unless it's on sale or brand new and usually reads anime on the internet"-if you can spot the mistake I give you $10

    now really, this is true, especially the first stage, when people are "anime fans" for watching naruto.

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    1. What, that you don't READ anime? I certainly read digital MANGA though... I didn't even see that when I read the article though. Good catch.

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    2. The word "read" should be "watch" instead.

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  3. I'm not any of the ones described above. Sure I have grown out of level 2 a year ago, but 30% of my money doesn't go to anime and manga. I have watched 30+ animes and have read only a few mangas yet only own one series of anime and to manga books. I do, however, have interest in Japanese culture and language, though I am not actively learning it. I'd also NEVER drop "Baka" or "Kawaii" in speech with anyone (though I have this one friend who is great at drawing and is somewhat of a weaboo who occasionally drops them). I think I am somewhere in between 2 and 3 according to the scale. If you read this long comment thanks for reading to the end and have a nice day!

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    1. I feel very similarly to Cesar... I don't spend money on anime or manga. What I read or see is free on websites or torrented. I also talk about it very little to other people because it becomes quite obvious that they really aren't interested or don't understand. I am increasingly fascinated by Japanese culture, food, and art. I wonder if I'm more than a level 2 or 3 though because I have actually developed romantic feelings for an anime character (Mizore Shirayuki) and because of this I avoid rewatching the series (and reading the manga) because it really hurts knowing she isn't real but still being so attached to her character.

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  4. Hahaha this is amazing
    I'm an otaku I'm an otakuuuu
    Follow me on ig: aprilisotaku

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  5. Ugh, I don't know how to classify myself with this system. I've watched 150+ animes (mainly subbed cause dubbed is pretty bad most of the time) and I have read even more mangas than that. Yet, I have only 6 mangas in my house, two figurines, one poster, and have only been to one convention. But all of the higher scale ones insist that you spend a lot of money, which I don't have. I loveplaing Japanese video games and visual novels though and I always draw in anime style :|

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