Asahi.com, has an English article about the life of Toru Honda, an archetypal otaku who became famous when his recently published book, "Denpa Otoko," was embraced by Japanese Otaku and sold over 30,000 copies. In his book Honda argues that otaku life is in fact superior to regular life. The article also talks about Densha Otoko, the similarly named book about an otaku who gathers enough courage to break out of his otaku mold and date a regular girl. Honda criticizes the book, saying that it highlights the failure of an otaku who, instead of joining his girl in the regular world, should have turned her into an otaku like him.

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/...0506040207.html

Read and discuss I suppose. I find it amusing just how many people I know who match this persona.

Hahaha, that guy's philosophy is so much like mine it's not funny.

It sounds like he know the living method for his life isn't healthy.. but i suppose its partically because of the way he was brought up... But how i see it, its a way to escape reality.. life isn't about getting upset then hide away - its about trying, trying and keep trying isn't it?!
I know i speak it like i know how, but personally.. i don't.. but i know thats what its suppose to be. - hontoni

hmmm - interesting read,

QUOTE

"Real otaku know the difference between the two-dimensional world and the real world. Otaku are tame as sheep.''

yup, it's a harmless hobby.

QUOTE

"Since the 1980s, love has become a consumption item,'' Honda writes in his book. "Men spend money on women. Women buy things with the money they get from men. "So the guys like me who are not good looking and not willing to spend money are considered losers.''

oh so true...

QUOTE

He doesn't recommend every otaku follow his path, because "you lose a lot of things.'' The warmth of another human being? "No, money.''

also true...

then again, I wouldn't lock myself in my room, and live a "pure" otaku life, I'd rather have a mix of the 2-d and 3-d worlds.

Appart from devoting your life exclusively to anime and video games, I believe everyone should have other pursuits. Challenging yourself is the key to having a fuller life. You don't necessarily need much of a social life.

QUOTE (White Hawk @ Jun 23 2005, 01:41 PM)

Challenging yourself is the key to having a fuller life. You don't necessarily need much of a social life.

Challenging yourself wouldn't necessarily be the purpose to give yourself a fuller life, it depends on how everyone see it. i guess... As for social life, for one chosed not to have one; that's fine because that's their choice and its not a certain thing that everyone must have a social life?
Must you communicate - social... in a way during your life time.... ..

I don't know why, but that article screams "NORK!!"

K<^-^>E

QUOTE (SnakeEyes @ Jun 23 2005, 12:56 PM)

I don't know why, but that article screams "NORK!!"

Me KILL j00!!!

The fact that otaku are content in their own little world always seems to bring out indignation or offense among non otaku. It's pretty silly really that people prefer in-you-face annoying people to meek, harmless people who simply want nothing to do with you.

In any case, I always like to read comments from the likes of Honda, Azuma and Okada. Their rational approach to the issue of otakudom is a nice change from the histrionics that usually goes hand in hand with discussions on the subject. And he's right to. A: Otaku is a completely reasonable and predictable response to the nature of modern socety, relationships, and females, and B: There really isn't anything wrong with it when you understand the issue, and have perspective.

People like the urban myth of the Densha Otaku are considered to be traitorous within otaku circles.

QUOTE (Zeb @ Jun 23 2005, 12:04 PM)

Read and discuss I suppose. I find it amusing just how many people I know who match this persona.

I relate to the no money bit........

QUOTE (arrex @ Jun 23 2005, 01:56 PM)

I relate to the no money bit........

I think most of us here do.

QUOTE (Carl @ Jun 23 2005, 02:02 PM)

QUOTE (arrex @ Jun 23 2005, 01:56 PM) I relate to the no money bit........ I think most of us here do.

I agree.

QUOTE (mcneil @ Jun 23 2005, 03:51 PM)

I agree.

Nice Librarian-san avatar...

QUOTE

Badly disappointed with the ``three-dimensional world,'' Honda has created his own fantasy family. One of his younger sisters is a chimera of his own making. The rest-a wife, two other younger sisters and a maid-were all borrowed from animation games.

I can definitely say I can not relate to this guy but as long as he is hurting no one else who am I to judge his lifestyle choices?

QUOTE

According to the story, an otaku wants to get to know a woman he encountered on the train. He solicits romantic advice from bulletin board participants and keeps them apprised of his progress. The story has a happy ending, of course. The geek gets the girl and reaps the congratulations of his online advisers.

Story? Man I remember this and it’s one of 2channels most famous incidents. Almost certainly the threads relating to this will be hidden somewhere on 2ch.

QUOTE

``(Densha Otoko) is an otaku's surrender to `love capitalism.' What the main character should've done is turn the girl into another otaku and bring her to Akihabara,'' he says.

I loved this bit.

I read about the "Densha Otoko" in the Herald awhile back.

QUOTE (Onegai @ Jun 24 2005, 01:56 AM)

QUOTE ``(Densha Otoko) is an otaku's surrender to `love capitalism.' What the main character should've done is turn the girl into another otaku and bring her to Akihabara,'' he says. I loved this bit. I read about the "Densha Otoko" in the Herald awhile back.

It's interesting though, would you WANT to get involved with another otaku?

I think about all the squeally fan girls who have little substance and wonder what right mind another otaku must be to be interested in that... then again there are many female otaku who are knowledgeable and mature about their interests.

Could you see yourself converting someone into an otaku for the sake of it? Or would you wish to coexist with her, have her accept your interests but not be included in them if she didn't want to be (and if that was the case would it become a strain in your relationship?)

Through the AAC I've seen atleast 4 couples get hooked up and break up, and it's just interesting to see what made or broke these relationships.

From the Mainichi Daily - Packing Bags....
Geeks agree sexy servant hotel is maid in heaven

By Ryann Connell
Staff Writer
June 23, 2005

A new hotel where all staff are decked out in saucy French maid's outfits, use only the politest of language and refer to male customers as "Master" is proof of the growing economic might of the otaku geeks once largely ridiculed in Japanese society, according to Shukan Jitsuwa (6/30).
Women dressed as maids have long been a staple otaku fantasy, and now the new hotel in the Atami resort area of Shizuoka Prefecture is promising to give the geeks their greatest desire for just 25,000 yen per night with two meals thrown in for good measure.

"When it started offering advance bookings over the Internet, it filled is 100 rooms in a single day," a hotel industry insider tells Shukan Jitsuwa.

The maid hotel is actually called My Sweet Home Moe Room. The otaku oasis was originally due to open on June 19, but delays caused by construction work and the training of maids put back the opening date to July 1.

To make sure My Sweet Home stands out above the pack and does not get the average otaku complaining that it is merely another cosplay accommodation, staff at the hotel have been instructed to use only the archaic form of Japanese that a real maid would use, as well as only to ever refer to customers as "Master."

Maids also serve the evening meal and breakfast that come with the price of an overnight stay. My Sweet Home also offers plenty of other services that are as saucy as the outfits its staff are dressed in.

"If you bring a swimsuit and wear it while having a bath, you can ask for a maid to come in with you," Shukan Jitsuwa quotes a message on the hotel's Web site as saying.

My Sweet Home also promises to provide a selection of what it calls secret services, which can be requested free or be partaken of for a price.

However, when response to the maid hotel's website was so huge when it initially posted, operators were forced to add a disclaimer that it is not a sex business.

"Apparently, they were getting requests along the lines of whether it would be possible to slap the maid into a dog collar and chain her up," the hotel industry insider tells Shukan Jitsuwa.

My Sweet Home's operators are quick to stress that its secret services will not see the maids getting up to any hanky panky.

"Probably, it'll only be things like shoulder massages or washing backs," My Sweet Home's operator tells Shukan Jitsuwa. "But, I'm a regular of maid cafes, myself, and there are times when I sort of imagine what I'd like the maids to be doing to me. I hope that one day we may be able to get the maids to do those kinds of things here."

QUOTE (Zeb @ Jun 24 2005, 06:42 AM)

It's interesting though, would you WANT to get involved with another otaku? I think about all the squeally fan girls who have little substance and wonder what right mind another otaku must be to be interested in that... then again there are many female otaku who are knowledgeable and mature about their interests.

I'd have no problem whatsoever with a Japanese onna otaku.

As for western girls who think they're otaku, I've yet to meet one that was really an otaku. Screeming over bishonen is not a sufficient prerequisite.

QUOTE

Could you see yourself converting someone into an otaku for the sake of it? Or would you wish to coexist with her, have her accept your interests but not be included in them if she didn't want to be (and if that was the case would it become a strain in your relationship?)

That's one of the pillars of otaku romanticism, to find a beautiful girl and turn her into an otaku. I can't imagine it happens much, though.

QUOTE

Through the AAC I've seen atleast 4 couples get hooked up and break up, and it's just interesting to see what made or broke these relationships.

I doubt there'd be many otaku in the AAC. Hardcore fans, certainly. Otaku, no.

QUOTE

From the Mainichi Daily - Packing Bags.... Geeks agree sexy servant hotel is maid in heaven

The Mainichi, huh

A pillar of journalistic integrety, that.

QUOTE

A new hotel where all staff are decked out in saucy French maid's outfits, use only the politest of language and refer to male customers as "Master" is proof of the growing economic might of the otaku geeks once largely ridiculed in Japanese society, according to Shukan Jitsuwa (6/30). Women dressed as maids have long been a staple otaku fantasy, and now the new hotel in the Atami resort area of Shizuoka Prefecture is promising to give the geeks their greatest desire for just 25,000 yen per night with two meals thrown in for good measure. "When it started offering advance bookings over the Internet, it filled is 100 rooms in a single day," a hotel industry insider tells Shukan Jitsuwa. The maid hotel is actually called My Sweet Home Moe Room. The otaku oasis was originally due to open on June 19, but delays caused by construction work and the training of maids put back the opening date to July 1. To make sure My Sweet Home stands out above the pack and does not get the average otaku complaining that it is merely another cosplay accommodation, staff at the hotel have been instructed to use only the archaic form of Japanese that a real maid would use, as well as only to ever refer to customers as "Master." Maids also serve the evening meal and breakfast that come with the price of an overnight stay. My Sweet Home also offers plenty of other services that are as saucy as the outfits its staff are dressed in. "If you bring a swimsuit and wear it while having a bath, you can ask for a maid to come in with you," Shukan Jitsuwa quotes a message on the hotel's Web site as saying. My Sweet Home also promises to provide a selection of what it calls secret services, which can be requested free or be partaken of for a price. However, when response to the maid hotel's website was so huge when it initially posted, operators were forced to add a disclaimer that it is not a sex business. "Apparently, they were getting requests along the lines of whether it would be possible to slap the maid into a dog collar and chain her up," the hotel industry insider tells Shukan Jitsuwa. My Sweet Home's operators are quick to stress that its secret services will not see the maids getting up to any hanky panky. "Probably, it'll only be things like shoulder massages or washing backs," My Sweet Home's operator tells Shukan Jitsuwa. "But, I'm a regular of maid cafes, myself, and there are times when I sort of imagine what I'd like the maids to be doing to me. I hope that one day we may be able to get the maids to do those kinds of things here."

Goshujinsama~~


I'll definatly be staying there next time I'm in Japan.

I wonder Carl, do you call yourself an otaku?

QUOTE (Zeb @ Jun 24 2005, 11:41 AM)

I wonder Carl, do you call yourself an otaku?

No.

However, I'm generally pretty accepting when other people call me an otaku. Of course, it always feels weird when Japanese women call me an otaku...

QUOTE (Carl @ Jun 24 2005, 11:44 AM)

QUOTE (Zeb @ Jun 24 2005, 11:41 AM) I wonder Carl, do you call yourself an otaku? No. However, I'm generally pretty accepting when other people call me an otaku. Of course, it always feels weird when Japanese women call me an otaku...

But since by your standards and expectations, you don't classify as an otaku, do you ever correct these people?

QUOTE (Zeb @ Jun 24 2005, 11:57 AM)

But since by your standards and expectations, you don't classify as an otaku, do you ever correct these people?

It's not a simple as just classifing or not classifing myself as an otaku.

If you were a trekkie would you go around proclaiming that you were one?

Prehaps under the American cultural system where such things are done to mark ones individuality one might, but I'm culturally closer to a Japanese person than I am to an American. It's not something I carry around with great pride, but then again, it's not something that I'm unable to accept either.

I always leave such judgements up to other people to decide, and then judge them on how they judge me. There is no need to pigeonhole myself. Why would I want to? I am what I am.

QUOTE (Zeb @ Jun 24 2005, 06:42 AM)

Could you see yourself converting someone into an otaku for the sake of it? Or would you wish to coexist with her, have her accept your interests but not be included in them if she didn't want to be (and if that was the case would it become a strain in your relationship?)

For me, no. I believe if the person has a genuine interest in otaku stuff, then I'll show the way. Otherwise, I generally play coy about my hobbies.

QUOTE (Nork22 @ Jun 24 2005, 01:56 PM)

Otherwise, I generally play coy about my hobbies.

As your avatar attests.

QUOTE (Carl @ Jun 24 2005, 11:36 AM)

The Mainichi, huh A pillar of journalistic integrety, that.

All the BEST stories!!

QUOTE (arrex @ Jun 24 2005, 02:55 PM)

All the BEST stories!!

I'd rather read Newsweek, and that's really saying something.

QUOTE (Carl @ Jun 24 2005, 02:57 PM)

I'd rather read Newsweek, and that's really saying something.

Bah! No taste!

carl may deny all he wants, but number his posts and vast knowledge of anime somewat qualifies him as an otaku, I believe.

it's quite intriguing to read about Mr honda and otaku life.
however, after reading about his past that lead him to become an otaku, tells me that unlike many of us in NZ, he didn't had much of choice in that matter.
it almost feels as if he's force to become an otaku due to his difficult upbringing.
ppl makes choices to become vat they want and I believe each choice has it's own reasons and boundaries that others should respect.
so I respect his decision of becoming of otaku and his book that describes his life as an otaku, but I don't think he shouldn't be so critical about "Densha Otoko" because he doesn't know wat his missing.

above all, I would rather think otaku as a passionate individuals who devote their time and money to wat they love (anime), then some traumatic sorry asses who ended up watchin' animes all day.

Carl has a high post count becasue he SPAMS, that's right kiddies, SPAMS.

QUOTE (Dark Millennium @ Jun 24 2005, 08:08 PM)

Carl has a high post count becasue he SPAMS, that's right kiddies, SPAMS.

I see.... I guess it's same goes for you as well?

QUOTE (pleroo @ Jun 25 2005, 01:16 AM)

I see.... I guess it's same goes for you as well?

Well durhh...

QUOTE (Dark Millennium @ Jun 25 2005, 01:37 AM)

Well durhh...

gah~~ you spam ppl.... you should ought to learn monty pythons "spam" song!

QUOTE (pleroo @ Jun 25 2005, 01:41 AM)

gah~~ you spam ppl.... you should ought to learn monty pythons "spam" song!

Sure whatever....

QUOTE (pleroo @ Jun 24 2005, 06:21 PM)

it's quite intriguing to read about Mr honda and otaku life. however, after reading about his past that lead him to become an otaku, tells me that unlike many of us in NZ, he didn't had much of choice in that matter. it almost feels as if he's force to become an otaku due to his difficult upbringing.

And you assume that those of us in New Zealand have it any better?

QUOTE

Carl has a high post count becasue he SPAMS, that's right kiddies, SPAMS.

Yes I am terribly black today, Mr Pot. Thanks for noticing.

QUOTE (Carl @ Jun 25 2005, 01:45 PM)

QUOTE Carl has a high post count becasue he SPAMS, that's right kiddies, SPAMS. Yes I am terribly black today, Mr Pot. Thanks for noticing.

No prob

QUOTE (Carl @ Jun 25 2005, 01:45 PM)

QUOTE (pleroo @ Jun 24 2005, 06:21 PM) it's quite intriguing to read about Mr honda and otaku life.  however, after reading about his past that lead him to become an otaku, tells me that unlike many of us in NZ, he didn't had much of choice in that matter. it almost feels as if he's force to become an otaku due to his difficult upbringing. And you assume that those of us in New Zealand have it any better?

wat do you mean? are you telling me that you had traumatic past like mr honda that you have to spam 6000+ posts?

The only reason I ended up the way I am now is because of my rediculously geeky tendancies. Even if I was attractive, popular and WELL LIKED BY PEOPLE I'd still rather stay at home and play video games, watch anime and read manga while liftn weightz in between.

hemm, i want to read the book, any way i can get it in nz?(without buying online)

QUOTE (Higus @ Jun 27 2005, 02:21 PM)

hemm, i want to read the book, any way i can get it in nz?(without buying online)

I don't even know if it's been translated?
If thats not an issue for you, get the ISBN of the book and get in touch with Seong from GNC.

QUOTE (Zeb @ Jun 27 2005, 06:13 PM)

QUOTE (Higus @ Jun 27 2005, 02:21 PM) hemm, i want to read the book, any way i can get it in nz?(without buying online) I don't even know if it's been translated? If thats not an issue for you, get the ISBN of the book and get in touch with Seong from GNC.

hemm, im not completely fluent but the subject really interest me so ill have my kanji book ready since i dont think it will be translated. anyway how do i get the ISBN and how do i contact seong? thnx 4 helpin

Do a search for the author's name and use relevant keywords to narrow the search?

Seong aka owner of the Graphic Novel Cafe = http://www.graphicnovelcafe.co.nz

QUOTE (pleroo @ Jun 27 2005, 12:00 AM)

wat do you mean? are you telling me that you had traumatic past like mr honda

I can't say my mother ever dressed me up as a girl, but I do have my share of, hmm, issues.

QUOTE

that you have to spam 6000+ posts?

Yare yare...

It's pretty cheap. If Japanese novelisations didn't destroy the small amount of brain I have left, I might get it for myself.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/4...2051087-2497156

QUOTE (White Hawk @ Jun 27 2005, 01:08 PM)

The only reason I ended up the way I am now is because of my rediculously geeky tendancies. Even if I was attractive, popular and WELL LIKED BY PEOPLE I'd still rather stay at home and play video games, watch anime and read manga while liftn weightz in between.

so how did you ended up?

Uh, what?

Are you trying to say that your shitty writing is better than my shitty writing?

f*** you, Pleroo.

QUOTE (pleroo @ Jun 25 2005, 01:41 AM)

QUOTE (Dark Millennium @ Jun 25 2005, 01:37 AM) Well durhh... gah~~ you spam ppl.... you should ought to learn monty pythons "spam" song!

Yes, he should ought.

Great English there pal.

QUOTE (White Hawk @ Jul 1 2005, 12:19 AM)

Uh, what? Are you trying to say that your shitty writing is better than my shitty writing? f*** you, Pleroo.

chill out dude, at least we got a common ground ---> shitty writing

I might f**k you back but since I am a nice guy, I'll let this one slide

Man, what happened to the old, slightly likeable pelroo? He must be dead.

QUOTE (White Hawk @ Jul 1 2005, 11:54 AM)

Man, what happened to the old, slightly likeable pelroo? He must be dead.

He Got Scrot

I don't even know what that means!

It looks like good ol' JohnnyD may have accomplished nothing.