Otaku translates to nerd. (n.) a person with obsessive interests {such as manga and/or anime, and may lack in social skills especially with the opposite sex.}
Also means "you" or "your house", in Japanese. A polite honorific.
You may even have seen them, at anime conventions, or maybe even at your school's anime club.
They are all around you!
While Gyaru, translates to a fashionable girl who dresses cute and trendy.
They can be seen wearing the latest styles, with bold and at times elaborate make up and hair, and looking girly.
So you can see the big divide between the two, right?
When I was a little seasoned on Ricoche.net, it seemed like a big No-no to even mention that you liked anime, gaming or manga. If you did (like myself...), you were not a real gyaru, and just an otaku or worse yet! A weeaboo! (like I was called in 2008 by a gyaru who had did the fashion for a little bit longer than myself!)
The term Weeaboo seemed to have sprung up in about 2008 or so where I lived. See definition here if you are of the loop!
Anyhoo...
Putting that little tangent aside, I had tried to save a lotta face by not mentioning anime around my more gyaru peers and sneaking off into an anime club in my first year of college (they had a big room and a viewing screen so it was like you were at a small film showing!!) and trying to squeeze in time to play some good ol' Final Fantasy.
Now, people seem to be more accepting to those who are into gyaru and also like anime, manga and things of that nature. And I am glad!! A lil mad that this happened AFTER LIKE, HOW MANY YEARS THO?!
But glad that girls/gals like accept that side of themselves and are not ashamed to share it. Plus, anime conventions are a great stomping ground for meeting up with various gals if they don't live in the area!
Why let hobbies and interests keep you apart?
What is even more interesting, is that there can be Otaku with other interests than just games and anime! From obsessing over fashion or camera devices, to being closeted otaku or spreading their interests with the world!
Max's video about the topic at hand
What are you an "otaku" for?
I like anime, art/drawing/painting, animation, acting, voice acting, film, makeup, nails, and books. That's what I'm otaku for ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Janis! Who is your favorite voice actor?
DeleteI'm otaku for manga/anime, BJDs and Lolita... If that counts xD
ReplyDeleteHehehe, I think it can count!
DeleteI'm glad the gal community (gaijin de most) accepts gals with those kinds of interests... I liked anime and those things before even coming near gyaru... but now I am not as passionate for anime and "otaku" stuff as I used to XD
ReplyDeleteI'll be otaku for doramas, kdramas, street fashion and makeup I guess?
http://freakingrottenlady.blogspot.com
What drama are you watching?? I may not know it since I am a bit out of the loop with j and k things these days, but if it is interesting, I may take a peek!
Deletetotal video game nerd lol never cared who else knew :P
ReplyDeletei spend equal amount on gaming as i do on make-up (shameful, shameful amounts of money) lol
LOL XD These days, i keep mostly to older games, only bought one new one for the xbox lol.
DeleteWhats your current fave title?
I think it was always a stigma because there was always an assumption of a person automatically 'getting it wrong' if they said where their inspiration is from. Which was kind of true a lot of the time... like you'd have people getting into lolita after reading or watching something like Chobits or Rozen Maiden and posting pictures of themselves in straight-up cosplay and asking 'am i rori yet'
ReplyDeleteIt was very much the same with gal I think.. especially with people talking about Gals! and Peach Girl and then trying to execute the style all wrong... people trying to do oldschool manba or old ganguro and making themselves literally as orange as the little characters were in the books and whatnot. And then there was also the blanket assumption that people who were into x or y was purely because of anime, and would only cite anime as the source and then going off about the more negative stereotypes and stuff, and being pushed into a category of "Gwen Stefani fans" or "trying to be like Nicki Minaj', etc.. never trying to get into the source of the subculture's beginnings and why the girls did what they did, or trying to find any depth into it.
Honestly though I don't think I had any interest in discussing my hobbies or my favorite games and etc, because I was always mainly a solitary-type of gamer, I never had an interest in playing with others/multiplayer/MMOs or even discussing things with others too much until later down the line. Even now I'll only really discuss things, I won't really hang out and game with other people and stuff like that :x
But in any case... I follow Final Fantasy, Assassin's Creed, Legend of Zelda & Grand Theft Auto almost religiously
You have a point there, Amani.
DeleteI know back when I started, it was moreso "uncool" and not "cute" to admit you gamed or watched anime at all.
But, at least there was a gateway for that person to come up and into the style, even if they didn't nail it the first few times. Everybody starts somewhere!
As for the Nikki Minaj or Gwen Stefani deal, I mostly would hear of outsiders using those to describe what they say, regardless if the person doing gal or loli was good or not.
Now, I don't care about discussing my hobbies with a few people here and there, or going to places to game in public. Its a lil refreshing at times! At least for me. lol.
If you do decide to game or talk with people about your hobbies, I do hope you have a good experience with that!
Thank you for reading and commenting!