So...Am I an "otaku" or a "weeaboo"?

[Widermelonz]

An otaku on the other hand, is a person who's reaaaaally obsessed with something. Doesn't necessarily have to be bad. I mean, I know an otaku who's extremely obsessed with trains, but he's a pretty cool guy.

Also, "Japanese Culture Enthusiast" seems like a decent term to describe people.

[Alice★f]

The chart that Watermelonz posted, yeah, that.

Look at it.

It says what I couldn't say.

[Ghaleon]

Well, I was already pretty sure Weeaboo was designed to be offensive in every way possible so... Was considering the possibility of being labelled an otaku moreso than a weeaboo.  Though a couple years back I asked about my brother, people (on here) said he's a weeaboo. Thing is he isn't obsessed with Japanese stuff so much as Asian stuff. Asian girls are better, every asian restaurant is interesting, every asian electronic is better, etc.

Regardless of how offensive otaku is from one definition or another, I still think I should keep it in mind when I'm trying to convince people stuff about Doujin games or Touhou...People who are mainstream with the things in question I mean. Not because I care from a feeling point of view on how they view me, but because I want to know my audience and their opinions about me better before I attemt to convince them something.

It seems people don't know I don't really give a flying hoot how I think people think of me. Honestly, people in general are so wrong about how I am it's not funny. and no I don't mean that in a "I'm so different and special I'm all alone" emo kinda way. But just that I suck at communication and body language and..well, I just fail at getting my point across kinda way =P

[Eduardo McNash]

I think there is no problem with a person having a hobbie as long as he can deal well with society.

[Lloyd Dunamis]

Huh. Coincidentally, I just talked to Trance about my confusion to whether I can be considered weeaboo due to my random mention of Japanese expressions sometimes.

Just want to say that reading this topic has cleared up much of my confusion about this. Thanks a million~, and for Ghaleon for bringing up this topic. =w=

みんな喜べ！(Everyone, rejoice!) ...oh wait  :ohdear:

[Conqueror]

Just parroting what people already said, but...

An otaku has an obsessive interest in something, usually to the point where it interferes with the ability to live a "normal" life. The English use is a little different from the Japanese use though...see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otaku#In_English
A weeaboo is just an extreme Japanophile, where the cut-off for extreme depends on the person.

[Edible]

Weeaboo was just a wordfilter for japanophile that caught on. <_<

[Naut]

If we waste anymore time on "weeaboo," we'll be bankrupt by the end of the month!

[Tengukami]

If we waste anymore time on "weeaboo," we'll be bankrupt by the end of the month!

DId somebody say "weeaboo"? Because I think I heard someone say "weeaboo".

[Nobu]

WEEABOO! WEEABOO!

*ahem*

I love the term weeaboo. If I had some kind of list of favorite coined terms, it'd be up there for sure. I also love throwing it around to tease friends who have anything more than a passing interest in anything remotely Japanese. :V

Otaku is a term with many shades of meaning depending on who says it and what context they say it in. For my personal usage, I typically reserve it for weeaboos who are particularly obnoxious or insane. A friend of mine use a corruption of the term: "O-tak", whenever in a situation where the person in question is likely to overhear and know what it is we are talking about. :x

[VIVItheFujoshi]

im a weeaboo? no, i like too mush japanese culture, but happen me the same with other countries who i like (Asian culture in general,England,my own country, etc) and i have concience who Japan is good for visit but difficult to live in there. in other side, i am "otaku" because im fan of The Beatles and 60?s things since very young, fan of Final Fantasy 9 since the day who played that, a anime-manga fan since Sailor Moon (or was Doraemon? or Maya the Bee? i was very fan of them with only 6 years old n_n) a fujoshi since Evangelion, OST fan, and Touhou fan since 2006.

[C27]

I consider myself to be "just a guy". Sure, I like Touhou, but I like a bunch of other stuff too... even some things that aren't typically geeky at all. I don't think heavy metal or target shooting or exoplanet astronomy qualify as weeaboo interests.
However, I do tend to be a little bit of a shut-in due to struggling with avoidant personality disorder.  :ohdear:  I'm not creepy about it or anything, I just don't like to be around people all the time - every now and then it's fun and refreshing though, even if I have to force myself to participate I know I'll end up enjoying it.

That said, I can't stand stereotypical weeaboos at all. Maybe part of it is that they tend to be in the under-18 crowd and it's a natural reaction to all them dad-gum whippersnappers destroying society. Why, when I was that age*, DVDs were still new and exotic, and I had to walk twenty miles in the snow just to get a couple episodes of Noir or Haibane Renmei!

*The math here doesn't quite work out, but eh bollocks

[helvetica]

It's not as much weeaboo/otakus/japanophiles/whatever the fucks (because I will fully admit I was at one point and still am to a degree) that bother me as much as people who think otakuism is something to strive for, whether through misguided romanticism or a plain "fuck society imma NEET it up" outlook.  Otakuism refers to obsessions that go beyond healthy, to the point it affects other aspects of your life in negative ways.

Having hobbies and interests are great and all, but there needs to be balance in your life.  What could potentially be a very healthy outlet can become a soul destroying obsession if you choose to get sucked into it and neglect other aspects of your life.  To me otakuism represents the extreme, an obsession that twists people to serve their obsession rather than let it be an outlet for their creativity or other interests.

I'm not saying you have to go out and pick up a sports team or weightlifting or other "socially acceptable" interests, but having something more than just a single narrow focus define your being is fundamental to a healthy, happy life.

[Kinzo the Astro Curious]

Fuck yeah Touhou otaku

also known as Toutaku

yeah I went there

toehoes

[DarkslimeZ]

You guys should stop worrying. I think the term weaboo only came about because people started being really fucking obnoxious about their Japanese interests. If you're not obnoxious and annoying, then you'll probably be fine, just as long as you don't give a damn how others see you.

[Mr_Bob]

The only thing I can think of when I see Suikama's posted images is, "Damn. Put some clothes on your woman. She's practically indecent."

Fan: strong dedication and more than passing knowledge on the subject.
Otaku: Dedication and keeping current with new stuff to the point where other positive aspects of life are in decline.

The choice of label may depend on how much of a decline is perceived.