i like to watch things on tv (never gets old as a subject line; thank you autofill)

[lunabee34]

Welp, as his brother Robb is out panning for gold in the Yukon, apparently Jon Snow is riding a direwolf over the volcano at Pompeii. *turns head sideways to look at the TV*

I am going to check alternate sources (thanks for the tip, umadoshi), but the Fruits Basket anime watch is on a bit of a hiatus because Netflix has stopped streaming. Instead, we have started watching Princess Jellyfish (which Josh and I are besotted with and which Emma thinks is funny but is probably not the best show we could have chosen to show her LOL) and the Natsume's Book of Friends anime. Natsume is sooooooooo good. I have cried approximately two times each episode so far. *joy* :)

Re: Princess Jellyfish, I have a question about the term otaku. My context clues skills are pretty good, and I have utilized the Wikipedia, but I'm curious about what those of you who are more familiar with Japanese culture than I am would say about the term. Tell me stuff, y'all. :)

WE JUST FINISHED ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK AND I HAVE SO MANY THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THIS SHOW OMG OMG OMG. *ahem* Is anyone interested in that or am I the only one watching? I can't remember if any of you posted about it or not.

Comments

[umadoshi]

"Otaku" is one of those words where the meaning tends to shift a bit, so the usage could vary more than this now. (And I don't speak Japanese.) But! Last I checked, it means very different things in Japan or in the English-speaking anime fandom. [/disclaimer]

In Japan, an otaku is someone who's unhealthily obsessed with (usually but not always) geeky things, to the point of having no life outside of it. The stereotype is of the young adult man living with his parents in a dark room full of monitors and posters, who doesn't know how to speak to women (if anyone) and is in love with 2-D girls, etc. etc. I assume the term gets used when someone's in a situation that isn't that extreme, but that's the sort of connotation it has. There may also be some reclamation of it, though? Especially in contexts like Princess Jellyfish, where the women are proud of who they are.

Somehow, by the time I became an anime fan around '96 or so, the North American fandom, at least, had claimed the term and was treating it as a positive "proud to be a super-fan!" sort of thing. IIRC it was along the lines of "if you're enough of an anime geek to call yourself an otaku, you're an otaku!" I know I used it for at least a little while, but stopped when someone explained the cultural disconnect and what native Japanese speakers would think I was saying.

[lunabee34]

That's basically the context I got from Wikipedia: that North America had sort of reclaimed the term, but in Japan it is still used perjoratively mainly.

Thanks for the explanation!

[agentcthulhu]

I am not familiar with Princess Jellyfish but I second what umadoshi said about the Japanese definition of otaku. It is similar to what people here would refer to as a "basement-dwelling neckbeard" at the worst and a socially-awkward nerd with an unusally intense interest in their "field" of anime/manga/gaming/other commercial consumerism specialty at best. Even then, the image that comes to mind are people who spend the majority of their paycheck on anime/manga/figurines/models/games/other merchandise etc.

[lunabee34]

Gotcha.

I think you would like Princess Jellyfish. It's pretty awesome (and streaming on Netflix).

[torachan]

I loved Orange Is the New Black!

[lunabee34]

ME TOOO!

I am going to make a post about it soon. Many things to say.

[likeadeuce]

There's a bit in FMA that is variously translated as Ed calling Winry an automail nerd & Winry calling Ed an alchemy nerd (I think it shows up in both animes as well as the manga), and I'm pretty sure that the word they're using is otaku, and they're obviously mad at/insulting each other. Though I'm guessing that within an anime source, it's used with a bit of a wink. But the discussion I've heard is basically American fans using it enthusiastically, and being reminded by older/more knowing fans that 'in Japan, that's an insult.' But I've exclusively heard the discussion among American fans so no idea what meaning-shift it's had in Japan.

And yeah, I loved Orange is the New Black. I don't think I ever did a proper post about it, though.

[lunabee34]

*nods nods*

That's what I got from Wikipedia. Cool.

I loved Orange is the New Black, too. Post coming soon!

Also, I realized when I was cleaning off my desk today that I never thanked you for your lovely postcard. :) Made my day.

[likeadeuce]

Aww, you're welcome!

[karmageddon]

I love orange is the new black. Love the realistic depiction of mental illness, good characters, everything.

[lunabee34]

ME TOOOOOOO!

Meta post coming soon.