Ayu fan featured on America's Greatest Otaku
 

America's Greatest Otaku is a television competition show. One contestant was featured in her bedroom and talked about her obsession with Sailormoon, Inuyasha, and J-Pop stars. She said her biggest inspiration is Ayumi Hamasaki!
Here are some screencaps.

http://img860.imageshack.us/img860/5237/otaku1.jpg
http://img862.imageshack.us/img862/3888/otaku2.jpg
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/4674/otaku3.jpg
http://img859.imageshack.us/img859/4233/otaku4.jpg

You can watch the whole episode on Hulu (at hulu.com/americas-greatest-otaku). The Ayu fan section is during 22:25-24:56.

Do you think she is on ahs? Xp wow she's so lucky to have so many stuff :3

OMG.. that's cool...

maybe she's a member here at AHS?? :laugh

O.O

WAAAAAAAAAH

niiiiiice

The real question here is why is there a TV show on this?

Ohhh, I wanna watch :laugh.

So otaku = anime fan now?

There is more than one type of otaku. Yet the only people on there are people into anime. They should have just called it America's Greatest Anime Fan instead. Also for other reasons.

Tokyopop trying to be relevant?

I watched the first episode out of boredom. It was as bad as I thought. That is a big collection though.

otaku? ouch.. it doesn't have a positive meaning.. otakus are anime-obsessed and much of them are perverts @.@"

i don't know why people called otaku to someone who likes japanese music,i like japanese music:ayu,kuu,kana,namie...but i don't like the anime,manga...

Yah they should know that generally in Japan 'Otaku' has a negative connotation X_X
Her room looks awesome though~

People who are not into Japanese culture don't know the realy meaning of otaku. I'm sure if you ask what's an otaku? to non-japan-like people in the street, they'll never say the good answer.

I wonder if that person is in AHS.^^

You are like me then! I really love Jpop but Anime,manga... I only like Pokemon and Sailor Moon from my childhood :D but now I don't watch/read any of them at all.

^ yea me too..

thats cool. she have so much stuff

In the first episode they talk about how otaku can have a negative meaning and that there are many types of otaku. But yeah, they are really just looking for the biggest anime fan. They are definitely not talking about the strange, pervy, awkward old man otaku.
This girl must have lived my story. I found Ayu through a Sailormoon website, and then I found Inuyasha in 2001 because of Ayu :). If she was on AHS I think she would have made herself known by now.

Actually otaku has not a really negative meaning in western anime culture as in Japan. Animefans loves call themeselves otaku. Me not although I love anime and manga, because I'm just a fan. I'm not obsessed by flat chested anime girls, or male anime characters love relationships but whatever lol.

That's cool though, she has such a big collection D: and I wonder if she's on AHS too :laugh.

I'm pretty sure otaku is not a thing to be proud of XD As one of my Japanese friends said. But I guess it is more about how you feel about being one? And the more in denial you are about it is worse?? Not sure :P I'm an ayu otaku but meh :innocent I don't have my room walls covered with her pictures.


When someone says otaku I straight away think of that creepy dude with the anime toy in ayu's 1 LOVE pv :thud

^that dude was kinda creepy yeah :laugh

but aren't they (western media) always just generalizing jpop, anime and manga fans like that... it does kinda suck ..

Wouldn't mind seeing that show though

Western does automatically generalize it. I like anime and manga (not like omg fangirl like) but when I have gone to local anime conventions, it went like

"Omg you like jpop/jrock too?"
"Yeah.."
"I love "insert generic anime theme song singer here"
"Oh I like Ayumi Hamasaki and Koda Kumi, they are my favorites. but I listen to alot of them"
"Oh...I've only listened to "insert generic title here like Dearest, 1000 no kotoba"
"Yeah I've listened to like, their full discographies."

IDK I don't consider that to be a fan if you only listen to 1 or 2 songs and never venture out into their other songs/music. ><

Sucks 'cause I don't like anime really, but I love J-pop. Poor will be the one that ever calls me otaku just for the sake of it lols

You're so lucky :laugh. I've always met korean/japanese boybands and visual-kei fangirls most of the time at conventions, whom acts disgusted when I'm saying I like Ayu 'she's a talentless plastic alien doll!!1 And she sang with Gackt-chan so she's a *****' What the.. :tired

yeah, its been my experience that otaku in america is something of a good thing.. not good, but it just means you are a crazy anime fan.. or at least thats how my friends and other use it.

I just go to anime conventions now for the musical act lol. I haven't watched a anime in a long time but the people at conventions who call themselves otaku lately scare me with how intense they are. But yeah I have had the same experience with talking about Kuu and Ayu and they just know of them from Inu Yasha or FFX-2. It felt weird singing along to all of the Kuu concert when no one else was besides Real Emotion or 1000 Words because I knew all the songs she was singing unlike what seemd liked almost the rest of the event room.


I still read manga time to time if I find one I like and listen to a lot of Japanese music so I wonder what kind of otaku that would be lol

My thoughts exactly..........lol. I personally would never want to be on a show like this, simply because 1) it'd make me look bad and 2) I wouldn't want to be lumped in with people who dress in inappropriate cosplay, drop countries flags on the ground and generally act like morons while trying to be "kawaii uguuu Japanese". But then again I'd never want to be on reality TV at all but there's always thousands willing to do it for a bit of fame :tired

I think that if this girl was on AHS she would have posted about it by now, wonder where she hangs out online then if she's such a huge fan? *_*

I bet that girl is here on ahs! Someone confess :laugh

american/western "otaku" are more apt to label themselves as otaku
the whole "we're geeks and we're proud of it" kind of thing.

japanese people, while they obviously go to anime conventions and stuff like that, don't really want people outside their circle knowing who they truly are.

i think many people on this forum are considered "otaku" by Japanese standards. Because the assumption is that "normal" people don't spend hundreds of dollars on cd's, magazines, dvd's, tour goods, concert tickets, etc. on idols.

Shh! Half of AHS will freak out hehe (okay maybe not) but basiclly what you said.

You can tell people but be careful who you say it to. Or like you said only certain people know. Then there's the percent who just don't care much.

Her Ayu collection is pretty incredible. :)
It's nice to see more people in America inspired by Ayu~

Lucky? I'm worried what she'll do if she ever decides to move away or, I don't know, when she gets tired of all this and wants to grow up? She would get good money by selling them I guess...

But what's the point of this show-off? o.O

I once was at the Japan Day in germany walking around with my friends. One of them wore a band of the group KAT-TUN, then we were walking past some visual-kei girls and they were like "ewwwwww there are the jpop fans!"

I went to anime convention once, because my friend was an organizer and gave me a free ticket, and the people there scared me as did some of the people on this show. I think its because of people who are obsessed beyond belief that hobbies like Video games, anime, jpop/Jrock etc get a bad rep.
I'm all for hobbies, whatever they are, until they start taking over your life and you spend 1000$ on anime a month. Craaaaaaaaazy.

I never knew this show existed! The interviewers (or whatever they are) are pretty lame, and some of the people they meet are a little....cringe-worthy, but there's some interesting stuff included. I do like to see other people's big collections. I wish the show spent more time on that and less on crap like food-eating contests.

cool! that is awesome!

Otaku just means someone who is really into something, doesn't necessarily have to be for anime. I see it used for lots of things, like soccer, hiking, etc.

That's really cool but WHY otaku?!?
Otaku is for anime but Jpop is a different thing! :\

This may not be nice, and people may not understand why I feel this way, but this makes me want to vomit. I really, really don't think there should be a show about this. Otaku may have a negative connotation in Japan, but I think even less of the "otaku" overseas. They may not be the same type of people as the otaku in Japan, but they're just as bad in my opinion. Worse, actually. They drive me crazy and need to live in the real world. Life isn't about spending all your money on anime and trying to know or have more than everyone else. And I certainly don't appreciate how little they actually understand about Japan and its culture. 95% of the people in Japan don't wear kimonos as their normal attire. And most people over the age of 10 don't watch that anime you're watching. Just my feelings on it, though I could rant for pages.

Nevertheless, I'll be watching that show with my roommates later to get a huge laugh. I might cry a little, too.

Agreed. Sure, I might get mega-flamed for this and called closed-minded but Montreal seems to have this little otaku minority so I've seen these people first hand. THEY MAKE ME HAVE VIOLENT URGES!

I've never seen a JPop otaku in real life, and I don't think the big negative connotation refers to that. It's more the anime thing. Listen, I obsessed over Sailor Moon and InuYasha and whatnot when I was 12 and all, and I went to Anime North once. I had fun. Yeah. Bought a plushie. Discussed "Seasons" by Ayu with some Japanophile who shouldn't have been talking with little alone me. Bought a Miyavi bootlet. Woo. But do you see me, 21 years old, walking around my university dressed as a damn Tokyo Mew Cat wtf it is. I SWEAR TO GOD I SAW ONE I MCGILL! SHE HAD A TAIL! WITH A BELL! IT JINGLED! IT ******ING JINGLED! x____x My cat doesn't want to jingle!

I cringe every time I go to Chinatown and pick up some student-friendly (a.k.a. <10$) Vietnamese food (must avoid the Chinese restaurants... I so don't trust their vegetarian "options"). Stereotypically obese (no offense to anybody) young adults dressed as "sexy" lolitas, or cat-people, or Pikachu (only babies/toddlers look adorable as Pikachu) saying "kawaii desu nyah" every sentence and sipping their bubble tea and watching Naruto at the tea longue and getting drunk off their love of yaoi fanfiction.

UGH! What was my original point in this? Oh well, I feel better now.

/rant.

<3

My only critique is the ignorance of the interviewers. I mean they could have like brush up on who Ayu and what the anime/musical groups are, instead of "shes like a doll actress" -facepalms-

I find this girl actually brave enough to show her love for jpop, aspecially ayu. I hope shes a member here and come out so we can congratulate her! I love anyone who spreads ayu around.

That's great to see Ayu!

Sadly I cannot view the video! :(

otaku basically means nerd in japanese literally