Editing Otaku (section)

==Etymology==
{{Anime and manga}}
{{Transliteration|ja|Otaku}} is derived from a Japanese term for another person's house or family ([[wiktionary:お宅|お宅]], {{Transliteration|ja|otaku}}). The word can be used [[metaphor]]ically as a part of [[honorific speech in Japanese]], as a [[Second person pronoun|second-person pronoun]]. In this usage, its literal translation is "you". It is associated with some dialects of [[Japanese dialects#Eastern and Western Japanese|Western Japanese]] and with [[Housewife|housewives]], and is less direct and more distant than intimate pronouns, such as ''anata'', and masculine pronouns, such as ''kimi'' and ''omae''.{{sfn|Galbraith|2012|p=16}}

The origin of the pronoun's use among 1980s manga and anime fans is unclear. Science fiction fans were using ''otaku'' to address owners of books by the late 1960s (in a sense of "Do[es] [your home] own this book?").<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Tamaki Saitō |title=Robot Ghosts and Wired Dreams: Japanese Science Fiction from Origins to Anime|publisher=University of Minnesota Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8166-4974-7 |editor-last=Bolton |editor-first=Christopher |location=Minneapolis |page=xxii |chapter=Introduction |editor-last2=Csicsery-Ronay Jr. |editor-first2=Istvan |editor-last3=Tatsumi |editor-first3=Takayuki}}</ref> Social critic [[Eiji Ōtsuka]] posits that ''otaku'' was used because it allowed people meeting for the first time, such as at a [[Fan convention|convention]], to interact from a comfortable distance.{{sfn|Galbraith|2012|p=16}} One theory posits that ''otaku'' was popularized as a pronoun by science fiction author [[Motoko Arai]] in a 1981 essay in ''Variety'' magazine,{{sfn|Galbraith|2012|p=16}} and another posits that it was popularized by fans of anime studio [[Gainax]], some of whose founders came from [[Tottori Prefecture]] in western Japan (where ''otaku'' is commonly used).{{sfn|Galbraith|2009|p=171}} The pronoun was also used in the popular anime ''[[Macross]]'', first aired in 1982, by the characters [[Hikaru Ichijyo]] and [[Lynn Minmay]], who address each other as ''otaku'' until they get to know each other better.{{sfn|Galbraith|2009|p=172}}<ref name="NRI"/><ref name="SDFMeps3and4"/>

The modern slang form, which is distinguished from the older usage by being written in [[hiragana]] (おたく), [[katakana]] (オタク or, less frequently, ヲタク) or rarely in [[rōmaji]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=Debating otaku in contemporary Japan: historical perspectives and new horizons|publisher=Bloomsbury|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4725-9497-6|editor-last=Galbraith|editor-first=Patrick W.|location=London|pages=7–8|oclc=897946266|editor-last2=Kam|editor-first2=Thiam Huat|editor-last3=Kamm|editor-first3=Björn-Ole}}</ref> first appeared in public discourse in the 1980s, through the work of humorist and essayist [[Akio Nakamori]]. His 1983 series {{nihongo|'''Otaku' Research''|『おたく』の研究|"Otaku" no Kenkyū}}, printed in the ''[[lolicon]]'' magazine ''[[Manga Burikko]]'', applied the term as pejorative for "unpleasant" fans, attacking their supposed poor fashion sense and physical appearance in particular.{{sfn|Galbraith|2019|p=55}} Nakamori was particularly critical of "manga maniacs" drawn to cute girl characters,{{sfn|Galbraith|2019|p=55}} and explained his label ''otaku'' as the term of address used between junior high school kids at manga and anime conventions.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Alt |first1=Matt |title=Can Otaku Love Like Normal People? |url=http://neojaponisme.com/2008/04/07/can-otaku-love-like-normal-people/ |website=Néojaponisme |access-date=4 August 2021 |date=7 April 2008}}</ref>

In 1989, the case of [[Tsutomu Miyazaki]], "The Otaku Murderer", brought the fandom, very negatively, to national attention.<ref name="essay" /> Miyazaki, who randomly chose and murdered four girls, had a collection of 5,763 video tapes, some containing anime and [[slasher film]]s that were found interspersed with videos and pictures of his victims. Later that year, the contemporary knowledge magazine ''Bessatsu Takarajima'' dedicated its 104th issue to the topic of otaku. It was called {{nihongo|''Otaku no Hon''|おたくの本|lit. The Book of Otaku}} and delved into the subculture of otaku with 19 articles by otaku insiders, among them Akio Nakamori. This publication has been claimed by scholar Rudyard Pesimo to have popularized the term.<ref name="Nippon_Foundation"/>