But while her owner picks the movie, the bird selects the soundtrack.

Until recently, behavioral scientists believed that otakuism was something that only manifested itself in human beings. A mounting pile of empirical evidence, however, now suggests that the condition can develop in avian lifeforms as well.

Last spring, we became acquainted with Grape-kun, a penguin living at Tobu Zoo in Saitama Prefecture who’s developed an extremely passionate attachment to his waifu, a cardboard cutout of a character from breakout anime series Kemono Friends. Now comes video evidence of another anime-loving bird, courtesy of Japanese Twitter user @J_grandiflorum.

With the 1986 Hayao Miyazaki classic Laputa: Castle in the Sky airing on TV last week, @J_grandiflorum sat back to enjoy the film, and his pet white-faced cockatiel, Emi-tan, decided to join him in the viewing experience. As a matter of fact, Emi-tan is such a Studio Ghibli fan that she even sang one of the production house’s most famous pieces of music while the movie played. But instead of serenading @J_grandiflorum with Laputa’s closer, “Kimi wo Nosete…”

…Emo-tan opted instead to belt out a rousing rendition of the theme from My Neighbor Totoro.

“Emi-tan? Like I’ve been telling you, that’s not Totoro on TV,” @J_grandiflorum tweeted in facetious exasperation, and other online commenters were also quick to praise the bird for at least getting within the Studio Ghibli ballpark.

“It’s like she knows Laputa is a Ghibli anime too.”
“[Male lead] Pazu is in a serious pinch in the scene playing on the TV, but Emi-tan’s singing gives it a laid-back feel.”
“She’s good.”
“Yeah, she sings it better than I can.”
“Am I the only one who keeps thinking she’s singing the Chocobo theme instead?”

Of course, while hard-core anime fans often feel a sense of camaraderie with one another, their strong identification with series that suit their specific tastes can also lead to friction. Kemono Friends is squarely aimed at otaku, while Laputa, being a Miyazaki project, has a much more high-brow cachet. Here’s hoping that Emi-tan and Grape-kun can respect each other’s media preferences, and don’t use their Internet fame as a platform to start a flame war.

Source: Twitter/@J_grandiflorum via IT Media
Top image: Studio Ghibli