I admit it, I can be considered what one will call an otaku if you consider my ‘unhealthy’ obsession with anime / PVC figures and the miscellaneous merchandise that you can so often find in any anime items shops such as files and particularly, pencil boards (shitajiki). However, I don’t exactly go around and announce such stuff to friends unless I know them well enough or until they have caught on enough to guess what I am up to in my spare time. I have also learnt enough not to go around using anime-related files in school.
The point is, being an otaku isn’t exactly the coolest of things and it can sometimes prove to be quite an awkward moment in a discussion. When I meet someone who share my interest, and I know is totally fine with mine, I will usually start to open up. However, most people will just give you a strange look if you start going on an extended otaku conversation with them. Worse, they remember you as “the strange otaku” and that will be the end of your social life so far. Ok, that was probably an exaggeration but you get the idea ^^ Anyway, until then, I will just keep a low profile with regards to my otaku interests and at best, be just a typical narutard/bleach or increasingly, a K-ON fan. Mind you, the first 2 categories are pretty hard for me as I don’t keep up with either Naruto or Bleach at all. Being a fan of the moe-blob show isn’t that hard….its engineered to let everyone like it. Why else 5 girls prancing around and doing funny stuff? Surely there must be a reason don’t you think so?
For those with a similar inclinations to remain under the radar, I have 10 tips for you. Not to be presumptuous but I guess we could use every tip we get.
- The first is one of the easiest – Do NOT discuss anime or profess to knowing ‘popular’ (read cult hits/mega otaku obsession level) titles like Haruhi. When absolutely pressed, talk about shows like Gundam, Bleach and Naruto and just show a passing interest in them.
- Do NOT attempt to have a lecture or ‘teaching’ session with other people. If you find that you are dominating the conversation and is already on a 1-minute monologue, stop immediately. Otakus generally feel like they have to attempt to level up other peoples’ otaku knowledge. We have a tendency to correct others or make known our point of view. DO NOT! This is a trap to lure you out of your otaku ninja-hood!
- Do NOT talk about figures/PVCs, especially the gazillion collection that you have or that 1 moe bootylicious PVC girl winking at you from the corner of the shop. Knowledge about The Most Evil Company in the World (TMECW), otherwise known as GoodSmile Company, should be kept to a need-to-know basis. Its partially for their own good as well since no one can withstand the various poisons unleashed periodically on the unsuspecting public by TMECW.
Talking about bishoujo figures is obviously off-limits if you haven’t figured it out by now. Do not identify or even show recognition of popular collections, the nendoroids or any limited edition rare items. Talking about retail websites such as amiami (finally!), hobby-link japan or even hobbystock/otacute etc are obviously a big NO-NO. When absolutely needed, a discussion about gundam plamo & its difficulty is your best bet. Do not venture in Macross Plamo because it will just spiral out of control into a Ranka vs Sheryl debate. - Do NOT confess to reading any manga or even any scanlations. Its a dead giveaway for a ninja-otaku especially if you let slip you are reading some obscure or niche titles.
- Do NOT in any case talk about cosplay, cosplayers’ raison d’être (fancy phrase which basically means why a cosplayer do what he/she does) or celebrity cosplayers (KIPPI !!). People don’t really want to know what you think of it, and knowing it inside out just make you sound like a creep who stalks those cosplayers. Just say its quirky, interesting and colorful and most people will leave it at that.
- When someone says that some show is the BESTEST show of the season/year/decade/EVAR, and even if its the moe-blob show K-On or some show which you can obviously see is missing a plot, do NOT interject and argue that they are sacrilegious/rubbish/out-of-their-freaking-mind/obviously have not watched enough anime. Just let it go and suppress those urges to knock some sense into that person’s head. This rule applies to game(ero-games…), manga or anime movies as well.
- On that note, do NOT even talk or venture into ero-ge/game territory. The less said about this, the better. Self-explanatory for anyone who wants to be a ninja-otaku.
- Do NOT use words like orz/moe etc in your regular vocabulary. Besides making you sound like a terrible weaboo, its very disorientating for anyone who is trying to take you seriously when you are in ninja-otaku mode.
- Most importantly since chances are that many people will trip up on this due to the surprise, do NOT in any case name popular anisong artists as your favourite band/musicians. A regular j-pop one is fine but will set some peoples’ otaku-radar on alert though. Anyone that starts to shift towards the niche like Nana Mizuki, Yukarin etc, no matter how awesome, is of course NOT appropriate for an answer if you are trying to be a ninja-otaku.
Personally, I will say Fire Bomber, High & Mighty Color and Orange Range. Most people who are not in the know will just wave them off as regular western bands. Those who are slightly in on the joke might find it slightly familiar on account of Orange Range though. - Which brings me to the last point. Its fun to know more people who you can just discuss/debate random stuff and commit every mistake the above 9 points have tried to prevent you from committing. This means you have to spread out some ‘feelers’ but nothing too obvious. Sometimes it feels much better to be yourself and have a nice chat about how moe-anime is killing the industry. Do NOT wall yourself away from the world
That’s all for now. Have fun and good luck!
*Chuckles* No need to hide who you are completely. If there is occasion in the normal course of conversation, you can allude to an anime or game reference (kind of like dangling a bait hook). If they don’t bite, then move on to another subject. *Shrugs* It’s obvious that blurting obsessively about anything another person isn’t interested in will weird him or her out. The key to any conversation is to leave out bait hooks of all sorts of possible interests the other person might have. If they bite on one of them, then give them a chance to express themselves and open up a little bit and respond accordingly. If NOTHING you bring up is catching, then it’s clear you have nothing in common at all… except maybe the weather. XD
I agree, but it might be kinda hard to be the first one to ‘pull the trigger’ so as to speak. Fortunately, I do have a wide range of interests so I usually end up discussing the news or sports or anime or games or something. Which is a relief as nothing kills tension & awkwardness faster than a 2-way conversation.
The article was half written in jest if I might add. Something I thought up as I was meeting a few new people that day.
And yes, the weather is the ultimate fall-back when nothing else works
lol I did , like you did too .
I naturally avoid talking Otaku related stuff with normal people but once I found an anime lover , I’l’ start talking to him / her and slowly talks on otaku Topics
True but anime-lovers are very over-rated nowadays [Cue fanboys spewing over K-On! / Haruhi / Random flavor of the season]
I tend to find it very hard to go in depth into a discussion about otaku-stuff unless I know the person pretty well and we have had prior conversations before.
I’ve got figures spread out across my desk at work. So even if people don’t like it, they have no choice but to accept it.
Personally I’m in the “Otaku and Proud” group. Although I’m also the type that doesn’t care what other people think of me. If they automatically think all otaku are strange then I have no interest in socializing with them anyway.
I’ll live the way I want and enjoy every bit of it.
I guess all it boils down to is a choice of lifestyle. Personally, I don’t really like getting judged based on something like my interest/hobby especially if I’m just getting to know the other party or we are just acquaintance.
I know some people who think that all otaku are strange and while I might not agree with them, I still do find them interesting enough to want to know them better. Its just 1 facet of a person and I don’t really want it to be that big an issue.
Its like that guro/loli hentai that you have on your computer/under your bed for example. No matter how good it is, you just don’t go around showing it to everyone. Its sort of like that.
Aw, this was a surely excellent publish. In theory I’d love to compose like this also – getting time and genuine effort to generate a good quality article..
. but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and in no way seem to have something completed.
I’ve got figures spread out across my desk at work. So even if people don’t like it, they have no choice but to accept it.
Personally I’m in the “Otaku and Proud” group. Although I’m also the type that doesn’t care what other people think of me. If they automatically think all otaku are strange then I have no interest in socializing with them anyway. I’ll live the way I want and enjoy every bit of it.