I don't hide it but I don't announce it anymore than I announce I read western novels. Since I've gotten older the manga revolution has taken off in England and I'm able to afford more so I read more manga in public places. Mostly I get ignored or casually asked what I'm reading but no one's ever said anything bad.

My family take the mickey but they're family, they'll always find something to tease me about and vice versa. No one else cares enough to say anything and if they do care it's usually because they're a fellow manga fan. Very few of my friends read manga but they're well use to me having my nose in a book so they just despair about getting conversation out of me.

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The pen is mightier than the sword...and considerably easier to write with.

Don't go around calling yourself an otaku and you'll be fine. lol
You can be a manga fan without being an otaku. Since an otaku is technically an insult and I would never call myself one.

I don't really go out and bring attention to myself that I read manga or watch anime since well, lol, I'm Asian and it's pretty much expected of me. =P

But don't worry, don't let them get to you. Ignore them and they'll eventually leave you alone. Those people are only hating on you because they have nothing better to do. Once they find out that they can't get to you, they'll stop and probably find someone else to pick on.

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♪MONSTARR~ will eat all your cookies and steal your bishies~♪ Φ_Φ

I don't really hide it, and it seems even fewer pple care whether i read it or not.

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Rule #1: Don't call yourself Otaku
It's like jumping around screaming "BULLY ME!"

Not everyone understands why we like it.
My friends joke about it with me all the time.

I only really talk about it with my friends who also like anime.

Personally, if I mention something about anime it happens. But it doesn't happen often.
I'd never deny reading manga, or going to conventions, cosplaying! I'm not ashamed I just don't bother rocking the boat when there's no point.

Want to get back at them? Pretend you don't care even if you do.
If they say you're getting a 2D bf explain in long detail your fav character and why 2D boyfriends are soooo much better then real boys.

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I've never been bullied because of manga before...My friend thinks that it's an Asian thing..haha...So they don't care about it but they're interested in what I'm reading once in a while. Uh, I don't know. Maybe they're just messing around with you? I think they would stop sooner or later.

Last edited by vietangelix at 8:28 pm, Mar 23 2010

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First off, never declare yourself as an otaku. Technically if you are an otaku you do want a 2-d boyfriend. There is a difference between enjoying manga/anime and being an otaku.

And second of all, being a otaku is nothing to be proud of, not in Japan nor in any other country in the world. That's like basically declaring yourself as a know-it-all shut-in whose world revolves around anime/manga and you feel superior to others because of that said knowledge.

The difference is declaring it as a hobby vs declaring it as a fanatic. If you are a fanatic, well, then it's understandable, most people bully fanatics of anything that's not sports. If you feel you shouldn't be bullied for loving something, well... sorry to say that's not how high school works.

Though personally I've never been bullied for liking anime/manga but I didn't really run with the "Otaku club" at school who pronounced everything wrong and gave a bad image to anime/manga fans. UGH... why do so called "Otakus" pronounce "manga" wrong!?!? WHY!?!

Everyone knows I read manga and watch anime. They do too.
So I haven't been bullied. It's something to talk about~

But it really blows to hear this is happening to others.
And as cliche as this sounds, they're not really your friends if they're bullying you over a hobby. Stand up to them, you're old enough.

Um I'm pretty sure all those things you talked about aren't really what an otaku is. A hikkikomori is a shut in. You can be both but they aren't one and the same. And not all otaku's want 2-D girlfriends. There's different levels of being an otaku you know.

Anyways. If you feel you have nothing to be ashamed of then don't listen to what others say about it. If they are bullying you they're just immature and stupid. Most of my friends in high school were pretty chill about stuff like this or liked anime and or manga like me. Though coming out and saying you're an otaku is a bit silly. You are what you are. I don't think you should honestly feel the need to come out and say it if it's what you are. But you shouldn't be made fun of for it either.

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I really should get an avatar

Personally, I don't consider myself otaku, but what I've found to be effective when it comes to avoiding situations like these is to be just be aware of my peers. If I don't hear them talk about anime or manga, I avoid the subject entirely, because more often than not, it means that they don't care for it. If someone does bring up the subject, I simply ask them if they enjoy it, and if they do, I'll delve into it and see how they feel about it. If the reaction is positive, I'll talk about it, and if it's negative, I'll just laugh, add in a funny story or quip, and shift topics from there.

Also, like everyone else said, considering yourself to be an otaku is not exactly a positive title, seeing as how it carries around a lot of negative connotations (anti-social, shut-in, warped perceptions of beauty, etc.). In some circles, unfortunately, just saying you like anime and manga is enough to warrant the "weird anime kid" title from your peers (hence my strategy in the first paragraph). It gets progressively worse the older you are, so while people can be more accepting once you hit college, they can also be that much more negative towards your enjoyment of anime/manga.

Personally, in my case, no one except my closest friends know I enjoy it. Add that to the fact that I am Asian, and don't associate myself with the Anime Club at my uni, and don't dress/act like any of the self-professed "otakus" at my school (baggy clothes, unkempt hair, anime accessories, random Japanese phrases, etc.), and no one at school's the wiser.

In the meantime, chin up. Don't let it get to you, because after all, it's just high school. Pretty soon all the hype from your "coming out" will fade away, and your peers' attention spans will shift over to the next big thing (like the Jonas Brothers coming to town, or whatever it is that high school kids are into these days).

Last edited by ATAndTruong at 10:54 pm, Mar 23 2010

I hide it completely because I'm not a people person and I'm almost 90% sure someone will approach me about it or make some comment or in some way put me in the center of attention and I just CANT have that. If they want to talk to me they should just give me their email or something. But irl? No talky. No touchy. No lookie. Screw offie.

I guess I was lucky, I didn't reveal I read manga or watched anime until I met some people who were the same as me. Nobody bothered us when we spoke about manga or anime we watched and what we thought was going to happen next. In my opinion, an otaku is a person who is extremely obsessed with anime and manga, to the point of sacrificing many other things just so they could continue following anime and manga. The extreme cases are like the otakus you see in anime and manga with posters of anime characters, body pillows and figurines all over the room. Most of the otakus seen in anime/manga are also hikkikomori as well. Some are functional otakus and probably more like a realistic otaku, like Keima from 'The World God Only Knows.' Some are almost completely non-functional like Sato from NHK and are obviously extreme cases.

I highly doubt anyone is anywhere near the level of being a true otaku on these forums, but you never know. Just enjoying anime and manga doesn't make you an otaku. When you start ignoring your health and/or contact with others to watch anime or read manga, then you can officially call yourself and otaku.

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Never doubt your reasons.
Never doubt your cause.
-me

its never happened but i keep quiet about it regardless, people who care will find out. people who dnt; dnt need to know in the 1st place.

Err...don't do this...I'm quite certain this is not the right course of action.
I'd probably bully you myself if you said that with a straight face.

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If the sea were made of Whiskey and I was a duck
I'd swim to the bottom and never come up

People know I read manga and anime. They know I translate it, too, for "otaku" like you, no less. They don't care. Then again, I'm not a self-professed otaku.

Are you proud of denying reality? Why would you declare it? Because that's what being an otaku really means.

Since I don't tell anybody except my absolute closest friends about my closet obsession with reading manga, I've fared really well- because my true friends don't really give a shit what I read. They may tease me about it, and my family reallly gives it to me, but I know they don't really care that much.

When I was younger, about 10 or 11, I didn't know better, and I pretty much told everyone about it, and it really didn't help I was going through that whole "Japan is better than baka Amerika!" phase from the age of 11 to about 13. (Lucky me I got out of it before the end of jr high lol)

But people weren't bullying me for that, they bullied me for other reasons.

Don't try to ostracise yourself- just... I've found it's best to keep quiet unless you're sure the other person likes anime/manga. (And truthfully, I hate associating with people who are openly into it, because, sorry, but those people are the cat-ear wearing weeaboos where I'm from, and they're kind of losers) I don't read manga at my college, or in public. I do have a hard time buying it from a brick-and-mortar store, because I don't look like a "typical" manga consumer, heh.