It is common knowledge that the otaku community is not accepted well by the society. Especially by the Japanese society. Which might sound rather ironic since Japan is the country of anime, games, and kawaii. Most Japanese people, when asked, affirmed they hold negative images of otaku people. And more than half believed being an Otaku connected to other social problems such as social isolation and the increase of adults with no wish to have stable jobs.
Back in the 1990s, it was a hard time to be an Otaku. In the end of the 1980s, the kidnapping, sexual abuse, and murder of 4 girls, ranging from the age of 4 to 7, played a big role in how Otaku were viewed by society from then on. Miyazaki Tsutomu, who committed the crimes, was an Otaku; a fact that was heavily emphasized by the media back then. When Miyazaki was arrested, piles of anime, manga, and video tapes were found in his apartment. A great part was of pornographic content, and the media never missed a chance to mention how Miyazaki was an Otaku, and how the content of the material he liked had to do/ were the motives of his crimes. The media came as far as naming him the “Otaku Serial Killer”, a term that is still used nowadays when talking about his crimes.
The …show more content…
His book, Otaku Spaces, offers 20 portraits of self-declared otaku, paired with incisive and revealing interviews. He believes that what academic attention Otaku has received has been too detached, too eager to broadly theorize without first understanding actual otaku. Henceforward his emphasis on interviews. He thought of bringing people back to the center of discussion instead of just marginalizing and labelling them the way it has been done for the last several years. In the book he shows a variety of Otaku, and gives them the chance to talk about
Back in the 1990s, it was a hard time to be an Otaku. In the end of the 1980s, the kidnapping, sexual abuse, and murder of 4 girls, ranging from the age of 4 to 7, played a big role in how Otaku were viewed by society from then on. Miyazaki Tsutomu, who committed the crimes, was an Otaku; a fact that was heavily emphasized by the media back then. When Miyazaki was arrested, piles of anime, manga, and video tapes were found in his apartment. A great part was of pornographic content, and the media never missed a chance to mention how Miyazaki was an Otaku, and how the content of the material he liked had to do/ were the motives of his crimes. The media came as far as naming him the “Otaku Serial Killer”, a term that is still used nowadays when talking about his crimes.
The …show more content…
His book, Otaku Spaces, offers 20 portraits of self-declared otaku, paired with incisive and revealing interviews. He believes that what academic attention Otaku has received has been too detached, too eager to broadly theorize without first understanding actual otaku. Henceforward his emphasis on interviews. He thought of bringing people back to the center of discussion instead of just marginalizing and labelling them the way it has been done for the last several years. In the book he shows a variety of Otaku, and gives them the chance to talk about