Anyone else hide their Otaku?

[yakisobapan]

I don't hide it, but I hide my powerlevel unless I'm together with my best friends, other otaku or my gf. Also, I never label myself as otaku except for when I'm with my otaku friends.

[TeaChan]

i think its a same to hide your otaku let it out! be a freak >

[Kyuu]

Naw, I take the direct meaning of "Otaku" as something bad. Nothing wrong with being a regular "fan". But being "Otaku", that's stretching it.

[Dist]

^It's not if you're actually a true fan, perhaps even obsessed about it . But I am guessing you're not.

As for me .. Generally when people ask about my hobbies, I don't list anime as them. I may say I watch alot tv shows but I don't want to specify. That's because there are alot haters out there and it seems I meet most of them whenever I tell about my hobbies =_=.

There's no way you can tell from my clothing either that I like anime .. I have some anime t-shirts but I don't use them unless I go to anime conventions or such. However, if you were to step into my home you'd immediately see that I liked anime. All walls covered with posters, lots of manga, doujinshi and such out in the open and dakimakuras etc. Which is the reason I don't bring anyone to where I live at unless I knew that either : They like anime, or they don't mind it.

Well being an otaku, I don't really know many irl people to begin with so I guess it doesn't matter.

[Student no.0]

Personally, I wouldn't really like to consider myself an otaku since I don't don't do any otaku-ish stuff (cosplay, going to conventions, etc.) Minus my father, everyone else knows that I like watching anime and reading manga. I get teased for it sometimes but whatever. And I have one friend who's into anime but we don't hang out very often. I just try to limit myself to a couple of hours of anime/manga, as long as I do the rest of my daily routine right then I don't much hassle for it.

[Cabrini6000]

I don't go saying I watch anime to everyone I meet, but I don't try to hide it either. I have a social life, I go to parties, and I date. I'm not considered low on the social chain just because I watch anime. I guess it doesn't really matter to people I know, whether I like anime or not. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

[wigglypuff]

i don't hide it...
i show it!!!!
most people in our class likes to watch anime anyway..

[chikorita157]

I don't refer myself as an Otaku since it has negative connotations... but I don't hide the fact that I am an anime fan. Everyone can pretty much notice with the anime wallpapers I use on my laptop and iPhone. Also, I use one of the Anime OPs as my ringtone... so no, I'm pretty open about it.

[stink_nasty]

I have to say I'm a lot like the TC and a couple of other members on this thread. I don't really hide the fact that I watch anime, but I try to avoid talking about it. It's not very "cool" among a lot of my friends so I don't talk about it at all. I do talk about anime with my girlfriend whose supportive of it, and my cousin.

I kinda wish I had more people to talk about it with though, it was a lot more exciting back when I hadn't watched a lot of shows and there was a lot ot look forward too. I used to have a friend who I talked to about it, but we don't really speak anymore... *sigh..

[TurkeyPotPie]

Feel free to get your geek on in your personal life, but please don't bring it to work people. Decorating your cube with figurines and using a Pururin jingle for your ringtone is mortifying for those of us trying to keep a low profile.

[ahelo]

I don't hide it but I don't just blatantly talk about it in class. It's not something to hide but its not something to mention. . . I guess. This is what you get for having normal friends ).

[ahelo]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

Anyway seriously though, I don't, because I live in a society where it's not generally frowned upon unless you present yourself as the stereotypical NEET slob. A lot of guys and girls here watch and read etc. and they (we) certainly don't fit the stereotype.

Lol your from the Philippines. Me too! But then I'm an introvert so I don't talk about my passion a lot.

[LeoXiao]

Interestingly enough, I can usually sense if someone could have interest in anime/manga by the subtleties in their speech and actions (it seems to be easier to tell when the person in question is a girl). So otakus can't hide from me!
As for myself, I hide practically everything that I'm interested in from people I don't know too well (which is practically everyone) whether I want to or not. I don't actually buy much manga, but when I do I'll put a pale-colored cover over the book and label it with something inconspicuous and bureaucratic-looking.

[xl_Legit_lx]

I don't watch enough anime to be called an otaku, not nearly enough. The most I do with anime is graphic design and watch some series. lol

I'm more a video gaming addict haha, thats usually what I talk about with people...that and regular crap.

[Zeroryoko1974]

The UPS driver that drops off packages at work, noticed I was wearing an anime shirt one day. he asked me what I like to watch, so of course I was like Berserk, Deadman Wonderland, cool shows like that. Would never admit that I liked moe blob stuff like K-on

[~Yami~]

I used to hide it....
but right now I have exposed it to some friends....
although I don't like to discuss or showed up too much about my hobby....

I hid it because I have no otaku-friends
right now, I have many of them even in daily life of internet life.... xD

[smtdds]

For me it depends on the people around me. I don't bring anime in topics of conversation if I don't think the people I'm with are interested in it, which, considering where I live means I don't normally talk about it. But when I'm with my friends, it's almost our main topic of conversation xP

Sometimes I find myself covering up this particular hobby of mine though because of the negative connotation "otaku" has. Why do anime fans get such a bad rep anyway?

Originally Posted by LeoXiao

Interestingly enough, I can usually sense if someone could have interest in anime/manga by the subtleties in their speech and actions (it seems to be easier to tell when the person in question is a girl). So otakus can't hide from me!
As for myself, I hide practically everything that I'm interested in from people I don't know too well (which is practically everyone) whether I want to or not. I don't actually buy much manga, but when I do I'll put a pale-colored cover over the book and label it with something inconspicuous and bureaucratic-looking.

This is fascinating. What tips you off that someone is an anime fan?

[tyranuus]

Originally Posted by smtdds

Sometimes I find myself covering up this particular hobby of mine though because of the negative connotation "otaku" has. Why do anime fans get such a bad rep anyway?

Look at the stereotype of the fat american geek, where it comes from and add on japanese stuff/racial misunderstand and phobia, and a hobby sector that most people don't understand or care about and you're there.

Simply put, people have the stereotype of the guy who's fat, overweight, no social life whatsoever...and then tag it on to the lot out of ignorance, and usually because its the most negative cases that get most publicised. I mean americans usually understand the comic book geek stereotype; the Otaku stereotype is that bit worse because suddenly you're lumping in 'cartoons' and racial phobia on top (and perhaps adult material dependant on what they may have heard)

Then there's the fact that Otaku in Japan, unlike the western fanbase, tends to carry a more negative connoitation from my understanding, because Otaku in Japan tends to refer to these more extreme, negative outliers, rather than the more mainstream fans.
Obviously, in the west, Otaku has tended to become more attached to those in the general fandom, at different stages of interest rather than just the social pariahs.

That's my understanding anyway, from the last year or so of observation and just reading around.
I sort of don't mind being tagged a closet 'western' Otaku; but hell no am I the Japanese form of Otaku nor would I want to be; I go out, have a job and friends

[Soliloquy]

I don't really hide it around my friends but I don't try to bring it up either. None of them are that into anime as me. I wouldn't say I'm obsessed enough to buy the models but I'm still quite into it. I hide it around my family because it's too awkward to talk about. Honestly, I don't really want to tell them if I'm going to anime convention. It's true that anime is well-known around here, most of them are teenagers who are probably into mainstream anime. I'm hoping in Sydney, it's not only the teenagers I see.

[LeoXiao]

Originally Posted by smtdds

For me it depends on the people around me. I don't bring anime in topics of conversation if I don't think the people I'm with are interested in it, which, considering where I live means I don't normally talk about it. But when I'm with my friends, it's almost our main topic of conversation xP

If I had friends who were interested in anime, I'd probably talk lot more about it too. There is also the problem that even when I meet someone who likes anime, chances are that he/she doesn't share my choices in shows, since my interest in anime and manga is rather specialized.

Sometimes I find myself covering up this particular hobby of mine though because of the negative connotation "otaku" has. Why do anime fans get such a bad rep anyway?

In my experience, I have the underlying fear that people will misunderstand my interest for something deviant, so that's why I hide it from people who aren't also into anime. Also anime in general has a perception of being weird or immature, not something that "normal" people should be into.

This is fascinating. What tips you off that someone is an anime fan?

Various things, quite a few of them are very subtle and I'm not quite sure what they are myself. Perhaps when someone is somewhat reserved but displays some minor eccentric quirks (I know that's a vague descriptor) I can guess "this person might/probably like anime". If he/she then mentions Japan in any way, that simply raises the probability. I say that it's easier to detect an otaku in girls because they tend to exhibit more indicative behaviors, like acting cute in a way suggestive of anime influence, making little sketches, that kind of thing. Guys don't seem to do that as much.

It's hard to describe.