I would like to take a moment to soapbox. I would like to soapbox about something small; “otaku.” This spawned from a small conversation with my host sister, in which I explained that there were some American fans of Japanese animation that wore the otaku label with pride. She was baffled as to why people would willingly call themselves a basement dwelling loser with no social life. I explained that the American definition and Japanese definition were very different. This did not settle her confusion, but the subject was left at that.
Many anime fans are shocked to find out that they are calling themselves losers. After all, in America, anime is a hobby of the worldly geek. They are the geek who transcends national boundaries for their geekery, learning a new language to feed their hobby.
That’s the problem.
While anime is a great way to gateway into learning about Japanese (not pop) culture, several people just… stagnate. That’s the only way I can describe it. If only we could push them.
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