Anime Bites 02: Otakus United

Welcome to my second installment of the Anime Bites series, where we shall discuss some of the oft-mentioned, but never truly explained bits of the anime world. This time, let us learn more about our anime-loving brethren - the Otaku.

Yeah. That's who we are.

Otaku – cultural definition and brief history

The word Otaku began around the early 1980s and used to be a psuedo-offensive word about someone with an obsessive interest in a particular subject. The subject need not necessarily be limited to just anime (and other Japanese entertainment media), but it seems that the majority of otakus refer to anime otakus. Otakus were meant to be a derogatory term, and was akin to calling someone a geek and for a time that was all it meant.

Would you speak to someone like this on the streets?

In the last two decades however, the term otaku has gained global recognition and has become somewhat synonymous with being an anime fan. Nowadays, anime fans take pride in being called an otaku and even those with a remote interest in anime call themselves an otaku.

The truth

Otaku has no standardised meaning. It differs from person to person. What majority will agree is that being an otaku means having a passion for anime, and Japanese entertainment media in general. There is no shame in admitting that you have a passion for something unique, even if it is something not universally accepted - that is why we are all closet otakus. But let us take solace that we are not alone, and that the otaku family will continue to grow; from strength to strength and prevail in the times to come. Most of all, let us embrace the Akiba Spirit!

An excuse to put an anime girl here.

Moe – cultural definition and implications

There is a term synonymous with anime. A term so pervasive and yet so oblique that one cannot have known about anime without knowing this term. And this term is moe.  

Yeah, keep it coming!!

Moeru (nominalized as moe) is a simple Japanese verb meaning ‘to bud or sprout,’ and is homophonous with the verb ‘to burn.’ The word moe first appeared in a now famous bulletin board website 2Chan in a discussion of young, cute, innocent anime girls and a ‘burning passion’ for them. Despite the general cultural definition of moe, in reality moe simply refers to a euphoric response to fantasy characters or representations of them.

moe + chunnibyou = win!

Beyond that definition, however, moe can refer to anything cute and 2-dimensional. Otakus generally define moe as a reaction to characters that are more sincere and pure than human beings, describing it as ‘the ultimate expression of male platonic love’ and ‘more rewarding that real love’. Moe is more commonly associated with young, media savvy otakus or hardcore fans of Japanese entertainment media (anime, manga, and videogames).

Moe began in the realm of subculture, but has since become part of the Japanese mass anime culture. Although its use is common parlance in Japan, it remains oblique to the rest of the world. Often, its definition is simply skimmed over and never openly questioned. Hence, moe is commonly misunderstood as a form of fetish, which is usually extended to otakus and anime culture in general.

But seriously, can you say no to this...?

The otaku moe phenomenon could be said to begin with the rise of the Japanese entertainment media producing fantasy ideals with consumer culture providing material to support those fantasies. Characters designed to be moe has proved to be widely popular and fuelled by the Japanese weakness for moe, the market has expanded exponentially. As of 2011, Anime News Network (ANN) has estimated the moe market to be worth 88 billion yen (about US$740 million).

Yeah, 88 000 000 000, count that! 

But as we move into 2015 and beyond, the moe market has been slowing down and the number of moe shows are increasingly decreasing. However, the moe market is not nearing a close, but rather, the nature of moe is changing. Maturing anime viewers seek for more multi-dimensional characters beyond the moe, characters with depth and emotions beyond their cuteness. There is much to learn from the otaku moe phenomenon. As a lasting virtue of anime culture, it tells us much about Japanese culture and human psyche. 

Yeah, another excuse to put cute girls. This time, five of them

The Anime Community and Fandom

The international anime community is considerably large, and this is evidenced all too well by the anime online community. There are thousands upon thousands of fan-run websites blogs, and yes, online communities in the form of forums and discussion rooms. The internet has become the avenue of choice for anime fans to demonstrate their passion and display their artwork or anime-inspired work in general. The potential of the anime community is huge and even those who consider themselves casual fans usually engage in discussions and debates about their favourite anime. With all the subtle nuances and foreshadowing in every anime episode, there is no lack of topics to discuss about and many blogs even take to blogging each episode separately to give their opinion of the happenings in each episode, giving an insight into every episode, which stimulates the community even further.

You are witness to one of said anime blogs.

The economic potential of the anime community has been recognised and people have begun to tap on it. That is why anime conventions have sprung up over the world. The large amount of merchandise that anime comes with have been a key factor to the profitability of the anime community. Which leads me to my next point

With the intense amount of passion and personal-level intimacy of anime, every anime will spawn a considerable number of merchandise and collectibles for fans to buy. From music CDs to character figurines, the anime community has immense economic potential. These merchandise do not come cheap. A standard size anime figurine can easily cost upwards of a hundred US dollars. Yet they are still one of the most widely purchased and coveted collectibles of the anime fandom market.

Just a microcosm of how many figurines there are on sale

Music CDs are also very popular in the anime fandom market, given that every anime has at least one opening and ending theme, and a wide variety of background musics and sounds. Inserts are also fairly common, and it is not uncommon to see every character getting a specific character CDs with songs sung by the character seiyuu. For music-based anime such as K-On!, the different types of album CDs (including singles) can easily number close to a hundred. 

OK, these aren't CDs. They're doujins. But you get the point.

Collectible artbooks are also part of the merchandise that is on display. These artbooks feature pictures and original artwork drawn by the artists. As anime and animation in general is appreciated or even regarded as a form of art, the initial artwork drawn by the artists can be a very valuable commodity, especially for hard-core anime fans.

An otaku's room? Pretty much.

As mentioned earlier, seiyuus are a huge part of the anime fan community. Since anime is such a huge industry in Japan, anime voice acting can be said to be an industry in its own right, Many Japanese seiyuus have done voices for a number of different anime characters and fans of their voice range, versatility and ability to invoke emotion have their own fan following.

'nuff said.

The anime fandom is unlike anything that can be found in America. The most popular shows in America may spawn some merchandise such as stationery, bags, T-shirts and maybe a few figures, but that’s it. The anime fandom explores so much more, with character songs for every character, extensive figurines in different poses and outfits, artbooks and all other collectibles definitely outstrip anything America has to offer by leaps and bounds. This conveys the message to the anime fandom that it is worthwhile to become immersed into any anime, even bordering on obsession. 

The Otaku spirit is well and truly alive, and one must wonder what else is yet to come in the future!