Otakuphrenia

Welcome to the Otakuphrenia section of my website. Just what does "otakuphrenia" (yes, a term I personally coined) mean? Well, let's break it down: "otaku," as you will learn in the lexicon, means someone with an all-consuming obsession. In Japan, it's a terrible insult. Elsewhere, it's something people who are majorly into anime and/or manga proudly call themselves. Sometimes I call myself an otaku, but sometimes I say "otaku wannabe," or else "ota-kei" (which means "otaku type," which is like an otaku, but less obsessive). But this is just because I'm not familiar with as much anime or manga as I'd like to be to consider myself a true otaku (because it's expensive and I'm always broke, so all I can afford, for the most part, is to watch whatever anime they put on TV channels I get.) Besides which I actually have other interests. And while anime is one of my favorite substances in the known universe, that's just a generalization. There's plenty of anime I don't care for.

Anyway... "phrenia" is a mental disorder, generally a suffix in words like "schizophrenia." If you have otakuphrenia, the very thought of anime will fill you with a deep sense of excitement and joy which can't really be explained. You just either have the condition or you don't. (It makes me think of the Louis Armstrong quote about Jazz, "If you gotta ask, you'll never know.") The look of anime (though it has many looks, even if people with untrained eyes think of it simply as "those cartoons where the people have spiky hair") is a part of it. I also tend to find most anime girls quite attractive, which I suppose would be included in "the look" of anime (though I tend to find animated girls attractive, regardless of the animation's origin). The stories in anime (though it has countless genres, targeted age groups, genders, etc.) may be another part. Just the... Japaneseness of it. I dunno, I can't really explain what it is that makes it so appealing. It's too complicated.

In any event, some people may like anime or manga without loving it, others may love it way too much. Some may hate it outright. Personally, I think it's wrong to either hate or love anime unconditionally. One must take each series or movie on its own merits and make up their own mind as to whether they like it or not. Even so, I often find myself greatly looking forward to seeing an anime show or movie I haven't seen yet, and if I like it, liking it all the more more just because it's anime, and being more disappointed if I don't like it. I should also say that more than just a general love of anime or manga, otakuphrenia tends to produce an interest in and love of many things Japanese (and things of other Far Eastern countries). And if there's one thing I like to say I am enamored of, it is things Japanese. Ergo, I have otakuphrenia.

Which is why, obviously, I decided to set up this section. It will probably always remain a work in progress, and I'm not sure how often or how much I'll be adding to it. The four most important parts of it will be my jisho (lexicon) pages, links pages (most notably my "anime, manga, and J-pop links" page), anime reviews, and my galleries of various anime & manga girls I like. Hopefully these four subsections will all be frequently updated. And uh... I guess that's all I can think to say for now. Enjoy! ^_^

otakuphrenia index