http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/12/04/the-four-new-classes-of-modern-otaku/
The article itself is a bit shitty, but it illustrates something I've been pondering about for a while and wanted to discuss with /jp/.
I think there's been a significant change in what we'd call otaku culture in the last decade due to several factors:
- A massive increase of anime production.
- The emergence of social media (especially Twitter, where fans can interact between themselves and with doujin artists and companies).
- Smartphones and the so called social games: Pasudora, Kancolle... along with the decline of arcades. Even Cave shut down its arcade operations and now makes phone games. Niwaka bait or new generation? At first the answer seems obvious to me (they're all shit), but the pace and volume of change has been so astonishing that I'm wondering if the nature of the medium has undergone an irreversible transformation. I have a hard time believing some of the previous culture-defining works would have been created today.
- An overall broadening of the intended audience of 2D media, with a large percentage of young people labeling themselves as otaku despite the stigma the word once had.
But what I'm really curious about is the following: how do the old otaku fit in the new scheme of things? Do they just keep their traditional habits, busy with their stuff and invisible to the world? Do they simply ignore the new social channels? After all, they weren't known for being social in first place. Or have they evolved and adopted new ways? And, even if this wasn't case, what's the future of the stereotypical obsessive asocial otaku? Is it even possible for a subculture like that to develop in this era of children who grow up with smartphones and where Akiba has been turned into a niwaka shopping center?
>Old Otaku
Nigger, I was using AOL Online and shitting up old web forums with the earliest animemes before you knew what Newgrounds was.
Old Otaku is just nerds who used the Internet before it was mainstream.
>>14443460
I remember browsing around their games page and downloading ones that sounded cool
all while going through the latest lego magazine
the games were almost always shit if they actually worked
do you remember always havng to be in command prompt on windows? i picked that shit up fast as a little kid
>>14443440
>Kancolle
>small c
>Akiba has been turned into a niwaka shopping center?
Den Den Town is next if the planned light rail line gets built
Fetishisation of Akihabara along with the 'riding on the history' method is what has damaged it. It's not as bad as it could be, but there is potential for it to get worse, particularly interested to see what will happen in the next 5 years.
It's like those old fashion companies such as Gucci, Louis Vuttion, Dolce & Gabanna etc that were well known, high quality and interesting luxury fashion studios pre 2000, but now sell overpriced, branding heavy items, using their history to make just as much money without putting nearly as much effort in.
>>14443440
imo there is no such thing as a social otaku.
to me otaku always implied 'socially inactive' aswell.
Lets be real here, anime, games, and general other otaku stuff is getting more and more popular and mainstream. Many people are socially active and enjoy this medium a lot. Its the way of the new generations in japan and around the world.
They are not 'otakus', they are normal people who enjoy a new spectrum of hobbies. Its just that people mix terms in the age of change now.
An otaku is someone that takes things to an exreme and is usually not socially fit and trys to hide. I.e.: spends all of his money on figurines, room is full of posters, avoids social interactions mostly, spends most of his time watching and analyzing anime things etc.
hell, thats what I think. There never really has been any real definiton for otaku, geek, nerd etc.
Its likely not going to change.
>>14443440
I saw this trending on twitter a few days back.
There is no real need for an "old otaku" to change/adapt/whatever new scheme you want to call it, other than one that is dissatisfied with being an "old otaku". You don't need to be ignorant about new social channels or whatever, you simply don't need to participate in them. I've got a twitter account solely because most of the news goes on there nowadays. The stereotypical obsessive asocial otaku will keep being the same if he/she so wishes, in fact I think it's even aided by the widespread services that the internet gives you nowadays since info (and even shopping) is that much easier to obtain. This stereotype boogeyman still went out to buy at Comiket decades ago so I think people might be misunderstanding things.
As for your last question, what subculture? I think this is the same as how the video game "subculture" has developed during the last decades. How it stopped being mostly "nerd shit" and now it's hip and cool to play (smartphone) games. You still see die-hard Quake players though, or whatever. On another parallel, a lot of experimentation still goes on on indie platforming in video games, same as doujin works. It's true that the atmosphere changed though, I don't really necessarily think that means the death of innovation yet. That's beyond the types of otaku though. Riajuus will be riajuus and exploit trendy shit.
Considering K-on and Love Live are the otaku franchises that made it on the mainstream on the last years, the next generation of otakus may be mainly female
otaku culture is evolving and will continue to evolve.　just like it has been doing. amazing I know.
>>14449602
this pic was begging for some meme text
I am itaota but I like fashion and managed to brainwash a Japanese female into marrying me by being a good looking foreigner
She never forgets to remind me how other girls wouldn't put up with me.. maybe I will be back to being alone in the end though
I think anime had huge a spike in popularity but it's now dwindling down. Well in Australia at least, last year and the beginning of this year the local anime store would be filled. Now you're lucky if you see five people, and they'll be overweight with a neck beard.
This is the first time I've seen the term riaju otaku. What an oxymoron.
I think otaku still has a big stigma in it. A lot of fags at 2ch non-ota boards rail on them.
Any otaku on the social side is just a normie.
>>14443460
>before it was mainstream.
AOL existed only after the Internet became a mainstream thing, kiddo. I don't know who you are trying to be but it isn't working.
One thing I've come to accept is that the new era of "otaku" are just pure consumers who buy buy buy and consume consume consume.
Now, the top tier otaku will be the ones who create things related to their interests.
>>14443440
Everything has become more popular with the internet usage and social media increase. Connecting anything to the internet and the overall growth of the "informed" average citizen has led to the growth of pretty much any, even small and almost unknown groups.
Things are so simple nowadays. Of course otaku culture is affected by that. More people to satisfy means taking steps into modern, more popular directions.
>>14449203
>sao
>snk
Are you serious?
>>14450938
Just a correction correction, I was on AOL before you could actually connect to the internet through it. AOL was one of only a few big systems (Prodegy, CompuServe, etc.) and they were the evolution of bulleton boards. As the internet finally went mainstream AOL and the others had to adapt and eventually faded in importance. For a while they were your dial-in solution to get ON the "information superhighway". The internet was hardly mainstream at the time even if a few of us loved it already. If you think the internet was mainstream I'm going to suggest you were ahead of the crowd and are probably reading the right board...
>>14451052
Lots of Japanese ISPs still function like gated communities, the way AOL did.
>>14443440
I can't really say I've given it a lot of thought, but I guess I might be one of those old otaku - while boiling water for some instant ramen, I got to thinking and I basically don't go to twitter, reddit, or any of the other newer sites - only place I habitually hang out as far as social stuff is IRC, which I doubt really qualifies since it's been around since the mid-80s, and I've used it since the early 90s.
What is the definition of a "Otaku"? I have a friend so I don't think I qualify, although he indulges in "Otaku culture" as well.
>>14451187
I -think- it means someone who takes a particular obsession so far the rest of their life suffers - a disproportionate amount of their money, time, effort goes into that thing, whether it's anime, photography, video games, etc. As a result they end up having almost no social life.
Implications include technically able, as though they'd make a success of themselves if it weren't for this main obsession. Also it is implied that food, sleep, hygiene are unimportant, though I suspect some otaku are obsessively neat and clean as well.
>>14451187
>otaku culture
Think hard anon, you have train otakus to park otakus
Think really hard on what word you could replace otaku with and still get the same result.
>>14451224
Actually after posting this I have a question of my own - how about social contact that involves the obsession? Say you were into certain video games and you played them online with a small group of "friends" but your chance of meeting in real life was basically zero? Is this still Otaku?
>>14451237
otaku is not about being autist and have no friends
otaku can have friends usually other otaku or people who can accept them(only really apply in japan because otaku bad cannotation)
in US nowaday the convert of otaku would be nerd or geek on niche interest that normal people usually don't put time into
otaku culture maybe change and become acceptable by more people but the otaku themself will never change
otaku is not going to become social and have girlfriend just because there are normal people who now can enjoy anime
>>14451237
If going by your definition, then yes.
Someone who takes a particular obsession that the rest of their life suffers does not mean that they're antisocial, just awkward in creating relationships (although there are antisocials that are otaku, you won't see them in co-op games). A common interest usually sparks ground for creating at least a shallow relationship while the otaku indulges on their main interest (game).
It's debatable but if anyone's definition of otaku is not = "not having friends" then there's leeway. I personally think having acquaintances at least is an important part of otaku culture because doujin circles would not be created otherwise.
>>14451273
>>14451264
Thanks! I certainly don't feel qualified to define terms for other people, was just trying to put out what I think the term means to see if other people thought it was right or not. Sounds reasonably close.
In any case, I don't know how to answer the OP's original question
>>14443440
>how do the old otaku fit in the new scheme of things?
Honestly I would guess the true "otaku" would just continue going on about their focus, possibly in mild surprise if more people found their obsession interesting, though there might also be an elevated level of competition and commitment to have the best at their particular obsession.
I'm not surprised there is a broadening of the otaku "scene" (may be the wrong word) but the true culture probably remains somewhat unaffected. I'm not surprised because there is something freeing in being responsible to nobody but yourself and indulging what really fascinates you. Example:
I am actually married, with three kids all about to move out. Okay. Maybe that's delusional, but all old enough to move out if they were going to. For work I had to open an office in a nearby city (three hour drive) so I rented an apartment for a year. I went home a couple times a month and my wife came out a couple times a month but WOW I liked being on my own for a while. Those days where I could just go back to my own place, that had only the things I wanted in it, and pursue only those things that interested me? Dang. It was a special kind of pleasure.
In the end, it's not enough of a draw for me to keep it that way. I'm not genuine otaku, just occasionally daydream about it.
So as people find out that there's a whole culture (no matter how small or sub) that lives like that, and think only on the good parts (I loved the quiet and the focus on myself but I missed the sex too much) there will be a dabbling or "fanboy" of that culture.
Okay, that last bit was horribly difficult to follow but hopefully got my amused point across. Wannabe otaku. How odd. Almost as though they were otaku about otaku...
>>14451332
Or you can do the true otaku thing like I did, namely find a Japanese wife and move to Japan (approximately in that order).
>>14451332
Living with the tough parts of being an otaku is quintessentially one of the things being an otaku is about, and the result of that shows in the prominent types highlighted in the OP (mostly those people that can't deal with being a true otaku contrasting the true otaku), and it shows in a lot of self-condescending and semi-biographical works in the medium, NHK being the most cited and well-known example.
It's why terms like Ita-x (itasha, itaota, etc) describe them as being painful. And why riaotas like you describe yourself as exist, the ones not really dedicated to their passion so much it hurts, but ones that take the enjoyable parts in small bits and still enjoy that small bit of otaku culture. This might sound condescending but it's like comparing an amateur skygazer to an astrophysicist. They both contribute and are part of the same sphere of work/recreation but in widely different ways.
>>14451049
SNK is shounenshit so it was always supposed to be enjoyed by kids. Also, it's very popular among women. SAO isn't that mainstream
>>14451577
Ah. I can totally go with this. Riaota, eh? Yes, I was admitting to not being otaku. I think it takes, well, an otaku to be an otaku (okay, that was lame).
Therefore I would say just a little bit more in answer to OP. An Otaku wouldn't care what's going on in "trends" around them. They'd simply be otaku. The medium and means wouldn't empower or diminish it.
Fascinating thread for understanding this board. Almost worth becoming the sticky.
>>14451838
SNK's income is solely dependent on chubby high school girls buying scout regimen hoodies.
Interesting thread
Good thread.
>>14451106
Care to elaborate more on that? Seems very interesting.
>>14457466
Not the same guy, but I think he's referring to the provider specific email accounts and sites you get access to, which sometimes include things like message boards. I've had quite a few different Japanese providers but honestly I've never bothered to check out any of that stuff because I figured it would only be ads. I had a setup before where my provider would actually assign two IP addresses to my router at once, and route based on domain name so that one of them was specifically for accessing NTTs customers only area. I mainly liked it because I could stick 4chan into the routing table too and basically have a quick extra life before having to reboot router for two more new IPs when ban evading. So it's not like it was an intranet only address. Honestly I'm not sure what the point of the second address actually was.
>>14443440
Has the really been a change in 2005 otaku to 2015 otaku? They still seem like moeshit and tits loving faggots to me.
I was thinking about this but in the context of the denpa culture. The denpa concept dies once it becomes commonplace because it stops being shocking and weird, which is one of its main purposes. I see now that it's not only denpa suffering from this but otaku culture as a whole. When being an otaku becomes commonplace, the "otaku" concept itself becomes meaningless because you're not an outcast anymore.
This is fucking giving me a panic attack
How can these retards think normlords can be otaku the term literally refers to someone who is autistically obsessed with something not just something you only think about when you're not @ da club what the FUCK are they thinking by enabling fake otaku to keep shoving themselves in where they aren't wanted? If we didn't need to classify 4 different types of otaku ten years ago we sure as fuck don't need to now when it's popular to be a le nerd frogposting fuckhole
>>14459476
> denpa concept becomes commonplace
What? When? Where?
>>14459736
Kyary being the international face of Jpop comes to mind
>>14459736
Around ~2008 probably stopped being a "niche" thing in Japan, I'd say.
>>14451264
>otaku is not going to become social and have girlfriend just because there are normal people who now can enjoy anime
This is really scary actually. Our deep interest in these niche interests are what we use to define ourselves, often because there is little else to be proud of. If the core structures of what our lives revolve around (not necessarily anime, manga, VNs etc, I might be considered a cartography otaku for example) become periphery aspects of other people's lives, that is, the majority of those with the interest don't actually care about it very much, it becomes harder to justify our own obsession in relation to them, and part of what drives our antisocial nature and closed communities, as well as what those things are primarily driven by, lose their some of their inherent value to us, as they divide us less from that which we try to avoid becoming. Think of that old image about new people joining and ruining old communities with niche interests.
I'm not much of a social scientist so I might be misunderstanding how this would play out in the "true" otaku circles, but personally it feels like something that is "mine" and that I can be confident in sharing mostly only with people that are "like me" is being encroached upon, and I and my beloved peers are being left behind with nothing. As if something precious is being slowly taken from me as I sit complacent with no ability or even motivation to do anything about it. Perhaps it's just a function of natural human conservatism and fear of change, but it's really hard not to be pessimistic.
>>14459980
Stop talking like this I'm already freaking out that I'm going to lose the only thing that lets me relate to other people
>>14459972
Most of the people that get upset over it are just insecure because they're worried that they'll eventually grow out of it with the rest of mainstream society and have to face that *they're* just as guilty of trend hopping. By talking down about other peoples' passive interest it lets them think there's is more real. It's no coincidence that the biggest proponents of a certain lifestyle are always the most welcoming, that's exactly why what you said is true about surfers and skaters. Being the first trend hopper is significantly less fun when everyone else joins in and starts being the first among their own friends.
>>14459980
>>14459995
that's all bullshit
take sports like football, you can't be anymore mainstream than that
there are those that collect memorabilia to the point their house looks like a sports gift shop
whose fashion seem to only consist of jerseys of their favorite team
who knows all the players throughout the history of the team AND their relevant stats
despite the mainstream status of the hobby, those people are still considered weird
those are the otaku
As a 30+ year old virginal dork with no friends, the term otaku was something I used to take comfort in. It afforded a sense of pride where there was none. I knew that my hobby was awesome and the people I just couldn't attract were missing out. With tears in my eyes after watching an OP, I felt my existence was justified despite their scorn. I was helpless, socially inept to conform and began to reject and even mock their society. ... Anyway, things change and I don't spaghetti as much anymore.
It would be good to avoid unnecessary elitism. The fact is that more people are being exposed to it, they're just casuals.
If there was visible sage, I would have used it here.
>>14459995
We might finally grow out of it. There were several subcultures and communities that I was once deeply involved in, to the point of spending several days at a time doing nothing else but that, but which I grew tired of as they expanded and stopped catering primarily to me and those like me. It's selfish, but we want our places to remain ours and when they no longer are they become repulsive to those of us who remember when things were "better" for us specifically. However, this is something I've been doing for far too long, far too intensely, to simply grow out of. Or rather, I don't think I'd ever want to grow out of it, considering the huge investment I've put into it and the way my growth has been shaped by it.
I'm sure everything will be fine though. Everything always turns out fine.
>>14460031
This is my hope actually. The fact that football fans and football "nerds" are considered separate entities, mostly unlike one another though the interest of one is a small aspect of the obsession of the other. It's probably really bad for me to think this way, but I think I can still be happy if even when everybody else starts liking what I like, if they still push me away for liking it too much.
>>14460020
Thanks for replying to my unedited tl;dr of >>14460047
>Trend hopping
There is definitely a sense of "I was here first" that makes them feel more entitled to cred or props or respect. A senpai of sorts. But what you have described about who is the first, and dropping it when it becomes mainstream is *the* definition of a hipster. This is why the term is used disparagingly among those in the know, although it has other definitions.
>>14460057
I wonder what /cgl/ thinks about this. ComicCon has exploded with 'nerd' culture and now it has mainstream television coverage.
>>14460191
you could probably go ask them and they wouldn't mind
I feel like /cgl/ has a a lot in common with /jp/ in some aspects, I'm surprised they don't talk about each other that often
>>14460469
/cgl/ isnt really like us at all. They're more like /fit/ in that they're what r9k calls "failed normies". People who try to act normal really hard and because of it, become distasteful to be around for both normal everyday people and the people with weird hobbies like us. They cant really take it easy.
Most of their threads are about "drama" and complaining about other girls, making fun of other girls, and stories about how they only got boyfriends or sugar daddies to buy them things.
Its really offputting. If anyone from /cgl/ had things in common with us they'd be posting here anyways, and we wouldnt need to go over there to talk to them.
>>14460534
hmm, that may be, I haven't really lurked there that much, 2 months at most
From what I could see from them they just really high standards for what they were doing, a lot of suggestion asking as well
>>14443440
What kind of otaku is the kind of person who doesn't even watch anime but is heavily saturated in a bunch of doujin music, rhythm/arcade games, and sits at home and browses touhou fanwork like a fucking secondary
because that's me
>>14460861
Was me. Then I moved to Japan. Join me senpai.
>>14460861
Otaku does not mean "anime fan". In fact, anime fans are the lowest form of otaku.
>>14460965
How did you move to Japan?
>>14460965
>>14461944
This is a good thread.
Please don't turn it into one of "those" threads.
Thank you.
Otaku are generally in the 15-30 range until they grow out of it/commit suicide/go normie/whatever so to me it seems that the old breed of antisocial otaku is simply going extinct
Any 30+ otaku here can convince me otherwise of course
>>14462215
I'm forty-one. I've been living a meager life as a NEET on saved life insurance money and capital gains since I dropped out of graduate school in the 90s. I started watching anime in the late 80s and became a shut-in at around age fifteen. I don't plan to ever stop living like this.
Where did you get that notion? In my experience we sound pretty much like everybody else online, so there's no accurate way to discern the age of a poster unless the conversation is about something that dates them, and even then plenty of younger people are into old shit.
This is a nice thread but I'm kinda confused as to what subtopic I should reply to.
Could you guys please define what you think of by saying "old otaku"?
I'm 26, a stereotypical NEET, been a vidya/anime otaku my whole life, yet I wouldn't consider myself "old otaku".
Anime-wise for me it would be either the japs long before we even knew what "otaku" means, or either those guys who used to be forum admins 10-15 years ago, who must be adults now but most of them dissapeared into nothingness.
Are you guys afraid that;
-current trends and consumer methods affect your otaku interests?
-normies and social media has too much of an impact on said interests?
-or that slowly you will loose all identity and positive/negative relation you hold to your otaku hobbies, (including previous otaku friends and any future friends,) simply because the interests and common factors will be spread out too much?
see: >>14459980
>Think of that old image about new people joining and ruining old communities with niche interests.
Isn't this what always happens sooner or later anyway?
Of course, everything changes slowly, including "otaku" culture, no matter what hobby you obsess about.
Sadly we start to see the drawbacks of the internet now.
Whatever is popular or hated upon already has an impact on us.
10 years ago you could be a part of a community where people shared common interests and no one rained shit on you if you politely didn't share ALL of their interests.
10 years ago said communities held together and it was a fun place to be at.
Nowadays, I'm struggling to have online contacts that last longer than a month.
You either go with the flow of what's popular while also hating on what's unpopular for the general circlejerk, or you are left out and keep wandering the internet from one place to another.
I don't know if anything could be done about this though.
>>14443440
if you're anything other than a barely surviving otaku, you're a normie
Old otaku are either dead or rewatching 80s shows all day
my big bro was real og
member of vhs anime club, brought them on loan back home where I could watch as well
he grew out of it
>>14451224
I think Im a 4chan otaku then
>>14464550
What will you do once your money runs out
>>14465987
It won't. I actually manage to save a bit by the end of each month since the properties I invested in several years ago have gained quite a bit of value. It's kind of depressing to know I'll never have anyone to inherit it, but I have it better than most. Maybe I'll just spend it all and live like a king in my last days or donate it on my deathbed or something. Though if the market crashes and I end up broke at some point I'll probably just starve or kill myself. We'll see.
>>14459980
>become periphery aspects of other people's lives, that is, the majority of those with the interest don't actually care about it very much, it becomes harder to justify our own obsession in relation to them
No, it doesn't. I play video games and watch anime because I like them. Not because it's part of my closed-circle sekret klub. If all of /jp/ just died overnight, I would still continue to play touhou. /jp/ is fucking overflowing with secondaries, but that doesn't stop me from trying to 1cc games on hard.
There is a line between otaku and casuals, but it is blurry. Nonetheless, it exists. Normalfags will still steer clear of most "otaku" things; someone making an actual, significant effort to clear a game well-known to be difficult like Super Ghouls n Ghosts or some romhack or something should probably be called an otaku. The line will always be there. As >>14460031 pointed out, people that collect a shit ton of football things would probably be seen as eccentric, even by some football fans.
Elitists can be as bad as casuals. "Ur not a truanimefan unless you've seen at least 300 series raw. GTFO if you haven't." However, these days, they may be a necessary evil. Having elitists strut their stuff and call you a fucking idiot or whatever prevents a lot of casuals from joining some communities they are unwelcome in. Only the people that genuinely care will stay to deal with the bullshit. Is it the best way to do things? Who knows?
In response to the OP, I don't know if I can be considered to be an "old otaku." I've been playing video games since I was 3, but I'm only 20. In the sense of how long I've been alive, no, but in the sense of how long I've been an otaku, probably yes. So what do I do in the face of changing "otaku culture?" Nothing. I never gave a shit about otaku culture anyway. I browse /jp/ for a quick laugh, occasionally partake in dump threads and the fumo general. Other than that, if /jp/ went away, I would be a little disappointed, but not care too much.
Every time I've tried to become friends or have a conversation with someone that was interested in video games or anime IRL, it ended in disaster. I gave up a long, long time ago, and I never cared about any "culture."
I like this thread, why dont we have more of these and less of the spam?
>>14465598
>Could you guys please define what you think of by saying "old otaku"?
I honestly can't give you a definition. It's probably almost impossible to find an old Otaku because, chances are, they still regard the work Otaku with disdain and will refuse to identify themselves as Otaku. And I can't blame them, since the word IS supposed to be a stigmatizing label, yet nowadays we see an entire generation of people that throw the word around like it's nothing.
>>14459980
There was a point in time when I realized that I actually had a lot of contempt for the communities that I was embedded in and as a result my interests started shifting away from that of the other members. Though I'll always be indebted to them for introducing me to a new world.
There's still a lot of interest overlap because they're still all various strains of the same kind of Japanese media, but back when I cared more about the community, my interests naturally shifted to match it. First because I had some sort of weird notion of a "community standard" in mind, and second, at the end of the day if you're interested in shit that the community doesn't care about nobody's going to talk about it with you.
>>14460534
I only ever visit /cgl/ during major weeb conventions to see how the other half lives and read horror stories (it's my pathetic hobby) but I don't think there's as much drama and sniping as you say there is. Mostly it's people trying to enjoy their hobby and when they make fun of people it's usually because they're what we would consider Deviantart-tier.
There actually used to be a small amount of 2hu-based overlap between /jp/ and /cgl/ but that went away after /jp/ became even more antisocial than it was already.
>>14470834
Because everybody is able to list their observations of a lifetime about one time before they've said most of what they'll ever have to say on the subject.
Also, a lot of people here know enough to know that they basically know almost nothing about what Japanese otaku culture was originally like.
>>14466355
Commision an anime movie with character and story design by Takamichi and the rest by Makoto Shinkai, 5cm per sec was like 200k usd and we're about the same exchange rate as in 2007.
>>14451049
Many girls actually liked Asuna x Kirito back when the franchise hadn't very much hated.
>>14443440
>how do the old otaku fit in the new scheme of things?
Like this.
Sasuga Anno already predicting this development.
>>14443440
I have two words: not today
guddo naito
>>14465959
Same here. He tried watching some shounenshit with me at the turn of the century but graduate school and being a normie took more priority while I was a NEET. I stopped being a shut in and now both of us are successful but he's got a wife and kid. He seems to miss his otaku hobbies but too busy with his career and family. All I do is work and watch anime. I try making otaku friends online but feels so hard to relate to people 'cause I have absolutely nothing interesting to contribute to any social situations.
>>14444768
Shhh.
>>14459980
They're gentrifying out hobbies.
