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[Buffalobiian]

“The Two Types of Anime Otaku” according to 2ch (sankaku link)


edit: for the convenience of those at work/school, here's a cut/paste of the article.


I don't give the grouping of A and B much merit since there are plenty of cross-over personalities on this very forum already (in fact, from those I'm familiar with, I'd say very few actually fit well in either categories), but the sub-options at least give a bit of food for thought.

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“The Two Types of Anime Otaku”

2ch believes it has successfully divided anime otaku into two distinct types:

Type A:

- A person who simply enjoys “anime.”
- Is proud of Japan’s anime.
- Evaluates anime based on direction, voice acting, art, etc.
- Hates shallow anime with no real content.
- Story emphasis >>>>> Moe anime.
- A recent example would Higashi no Eden. Fans of anime like Lain or Ghost in the Shell would probably be this kind.

Type B:

- A person who simply enjoys “characters.”
- Will watch an anime if it includes cute or beautiful characters.
- Doesn’t care if story is awful, as long as the characters are of interest.
- Evaluates anime based on which seiyuu are in it and what the characters look like.
- Loves moe elements. Doesn’t like complex anime.
- The otaku the media picks up on are usually this kind.
- Doesn’t know that much about anime and so is often criticised as by Type A otaku.
- However, they make much better customers than the more discerning Type A otaku.
- Recently there has been a huge increase in anime targeted at Type B otaku.
- People who like K-ON!, Queen’s Blade, Strike Witches and so on would be in this class.



In fairness “Type A” seems more a description of anime “fans” than anime “otaku,” as most of the irrational and obsessive characteristics generally associated with otaku seem to be absent; on the other hand, it is in the hearts of “Type B” otaku that the seeds of the moe boom were sown…

Anime lovers will inevitably have to ask “Which type am I?”

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/edit