Forum - View topicAnswerman - Are There More American Otaku Than Japanese Otaku?
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Aquamine-Amarine
Posts: 276 |
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There's also the fact that American conventions don't just cater to anime/manga fans. There's also a lot of Marvel, Star Wars, TV show, etc. fans that go to conventions, so it's hard to tell just who is going there for the Japanese side of things or the American side. Some even go there for both.
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Brand
 Posts: 1028 |
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Yeah, I've totally know people who went to anime conventions for video game rooms or the selection of live action Asian cinema. Or even just to hang out with friends for the weekend. Conventions are a lot of fun but I don't think are a great metric to one's hardcore-ness.
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Animechic420
 Posts: 1727 Location: A Cave Filled With Riches |
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I would say an equal amount of otaku. But to be sure, there should put a poll or do a survey asking Americans and Japanese to see how many there are in both countries.
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Engineering Nerd
 Posts: 898 Location: Southern California |
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The thing is though...how many Americans and Japanese would openly admit or respond in survey that they identify themselves as Otaku? I dunno about United States since I am not a convention goer to begin with, but from my childhood life experience in Japan and China, Otaku's negative connotation can be pretty daunting, and none of people I know, albeit many casual (I am pretty casual too btw) anime watchers, would ever call themselves otaku
All in all, gathering such data is almost mission impossible. Not to mention, there are many military Otaku in both China and Japan, do we have to count them too? Last edited by Engineering Nerd on Mon Oct 26, 2015 2:19 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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GracieLizzy
 Posts: 551 Location: Sunderland, England, UK |
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This actually makes me wonder if there are any anime focused conventions more like western anime cons in Japan actually. I know Sci-Fi fans in Japan have Nihon SF Taikai (under various nicknames depending on which city is hosting it that year, possibly the most well know to anime fans being Osaka's Daicon because of the opening animations from the early 1980s Daicons that led to the foundation of Gainax). |
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Paul Soth
 Posts: 140 Location: Columbus, Oh |
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Until major American cities get their own equivalents of Akihabara, Den-Den Town or even Otome Road... I would have to say no.
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Katsukasu
Posts: 28 |
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I feel it might be sort of similar for Comiket. I went there in August and was really surprised to see for example people exclusively selling self-made cellphone charms with cats on them - so not everything you can get there is anime-related and people from certain kinds of fandoms might know about that and go to Comiket for these things, not for comics. |
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otagirl
Posts: 111 |
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I get the feeling that most American anime fans grow out of anime, which separate them from real otaku. Most only watching the mainstream stuff to begin with like the popular shonen series Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist, Hunter x Hunter etc, maybe a few smaller budget productions here and there from community recommendations like Death Note or Sword Art Online.
Defining "hardcore" or even "otaku" itself is pretty debatable since there are different types of otaku within the "anime" subgroup itself. One minimum requirement I use, is if a watcher has ever experienced "moe". In my eyes, one who does not understand moe can never be an otaku (at least not in a modern Japanese sense anyway). Granted, there existed the more boyish, sci-fi mecha/gunpla otaku of a bygone era but I'd consider that more a love of the genre itself. The old generation does not accept the 00s-10s style of anime. |
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MarshalBanana
 Posts: 5317 |
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Why has no one pointed out that America is a bigger country and therefore has a bigger population, and the higher the count, the more of something you get.
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Lili-Hime
 Posts: 569 |
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It seemed to me that Justin kind of had different definitions for US and American anime fans. Fringe group=Japanese people into only popular stuff (Naruto, One Piece). Japanese Otaku=into moe and other hardcore stuff. American anime fans=into everything, including just adult swim stuff? Seems like a hard comparison to make.
If anything the sheer size and population of America compared to Japan seems like there's a huge market Japanese companies are largely ignoring just because they can't get $80 for 2 episodes out of us. |
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Tempest_Wing
Posts: 305 |
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This Answerman pretty much boiled down to "I don't know."
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Mune
Posts: 376 Location: Minnesota |
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The word "otaku" is a loaded term. For many, it is the association of being overly obsessed with something/interest. This can be in the form of anime, manga, and video games, but also can be in the favor of anything, including: guns, military, trains, photography, figures, vehicles, computer, and travel. Some of which, I could see many Americans falling into. I would suggest that people part of the NRA would be considered gun otaku in the United States.
Funny thing, you can't be overly obsessed about your job in Japanese culture. Instead, it's called "good worth ethics" if you are. The term "otaku" is thrown around way too much and often refers to someone that is likely to be casual towards an interest, than obsessed. It's when it is the only interest you have and are invested in it, does it become an issue and when the term should be used. Consumption of only one thing is labeled as unhealthy, much like food. Now, if we are only pointing out anime and manga otaku, that is a very good question that is difficult to gage mainly because not all otaku can and/or will go to conventions, spend money on media/collectibles, and/or are open about it. Until it is possible to gage effectively in any of these ways, we cannot get an accurate count. |
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epse
Posts: 3 |
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if you think about this seriously, your idea of what "otaku" must be pretty specific
by otaku, do you mean people that either watch/read anime/manga? or do you mean people that classify themselves as otaku? if it's the former, the answer is pretty obvious (Japan). if it's the latter, I'd still say Japan, but there would be a huge decrease in the number of people willing to call themselves otaku. it appears to be people are failing to recognize the fact that Japan is about 1/3 the size of USA, which is pretty large, and gives away the answer. if i had to guess, the number of people that actively watch anime in the US is around 1/500, if not even less. this is extremely difficult to actually measure, seeing as almost all of the adult population does not watch anime actively, with most consumers being in the 13-30 range. the US is a very, very bad comparison as the answer is pretty obvious if you think about it. comparing it to Indonesia, France, and South Korea would make more sense, but even then, Japan would still likely have more. if you really want to ask a better question, it'd be "Which population has a more concentrated amount of otaku (percentage)?" rather than "Which country has more otaku (overall quantity)?" |
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ChrissyC
 Posts: 545 |
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I can definetly, say that there could be more anime fans, in america.
Let`s all take into consideration the size of, America compared to Japan. A Niche RPG, like "Hyperdimension Neptunia" saw a large rise in sales, through America in PSVITA/PS/PC. A Lot higher than their Japanese figures. Just due to the internet and since anime is prominently known on the internet. More Number Of People On Internet = More Exposure To Anime. |
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_Quasar_
Posts: 51 |
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Related to this is the 700k paying monthly subscribers of Crunchyroll. Admittedly thats worldwide (well aside from Japan it seems) and is only a slice but thats still quite a lot of non Japanese fans.
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