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Top 10 Ways to Spot an Otaku
20 Oct2009
A recent survey conducted by the Japan’s Goo Ranking of over 4000 Japaneses shows how easy it is to spot a male otaku by the way they dress. Looking through the list clearly shows how stereotype these answers are and even though I fit in 2 or 3 of the criteria on the list, people won’t see me as an otaku at all.
The top 10 ways are as follows:
- He has an anime T-shirt
- He has an anime shopping bag
- He has a waist pouch (”fanny pack” / “bum bag”)
- He wears a bandanna (hachimaki)
- His bag is covered in anime badges
- His hair is excessively long
- He wears his rucksack over both shoulders
- He has big, thick glasses
- He tucks his shirt/T-shirt into his trousers
- He wears chemical wash jeans
Now here’s the reasons why you won’t spot me as an otaku based on the top 10 points.
- The only anime and game t-shirt I have is a Valkyria Chronicles shirt. People who haven’t heard, played the game or watched the series don’t have a clue what the “07″ means.
- You will only see me with a anime shopping bag at a convention. Oh wait, I going to Singapore in 3 weeks. Hmmm….
- No waist pouch for me. Never liked them so will never wear them.
- You will never get me to wear one of those. I don’t even wear a cap. lol
- Does having an Alvis keyring from Last Exile count?
- I like short hair. I can never stand long hair.
- If my terminology is correct, a rucksack is a backpack here. Many people wear a backpack to skool, work, outings etc. Very normal here.
- My glasses are thin and rectangular.
- This is a compulsory thing we have to do at school (even though half of the students don’t follow it) and at work. Thankfully, I can wear whatever I want as long as it’s not offensive and untidy so tucking my shirt in is not necessary at all.
- I have normal jeans but what is “chemical wash jeans”. That’s the first I’ve heard of it.
So there you have it. Maybe you might have learnt a bit more about me. lol
So what are your opinions about this survey? Do any of the 10 points match you?
Source: Sankaku Complex
19 Responses to Top 10 Ways to Spot an Otaku
Punynari
October 20th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Some of those items apply to me but generally it is hard to pick me out on the train as an Otaku.
1.) I own a few anime t-shirts but rarely wear them unless I am in the states. Never actually worn one in Japan.
2.) This is the dead giveaway on the train and around town. Having a large Mandarake bag screams Otaku and I almost always have one on me it seems. ^^;
3.) Haven’t seen a waist pouch since the very early 90’s. Wouldn’t wear one today, that’s just odd.
4.) Sometimes I’ll wear a ballcap but not in Japan. Hardly anyone wears hats in Japan besides tourists.
5.) Never got into the anime badges thing but I did have a Touhou Aya keychain on my backpack. The reactions I got on the train made me feel uncomfortable so I removed it later. Still got the Aya sticker on my laptop though. ^^;
6.) My hair has always been short and now it’s even shorter because of my job. Less hat hair is always a good thing.
7.) I will only wear my backpack on one shoulder if it is very crowded on the train to avoid hitting the person behind me. In Japan, almost everyone has 1 shoulder bags or as they call them on base a “man purse” ^^; Makes sense I guess if you’re going to be spending a lot of time on the train.
8.) My glasses are thin and circular.
9.) Even on shore patrol, I don’t tuck in my shirt. That would feel odd in my opinion.
10.) I wear jeans all the time but have also never heard of “chemical wash jeans”.
Interesting to see what a Japanese Otaku might look like but it seems I only fit only 2 or 3 of the points.
Punynari´s last blog post ..Kei, Touhou, Nanoha, and Future Coverage
konadora
Twitter: konadora
October 20th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
The top 10 ways are as follows:
1. He has an anime T-shirt
2. He has an anime shopping bag
3. He has a waist pouch (”fanny pack” / “bum bag”)
4. He wears a bandanna (hachimaki)
5. His bag is covered in anime badges
6. His hair is excessively long
7. He wears his rucksack over both shoulders
8. He has big, thick glasses
9. He tucks his shirt/T-shirt into his trousers
10. He wears chemical wash jeans
- 1) I have lots. Haha. :p
- 2) Nope, sadly. I want a few though!
- 3-10) All no :D
Interesting post though!
Guy
Twitter: GuyShalev
October 21st, 2009 at 4:50 am
I have a couple anime shirts, half a dozen comic T-shirts (most pretty high-end and cool, and look good out of context as well), and a bazillion T-shirts from threadless.
My backpack is usually worn on one shoulder, except when I need to run.
As for a pouch, I detest them, but I think it’s a pretty bad tell-tale, because in the USA and such, many serious non-geek adults wear and use them.
Guy´s last blog post ..Figure Friday Addendum – October 2nd-15th.
Yi
October 21st, 2009 at 12:06 pm
I think with that list, I’m not an otaku.
The only one that applies to me is 7, which is fairly normal around here. Also, I have no idea what chemical wash jeans are either.
Anyway, that list seems more like a list of stereotypes for geeks and nerds rather than specifically anime otaku (except for 1).
Yi´s last blog post ..Loveless
Snark
October 21st, 2009 at 7:10 pm
To be fair though, during the times I went to Akihabara, a metric fuckton of people looked like that. Also, they smelt funny.
Snark´s last blog post ..Happy birthday, me!
Smithy
Twitter: BlueWaveSmithy
October 21st, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Never mind the fact people just threw cliches around when answering that but here goes:
1. Have several anime shirts and wear them during summer, even at work. This is different from the millions of people with football, rugby club shirts how?
2. Don’t have any.
3. Don’t have any.
4. Don’t wear any.
5. Don’t have any.
6. My hair is neatly trimmed weekly to 3mm length.
7. One shoulder only.
8. Have glasses so that makes a every non-otaku have 10/10 vision?
9. Yes, like most properly dressed people do, I’m not some hoodlum.
10. What?
Smithy´s last blog post ..Shin Koihime†Musou 3
zenical
October 22nd, 2009 at 1:53 am
If you are an otaku, you are. Anyway this voting list was done to “SPOT” an otaku, not whether you are an otaku by nature! LOL.
basically I’m only an otaku when I go out wearing my anime shirt :D. You don’t see a girl wearing COSPA shirts that often do you? LOL. and this is really just based in Japan, but I can say that asia countries won’t differ a lot, but definitely for US or Australia I guess :P?
I can tell you one thing, most otaku guys here are spotted carrying haversacks on both shoulders! Well guys here normally grow out of carrying stuff when they get older, so carrying backpack = otaku, in a way to me XP.
I myself don’t carry a haversack because I know I’ll look like a nerd. HAHA.
zenical´s last blog post ..Nendoroid Megurine Luka
natalie
October 22nd, 2009 at 5:44 am
I wonder if they have a list to spot female otaku >:D
natalie´s last blog post ..Hayate no Gotoku!! POSTERS!
phossil
Twitter: phossil
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:27 am
Long hair? How does long hair relate with being otaku?
I have short hair btw.
phossil´s last blog post ..My current Win7 desktop
Chappy
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:43 am
No top 10 for female otaku? If that current top 10 applies to female as well, i don’t match any of them. LOL.
Chappy´s last blog post ..内牛满面
Rin
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:53 am
WOW…this makes me laugh!!!
Let’s see…
1) I do have anime tshirts, but I don’t wear them in public, the only time I ever wear them is at conventions or to bed. I usually wear MMA tshirts and FCUK Shirts, nothing more…
2) The only time you see me with an anime shopping bag is at Comiket or at conventions…no where else…
3) I use my own pockets and those packs make you look like a tourist…which i don’t want to stand out…
4) Don’t wear it…
5)Have a Konata keychain…on my bag with a Halo keychain…
6) I like to keep my hair long…short hair bothers me when I wake up in the morning…
7) Isn’t a rucksack is the same as a backpack. I use a backpack everyday…it’s so normal…
8) Perfect vision…don’t need any…
9) I don’t tuck in my shirt…
10) I wear jeans on a normal basis…I seriously wonder what is a chemical wash jeans…
Overall, this list is weird. From this list, you can’t tell I’m an otaku unless at a convention or you have to look at my bag which has only 2 keychains. I carry my backpack or a shoulder bag with when sometimes as I need it to put my camera in it. I don’t want to hold it for a long time. Does carrying a bag make one an otaku. Sometimes, this list makes no sense. Most of the list makes it look like a way to spot a more geeky/ nerd type of people.
@Phossil: I agree with you, what does hair have to do being otaku. I have long hair but I know people who has hair longer than me. Does that make them otaku…
Rin´s last blog post ..Konata Izumi ~Alto Cosplay~
GNdynames
Twitter: gndynames
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:49 am
My usual appearance is pretty generic, you’d have to know what to look for if you want to find me (plus I’m pretty good at recognizing faces so stalking me is pretty hard, that and I run fast).
I’m saying a “sort of” on 1 and 2 because our anime club is ordering sweat shirts with our logo on it, I have an anime tote bag but I never used it. Currently my hair is about half the length of Rin’s. If my next haircut is to be during Christmas then yes, it will get long.
I pretty much carry all of my textbooks around with me (my physics text has like 1600 pages), so instead of breaking one shoulder completely I’d like to even out the weight. I actually do occasionally tuck my t-shirt into my pants, only when the t-shirt’s length exceeds that of whatever I’m wearing on the outside. I only wear jeans, but none of them are chemical washed (I think one is slightly stained because I really overloaded the washing machine at one point last year, but I don’t think it left any marks).
Chemical washed jeans are those jeans that look faded on the knees, it’s the ‘effect’ of being owned for a long time (as with the tears), but it’s just a fashion statement these days. I believe the thing with hair is an indication that a) you don’t go out much b) you spent all your money on other stuff and not on grooming or c) you don’t look in the mirror much.
Smithy
Twitter: BlueWaveSmithy
October 23rd, 2009 at 1:28 am
@Rin
“8) Perfect vision…don’t need any…”
Can I has your eyes plz? :P
Smithy´s last blog post ..Queen’s Blade 2nd season 5
Q
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:19 am
Like what I’ve commented on Zotaku, a lot of those are kinda stereotypical. The taletale signs are often based on how you wear them, like wearing old clothes (i.e. several years old and are getting worn out), trousers that are getting short, strange colour combinations, oversized clothes, and even square shirts! Sounds like common sense to avoid them but it’s likely that one may appear like so, and such attires can cause people to have prejudice against you. In Hong Kong and other Asian countries this prejudice can be pretty negative too, and media only makes the matter worse for them.
Q´s last blog post ..Gundam OYW Gallery 2
Tommy
October 25th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Lovely stereotype.
I don’t really get it though. Do you need to have all 10 to be classified as an Otaku?
Tommy´s last blog post ..GSC Saber Lily -Distant Avalon-
Kailly
October 26th, 2009 at 5:38 am
Well, all my friends say that I’m like an otaku spy. You can tell that all my friends are otakus just by the way they dress (anime T-shirt and shopping bag, excessively long hair, anime badges on their backpack and some of them wear a cap) but they always tell me that they didn’t find out I was an otaku until I talked to them.
Optic
Twitter: mroptic
October 30th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
@All
Thanks for ur comments guys and gals. I really appreciate them. It’s interesting to see how ppl react to this and how they see it from their perspective. It’s an interesting and funny read so thanks again. ^^
Clearly I can see, wearing a rusksack or backpack in the western regions clearly doesn’t label you as an otaku. @_@
@Snark
I want to go there and find out myself to be honest. lol
@zenical
Well, I will be carrying a backpack with me when I’m there. Considering I will be sight-seeing for most of my days there, it’s essential I carry the items I need on that day and I’m not gonna carry them in plastic bags. I’m not even sure if there are plastic bags there? 0_o
I know some cities banned them already.
Well, I will be wearing my VC shirt there on the day I land so u can spot me. hahahaha
@Kailly
Welcome Kailly. I hope you enjoy ur stay.
It differs from country to country so I agree, ppl will know when u talk to them. lol
zenical
October 31st, 2009 at 2:58 am
don’t worry, I think I have to carry a backpack when I’m bringing you around too. I can’t imagine walking around with a slingbag. I’ll DIE.
zenical´s last blog post ..UVERworld – Kanashimi wa Kitto
PErsocom
November 2nd, 2009 at 1:53 am
1 applies to me most of the time, 6 sort of applies, my hair is long and could use a cut again, but as for th e rest not really, sometimes I’ll carry a backpack around though but I guess I don’t fit the look.
PErsocom´s last blog post ..Happy Halloween from Raspberyl Seraphy!