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geekhack Community => Off Topic => Topic started by: Voixdelion on Thu, 31 March 2011, 16:33:20

Title: Definition/Meaning of "Otaku" ?
Post by: Voixdelion on Thu, 31 March 2011, 16:33:20
I always end up running in search circles it seems, as the topics I read up on tend to meander off on tangents and then intersect with other tangential topics from other things of interest to me.   Just today, in my exploration of the exasperatingly awful pictures from the upcoming pilot of the Wonder Woman reboot being done by NBC (apparently poorly), I ran into the word "cosplay" in the comments about the godawful outfit  and while seeking its definition, presumably because that intersects also with the anime community/fanbase which apparently uses the word "Otaku" to describe something (??) else, ended up seeing this in the results:Why do you people call yourself otaku? - Naruto Forums (http://www.narutoforums.com/showthread.php?t=665695)


Which then turned into a whole interesting ride of own when I investigated that.

Now "Otaku" is only a word I know from this forum and I hadn't actually gone so far as to research it, but I had always assumed it meant "blank" or "empty" because of the association with non-labeled keycaps.  To read that it has a strongly negative association with serial murderers and rapists (according to the Japanese OP in that thread) was something of a surprise.  

What exactly is the context of this "otaku" reference in terms of keyboards?  


EDIT>> Interesting also, this then struck me as an interesting link to the "Are we Normal"?  (http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?t=16593)thread here considering the discussion of obsessive hobbies on the Naruto thread.  I hadn't expected that nice tie in when I came here to post this question.
Title: Definition/Meaning of "Otaku" ?
Post by: noodles256 on Thu, 31 March 2011, 16:34:45
anime lover from what I know,

didn't read your post so don't know if you said that already
Title: Definition/Meaning of "Otaku" ?
Post by: Voixdelion on Thu, 31 March 2011, 16:45:37
Quote from: noodles256;322231
didn't read your post so don't know if you said that already


This is ... ironic?

Considering it WAS the only one there to read ...
:twitch:

(just sayin')
Title: Definition/Meaning of "Otaku" ?
Post by: PikachuDX on Thu, 31 March 2011, 16:59:16
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Title: Definition/Meaning of "Otaku" ?
Post by: PikachuDX on Thu, 31 March 2011, 17:09:14
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Title: Definition/Meaning of "Otaku" ?
Post by: Lanx on Thu, 31 March 2011, 18:42:43
There are two meanings
1. the japanese meaning of a social outkast shutin who does nothing but live life through anime.
2. the american meaning of an american who "knows" about anime and is passionate about it.

when japanese ppl say otaku, it's like they go "ewww he's a pedophile"

when americans say otaku they say "yea i'm an otaku i watch anime all the time"
Title: Definition/Meaning of "Otaku" ?
Post by: noodles256 on Thu, 31 March 2011, 19:01:45
Quote from: Voixdelion;322249
This is ... ironic?

Considering it WAS the only one there to read ...
:twitch:

(just sayin')


threadcrapper
Title: Definition/Meaning of "Otaku" ?
Post by: Lanx on Thu, 31 March 2011, 21:26:48
no i was using pedo as like describing a disgusting individual society.
Title: Definition/Meaning of "Otaku" ?
Post by: Lanx on Fri, 01 April 2011, 13:49:48
Quote from: ripster;322452
Yeah.  Americans are dumb.  I posted that to Majestouch but he ignored it.


but he's selling a japanese keyboard to american's so i guess it works.

it'd be like someone in japan pimping a pedobear keyboard, cuz the pedobear logo looks cool.
Title: Definition/Meaning of "Otaku" ?
Post by: Findecanor on Fri, 01 April 2011, 14:32:58
I think of "otaku" as meaning someone who lives up to all the negative stereotypes that are associated with geeks/nerds: secluded, antisocial, obsessive, living with their mother, etc.
That is the impression that I have got from info about Japanese otaku...

Quote from: ripster;322288
Well anyway back to the OP I've always wondered about the physics of Wonder Bras.
Show Image
(http://canv.as/ugc/processed/a08bf47e4eb7ca1749e52f09e3990f80cafb148d.jpeg)

That's not a Wonderbra. That's a tacky Halloween-costume !  The costume designer could have done that much better.
Title: Definition/Meaning of "Otaku" ?
Post by: Lanx on Fri, 01 April 2011, 22:10:47
what i don't understand with that wonderwoman horribleness is why didn't they use the new redone costume? this is the new official costume of wonderwoman for the new century
(http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/4889/newwonderwomancostume.jpg) (http://img710.imageshack.us/i/newwonderwomancostume.jpg/)
Title: Definition/Meaning of "Otaku" ?
Post by: quadibloc on Sat, 02 April 2011, 11:54:10
Quote from: Lanx;323104
what i don't understand with that wonderwoman horribleness is why didn't they use the new redone costume? this is the new official costume of wonderwoman for the new century
That's easy. Nobody reads comic books. Everybody watches TV. Therefore, Wonder Woman's costume is what Lynda Carter wore.

It's actually a bit more complicated than that, but basically the comics from the 1940s to the 1960s, and Saturday morning cartoon shows, are part of mass popular culture - and current comic books are not.

And, as noted, "otaku" is the Japanese word for "geek" - the keyboard with blank keycaps being the geek version.
Title: Definition/Meaning of "Otaku" ?
Post by: Voixdelion on Mon, 04 April 2011, 05:44:12
Quote from: Lanx;323104
what i don't understand with that wonderwoman horribleness is why didn't they use the new redone costume? this is the new official costume of wonderwoman for the new century


Actually, the NBC costume supposedly WAS using that.  Personally though I think even the comic update is a horrendous FAIL and from what I've read, the NBC take on Diana is bordering on sacrilegious. It's an insincere attempt at modesty or pleasing the feminist extremists or something but it just doesn't fly for someone who LOVED the old Diana in the spangled underwear (partly because of her ability to get away with wearing something like that in the first place!)  When Lynda wore the suit, it didn't appear slutty or sleazy or cheap the way the new costume looks even with 5x more material.  

What's worse is, according to the leaked pilot script, Kelley has Diana out at a bar commiserating with gal pals about how she can't meet a decent guy... AS IF!  Having survived for hundreds of years on an island exclusively populated by women, not only would Diana NOT engage in such an absurdity as mooning over landing a man, I daresay she would think less of any woman who thought so little of herself as to need one enough to worry about it in that manner. With the exception of Steve Trevor, I doubt she would even entertain  the notion of bothering to put up with a man considering their flawed  nature.

The animated series have portrayed Diana very well (IMO, one of the best scenes is in the Batman/Supes Armageddon movie which doesn't even mention her significant participation in the synopsis.) So why is it so hard to get that to translate into a modern live action version?  I think the problem is the hang-up on the "modern" idea: If you look at the 70's rendition, the weakest link is probably the action scenes which come off a bit cheesy, but they get the basic character right.  Today's women are so ****ed in the head its almost impossible to give them someone they can relate to that isn't a sniveling mess in some way.  The treatment in the casting sheet actually uses the words "vulnerable woman." (BARF! - Batman is a mortal with some serious psychological baggage, Supes has Kryptonite as his weakness, but nobody felt the need to accent even their alter egos as "vulnerable", did they?) in  I'm very afraid this NBC reboot is going to turn out to be a travesty in the eyes of the old fans but actually considered good by the newbie's who don't know any better.

and here's me in the suit via Photoshop (though its remarkably similar to the how I looked in the $500 costume I bought at Trashy Lingerie just because it was so close to the real thing - which at least LOOKS more expensive and less cheap than the NBC version though I don't actually know how much theirs cost. Heck, I could and have done better with stuff I have laying around the house ):(http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31506089&id=1148682630)
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=16615&stc=1&d=1301914807)
EDIT>>> @ Ripster : For God's sake, Germany may have boobs, but get that woman some protein for Heaven's sake - her arms look like toothpicks!!