Editing Otaku (section)

==Subculture==
Kaichirō Morikawa identifies the subculture as distinctly Japanese, a product of the [[Education in Japan|school system]] and society. Japanese schools have a class structure which functions as a [[Caste|caste system]], but [[School club|clubs]] are an exception to the social hierarchy. In these clubs, a student's interests will be recognized and nurtured, catering to the interests of ''otaku''. Secondly, the vertical structure of Japanese society identifies the value of individuals by their success. Until the late 1980s, unathletic and unattractive males focused on academics, hoping to secure a good job and marry to raise their social standing. Those unable to succeed socially focused instead on their interests, often into adulthood, with their lifestyle centering on those interests, furthering the creation of the otaku subculture.<ref name=essay />

Even prior to the coinage of the term, the stereotypical traits of the subculture were identified in a 1981 issue of ''Fan Rōdo'' (Fan road) about "culture clubs".<ref name="essay"/> These individuals were drawn to anime, a counter-culture, with the release of [[hard science fiction]] works such as ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]''. These works allowed a congregation and development of obsessive interests that turned anime into a medium for unpopular students, catering to obsessed fans. After these fans discovered Comic Market, the term was used as a self-confirming and self-mocking collective identity.<ref name=essay />

The 1989 "Otaku Murderer" case gave the fandom a negative connotation from which it has not fully recovered.<ref name=essay /> The perception of ''otaku'' was again damaged in late 2004 when [[Kaoru Kobayashi (murderer)|Kaoru Kobayashi]] kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and murdered a seven-year-old first-grade student. Japanese journalist Akihiro Ōtani suspected that Kobayashi's crime was committed by a member of the ''[[figure moe zoku]]'' even before his arrest.<ref name="picnic2004"/> Although Kobayashi was not an ''otaku'', the degree of social hostility against ''otaku'' increased. ''Otaku'' were seen by law enforcement as possible suspects for sex crimes, and local governments called for stricter laws controlling the depiction of eroticism in ''otaku'' materials.<ref name="Otaku harassed as sex-crime fears mount"/>

Not all attention has been negative. In his book ''Otaku'', [[Hiroki Azuma]] observed: "Between 2001 and 2007, the ''otaku'' forms and markets quite rapidly won social recognition in Japan", citing the fact that "[i]n 2003, [[Hayao Miyazaki]] won the [[Academy Award]] for his ''[[Spirited Away]]''; around the same time [[Takashi Murakami]] achieved recognition for otaku-like designs; in 2004, the Japanese pavilion in the [[Venice Biennale of Architecture|2004 International Architecture exhibition]] of the [[Venice Biennale]] (Biennale Architecture) featured 'otaku'. In 2005, the word {{Transliteration|ja|moe}} — one of the keywords of the present volume — was chosen as one of the top ten '[[buzzword]]s of the year'."<ref>{{cite book |last=Azuma |first=Hiroki |date=April 10, 2009 |title=Otaku |chapter-url=http://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/otaku |location=Minneapolis |publisher= University of Minnesota Press | chapter= Preface |page = xi|isbn=978-0-8166-5351-5 |access-date=January 31, 2014}}</ref> In 2013, a Japanese study of 137,734 people found that 42.2% self-identify as a type of otaku. This study suggests that the stigma of the word has vanished, and the term has been embraced by many.<ref name="mynavi" /> [[Marie Kondo]] told ForbesWomen in 2020: "I credit being an otaku with helping me to focus deeply, which definitely contributed to my success."<ref>{{Cite web| url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/amyschoenberger/2020/08/30/mariekondo/#4c69dc3c4500|title = Marie Kondo on Sparking Joy in a Pandemic and the Life-Changing Magic of Becoming a KonMari Consultant| website = [[Forbes]] | date= 2020-08-30}}</ref>

In the early 1990s, the otaku subculture started to gain traction in the [[Western world]].  According to Lawrence Eng, the first anime that could have caused this to happen was ''[[Gunbuster]]'', and the protagonist, [[Noriko Takaya]], is teased about her otaku behavior.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eng |first=Lawrence |chapter=Strategies of Engagement: Discovering, Defining, and Describing Otaku Culture in the United States |title=Fandom unbound: otaku culture in a connected world |date=2012 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-15864-9 |editor-last=Ito |editor-first=Mizuko |location=New Haven [etc.] |publication-date=February 28, 2012 |pages=85–107 |editor-last2=Okabe |editor-first2=Daisuke |editor-last3=Tsuji |editor-first3=Izumi}}</ref>{{rp|p=88}}  Through ''Gunbuster'', Western audiences would learn about the word ''otaku''.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Sheehan |first=Kendra |title=The otaku phenomenon : pop culture, fandom, and religiosity in contemporary Japan. |date=2017 |access-date=January 19, 2025 |degree=Doctor of Philosophy in Humanities |publisher=University of Louisville |url=https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd/2850/ |doi=10.18297/etd/2850 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320132107/https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd/2850/ |archive-date=March 20, 2023}}</ref>  In the late 1990s, otaku was a popular subculture among [[Generation X]]ers in the United States.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beran |first=Dale |title=It Came from Something Awful: How a Toxic Troll Army Accidentally Memed Donald Trump into Office |date=July 30, 2019 |publisher=[[All Points Books]] |isbn=978-1-250-21947-3 |edition=1st |location=New York |page=xiv}}</ref> In the early 2000s, the otaku community in the United States often consisted of [[suburb]]an young people and niche online groups.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beran |first=Dale |title=It Came from Something Awful: How a Toxic Troll Army Accidentally Memed Donald Trump into Office |date=July 30, 2019 |publisher=[[All Points Books]] |isbn=978-1-250-21947-3 |edition=1st |location=New York |page=x}}</ref>

===Places===
The district of [[Akihabara]] in Tokyo, where there are [[maid café]]s featuring waitresses who dress up and act like maids or anime characters, is a notable attraction center for otaku. Akihabara also has dozens of stores specializing in anime, manga, [[Retrogaming|retro video games]], figurines, card games, and other collectibles.<ref name="Akihabara"/> Another popular location is [[Otome Road]] in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Students from [[Nagoya City University]] started a project to help promote hidden tourist attractions and attract more otaku to [[Nagoya]].<ref name="japantimes"/>

===Subtypes===
[[File:Hinagiku Katsura itasha side front 20090726.jpg|thumb|A [[Nissan March]] featuring Hinagiku Katsura from the manga series ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]'']]

There are specific terms for different types of otaku, including {{nihongo|[[fujoshi]]|腐女子||lit. "rotten girl(s)"}}, a self-mockingly pejorative Japanese term for female fans of {{Transliteration|ja|[[yaoi]]}}, which focuses on [[homosexual]] male relationships.<ref name="Mari"/>  {{Transliteration|ja|[[Reki-jo]]}} are female otaku who are interested in [[Japanese history]]. Some terms refer to a location, such as {{Transliteration|ja|[[Akiba-kei]]}} ("Akihabara-style"), which applies to those familiar with Akihabara's culture.

Miyadai describes two big subtypes of the otaku type, a world type and a battle royale type. There is a chronological development from the world type of the late 1990s to the battle royale type of the 2000s but they also coexisted. The antagonism between the world type and the battle royale type emerged in the age in which reality and fiction are regarded as equivalent tools for self-defense. He further describes the internet society as a rhizomic structure which invalidates the distinction between "reality" and "fiction". The world type treats fiction as an equivalent of reality (real-ization of fiction), while the battle royale type treats reality as an equivalent of fiction (fictionalization of reality).<ref name=Miyadai/>

===Media===
Otaku often participate in self-mocking through the production or interest in humor directed at their subculture. Anime and manga otaku are the subject of numerous self-critical works, such as ''Otaku no Video'', which contains a live-interview [[mockumentary]] that pokes fun at the otaku subculture and includes [[Gainax]]'s own staff as the interviewees.<ref name="Buried Treasure - In Praise of Nerdiness"/> Other works depict otaku subculture less critically, such as ''[[Genshiken]]'' and ''[[Comic Party]]''. A well-known [[light novel]], which later received a manga and anime adaptation, is ''[[Welcome to the N.H.K.]]'', which focuses on otaku subcultures and highlights other social outcasts, such as {{Transliteration|ja|[[hikikomori]]}} and [[NEET]]s. Works that focus on otaku characters include ''[[WataMote]]'', the story of an unattractive and unsociable [[otome game]]r otaku who exhibits delusions about her social status;<ref name="animenewsnetwork"/> and ''[[No More Heroes (video game)|No More Heroes]]'', a video game about an otaku assassin named [[Travis Touchdown]] and his surrealistic adventures inspired by anime and manga.<ref>{{cite web |title=Travis Touchdown has a comfortable home life |url=http://nintendo.joystiq.com/2007/08/29/travis-touchdown-has-a-comfortable-home-life/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711134618/http://nintendo.joystiq.com/2007/08/29/travis-touchdown-has-a-comfortable-home-life/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 11, 2012 |publisher=Joystiq |first=JC |last= Fletcher |access-date=2007-09-21 |date=2007-08-29 }}</ref> Media about otaku also exist outside of Japan, such as the American documentary ''[[Otaku Unite!]]'' which focuses on the American side of the otaku culture,<ref name="animenewsnetwork2004"/> and the Filipino novel ''[[Otaku Girl]]'', which tells the story of a virtual reality world where otaku can [[Role-playing|role-play]] and use the powers of their favorite anime characters.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

[[File:GuP itansha.jpg|thumb|alt=Girls und Panzer cosplayers take photos in the itasha exhibition area of the doujinshi sale.|[[Girls und Panzer]] cosplayers take photos in the itasha exhibition area of the [[doujinshi convention]].]]

=== Habits ===
A term used in the otaku fandom is {{nihongo|[[wotagei]] or otagei|ヲタ芸 or オタ芸}}, a type of cheering performed as a group. Another term is {{nihongo|''[[itasha]]''|痛車|4=literally "painful (i.e. cringeworthy) car(s)"}}, which describes vehicles decorated with fictional characters, especially [[bishōjo game]] or [[eroge]] characters.<ref name="Itasha: Japan's Creepiest Car Fetish" /><ref name="Behold. A Fleet of Cars Owned by Nerds." />