Otaku - オタク Common word, Noun, Colloquialism

definition: geek; nerd; enthusiast

>>25968
I thought it was more to do with extrema obsession in a particular niche field.

>>25969
And isn't that the definition of nerd?

>>25970
These days 'nerd' seems to be tossed around for anyone that so much as even likes something none-mainstream.

>>25966
The guy who took that pic has great tastes.

>>25966
I would define otaku as the Japanese version what a nerd used to be; somebody who dedicates most of his life to relatively non-mainstream hobbies.
As noted, nerd and geek nowadays mean somebody who likes what was considered non-mainstream years ago. In modern times, comics and video games are pretty much as mainstream as anything else.

Otaku is what nerd used to be. Someone who is dedicated to their non-mainstream hobbies, rejects, and is rejected by, the greater social world.

>>25973

>I would define otaku as the Japanese version what a nerd used to be; somebody who dedicates most of his life to relatively non-mainstream hobbies.

>>25978

>Otaku is what nerd used to be.

These, 'used to' being the keywords in both cases. Otaku are what nerds were before being a 'nerd' started to be a 'cool' special snowflake badge.
I don't think there's more of a meaning behind this. If anything the first thing that came to my mind is that if you use 'otaku' in English normally you'd refer to somebody who has interest in anime/manga/Japanese games etc. etc. while there's a need to be more specific if you're using otaku in Japanese as the area of interest can be anything. You wouldn't call somebody a 'comic book otaku' when talking in English for example.

I don't think nerds have ever been cool here in Europe. Most people hid their hobbies or only talked about it to their small group of friends in school. Sure some games like counter-strike were popular but their players weren't nerds either.

If there were any vocal autistic "such nerds" they were heavily bullied for that.

I think I would be too lazy and apathetic to qualify. I've never heard of a sleep otaku or an imageboard otaku.

>>25984
It's a fairly recent thing, been going on for no longer than 7 years or so around here I think.

>>25981
You're right. People tend to use 'Otaku' just as casually as 'nerd' these days.

Obsessive fan.

>>25988

I think English speakers just have a tendency to water down just about everything (and I have a tendency to generalize a lot, heh). If you know how to install a program on your computer you're a 'nerd' and if you're feeling a wee bit down you're 'depressed'. I wonder if there's any other language in the world where people make this light of legit depression. I bet it's also what fuels the 'who cares if you're depressed, pull your shit together' mentality.

>>25984

What >>25986 said more or less. Depends where you live really but it's a bit of a thing in Western Europe nowadays. The thing you need to keep in mind is that it has to be done in moderation. Being vaguely familiar with some video games and comics might be 'cool' but once you cross some obsessiveness barrier you'll get back to getting the same treatment nerds got ~20 years ago.
In a way I miss those times, though. Nowadays the mainstream 'nerd' culture isn't really about being a nerd becoming an acceptable thing or anything like that, it's about special snowflake normies warping it in a way they see fit (which pretty much means 'ruining it').

>>25972
He's had a very difficult life though ;_;