Okay, now this is a subject that could get people going, since it has legal and economic issues in there.
So, one person has shelves upon shelves full of anime and manga, along with other merchandise to decorate his/her room. This person will most likely say, "BUY UR ANIMU!!!" because this person buys ALL of the titles they found interesting because he/she is completely devoted to keeping the industry alive. Now, another person has little to nothing relating their favorite titles (this is going somewhere). This person will most likely go to a forum and ask, "where can i get anime and manga 4 free?" because this person reads and watches all of his/her favorite titles online, or he/she downloads it. Now, who do you think is doing the BEST (best. not right/wrong or smart/stupid, but either can be applied depending on your values) thing?
Now, my opinion is, they are both doing the worst thing on both sides of the spectrum, but have good intentions. The person who is buying all of their favorite titles is doing the right and ethical thing to do. The person viewing their favorite titles online (and possible downloading it) are doing the smart thing. Now I will put my opinion into more detail:
The person who buys everything he/she thinks will look interesting is doing a very good and ethical thing, but this system is flawed, believe it or not. The issue that comes with this is money. When it comes to checking out something to see if it's good, buying it would, to me, be very stupid, because if it's something that I don't find too interesting after I buy it, it would be a waste of money. I mean, if you do that (and not smart about it), this drains your money out. If you're not the kind of person who would read or watch what you have over and over, this can lead to withdrawal, or unhappiness.
The person who views everything for free, and/or downloads it is doing the smart (but downloading could be stupid sometimes) thing, but, obviously, it is flawed too. The issue here is money, the law, and the supply. If he/she is not contributing any money to the industry, then the industry will lose money, lay off employees, and it'll lead to the ultimate demise of the company. If you view your favorite titles from a certain website, it'll be illegal, and could get you in trouble. Also, the websites you use will more than likely get caught and shut down. Or, the videos will disappear.
Here is what I would do: view different titles ONLINE (will view as many episodes/chapters as I like), then if I'm a big fan of it, I will buy it, and view it over, and over, and over, simply because I like to do that (especially with Loveless). To me, I'm getting as much anime/manga crack as I could ever find, and I'm doing what I can to support the industry, so I can view it over and over. This to me is the best thing for me. Right now, however, I'm saving up or waiting for a better time to buy DVDs and books.
However, each person has a different rule, value, morals, or whatever for themselves, and will do whatever to make themselves feel better. Tell me, what do YOU do to view your favorite titles? What rules have you set for yourself? What are you comfortable with? How much did you spend on your anime? And anything that you can add, argue, debate, or whatever with this topic.
Summary: So, one person buys everything he/she found interesting to support the industry. Another person views his/her favorite titles for free, all the time, so that he/she could save money. Now, the buyer is doing the right and ethical thing, while the pirate is doing the smart thing. However, I think that these 2 things are the worst things to do on both sides of the spectrum. I would view various titles online, then buy whatever I love, because I'm known to look at it over, and over, and over, and it'll be worth it. I consider that the best for me, but each person has their own best, and I'd love to know what YOU do, and everything in between.
Now, this is a very touchy subject, let me warn you!
So, you've been looking around on TheOtaku, and see mostly anime and manga related subjects, with some other stuff thrown along with it. Now, I bet you that TheOtaku.com is aware of where the word came from, and is also not afraid to use that word in a different context. Let me begin.
Now, the word, "otaku" is derived from a Japanese term meaning another house or family. Now in Japan, it is used as an insult to describe a person who is obsessed with anything to the point of not leaving his/her house. Now, for some odd reason, otaku is being used for something else as well, and here it is:
In most western countries, the word, "otaku" is used to describe a big anime/manga/video game fan, normally they do not obsess to the point of not leaving their house, but they are more like annoying geeks than anything.
Now comes the real issue. A lot of people are very upset by the fact that big anime fans are using this word to describe themselves, and most of the time, the fans do not know about the derogatory meaning behind it. It pisses people off enough to make people afraid of using this word with another context. The word, "otaku" has become a word of mass destruction. It is now a word of pure evil. I am not exaggerating. Now! I'm going to give my opinion on this:
I think that this word, like other words, can have dual meanings. The "otaku" word is only insulting if you use the word as such. Now, if you want to talk about yourself as loving anime/manga/video games a lot, you can use that word, and as someone said, it can be used as a pet name. Now, also keep in mind about where you live. Calling yourself an otaku in Japan and any other eastern country will cause people to look at you weird. Calling yourself an otaku in the states and other western countries will probably attract others like you, or drive away people who don't like crazy people. Also, I think that people are getting a stick up their ass because a word now has another meaning (does that tell you how weeaboo they are?).
Now, the debate over dual meanings will continue, now that this website is up, and that there are a few books about the American anime fangirls, such as Aoi House. I'm not saying that it is their fault for all this. I'm saying that these things will make the word less clear to people. I do not intend to insult this website, because I love it so much! I just want to point something out.
I can come up with a little solution to this. If you are on the internetz and you want to call yourself an otaku, maybe you want to use the word, "wotaku" instead. It can cut down on confusion a lot.
I know that this may be a little silly, but Wikipedia has a really detailed and varied article on it.
Now, I would love your opinion on this. Now, this may very well turn into a debate, but I would love your input on this, along with some sources, some fancy arguments, and maybe some surveys. I also know that I am adding to the crazy debates, but this place is much better for it than anywhere else. Maybe I can get some real input here.
Summary: The word otaku is used as an insult in Japan to describe someone who is obsessed with something enough to not leave his/her house. In western countries, it is used to describe a big anime/manga/video game fan. There has been some debates about the word being used with dual meanings, and it's getting to the point where the word itself becomes pure evil. I think that the word can have dual meanings, and can be used in two ways. I also think that weeaboos are making a big deal about it. An easy solution to this to cut down on confusion is to use the word, "wotaku". However, I want opinions, sources, good arguments, surveys, etc. on it from ya'll so I'll know what you think.
Ever had a problem that just needed to be let out of your system by talking to someone, but he or she, or someone else for that matter, just snaped at you and said, "You know, there are people out there who have it worse than you, so you better quit your bitchy whining!" That just irritates me to no end when this kind of thing happens.
Now, I'd like to give out some advice. If you are upset, and you listen to someone talk about his or her problem, even though you have it worse, GO TALK TO SOMEONE, or write in a journal or something. People talk about their problems because they need to let their problems fly out instead of bottling it in. When you bottle in your emotions, they will continue to get worse and worse until you finally snap, either leading to what I'm ranting about, or something worse!
Also, if someone says something like this to you while you are talking about a problem, either go somewhere else to talk to whoever you were talking to (if the person who did it wasn't the person you were talking to), or find someone else to talk to (if the person you were talking to did this. This is something important you need to do to avoid heartache, and that person needs to talk to someone). Everyone deserves to let it out of their system, or get advice on their problem. However, if you talk about your problems all the time (especially with the same person, and especially about petty things), then you might need to do something else other than talk.
There are exceptions to this that really need to be considered. The petty problems, such as: "My mom won't let me go out to the movies last night!" or "My posters are damaged!" or anything in the severity of those problems, those are not really problems you need to solve right away, so it would do a lot of good for you and yourself to not address those problems, as to not waste their time. I know that this paragraph conflicts with the others, but you will most likely agree with me on this :)
Summary: Whenever you have someone snap at you and say something along the lines of, "There are people out there that have it worse than you!", he or she is usually upset themselves, and need someone to talk to. When that happens, go somewhere else or find someone else to talk to. But, I hope that you are not talking about problems that are petty, like "My mom won't let me go out to the movies last night!" because that is a waste of time for people. I also hope that you don't talk about your problems all the time (especially with the same person, and with petty problems) for obvious reasons.
