Are you the one in a shirt from junior school, the who wears an all-black outfit, or someone else?
Otaku are known for their fierce dedication to their fandom and always giving 100 percent into everything they do that’s related to their passion, but fashion isn’t always their strong point.
But who could blame them? Where is there any room for worrying about clothes when all of your time and money is devoted to your favorite manga, anime, game, or idol?
Despite that, though, there are a few particular kinds of “otaku fashion” that seem to appear again and again at conventions and events in Japan. Japanese artist, self-professed otaku, and Twitter user ＠I_LOVE_Syoko created a satirical encyclopedia of those kinds of otaku, complete with a series of illustrations.
▼ (Click to enlarge, translation below)
The first is “The Otaku who wears a strange ‘most popular person in the school’ accessory”.
“They wear a necklace that looks like something the best-looking character in a school anime would wear. Even though you feel more uncomfortable than usual with this person, you still want to ask, ‘Why are you wearing that?’ They wear a completely black T-shirt. They tend to think they’re a good-looking otaku, but there’s not a millimeter of good looks on them.”
Under that is “The ‘Where did you get that outfit?’ otaku”.
▼ The illustrator themselves identified as number two, with their psychedelic T-shirt and unusual pendant.
“A mysterious presence that makes you wonder where they got all of their clothes from. They wear a psychedelic T-shirt and a necklace that looks like an artifact used to summon demons, yet still feels like an accessory worn by preteens. A dangerous otaku that doesn’t care at all what people think of them. It’s better not to approach them.”
Next is “The otaku who’s been wearing the same clothes since junior high school”.
“All their life they’ve been wearing the same shirt that’s in one of the primary colors, and that their mom bought them in junior high school. Age unknown, in a bad way, but harmless to people and animals. 90-percent chance of wearing glasses. Also their wallet is guaranteed to be the long Velcro type, usually Adidas.”
Then there’s “The drinking otaku”:
“They’re always holding a Monster energy drink or Strong Zero [high-alcohol canned cocktail], and have turned it into fashion. Sometimes they’re not even wearing clothes. They’re not really doing anything that needs the energy from Monster, nor are they actually able to drink a lot of alcohol. They think they’re cool, but through what logic is a mystery.
＊Addition: slightly dirty.”
Most well-disguised (but not really) is “The otaku wearing ‘non-otaku’ fashion”:
“They read an article on the Internet about ‘non-otaku fashion’ and immediately went to get some. The outfit itself is pretty normal, but because of the otaku’s face and the general otaku-ness that wafts off them, they become the ‘otaku wearing non-otaku fashion’. In the end, it may be that an otaku is an otaku no matter they wear.”
And last, but not least, “The otaku wearing a short-sleeved black shirt”.
“Pretty much just wears black. An otaku who’s stopped thinking. Their population is growing explosively. Likes anime like Re:Zero. Not much really to say about them.”
So there it is: an encyclopedia of Japanese otaku fashion, as written by one self-proclaimed otaku. Which one are you? Or do you have a different fashion style? Don’t worry, there’s nothing to be ashamed about. Most of the netizens who responded to @I_LOVE_Syoko’s tweet proudly identified themselves as one of these six types, and all of the pictures embedded above are all netizens who replied to the thread! So many said they were number six that it sort of proves @I_LOVE_Syoko’s theory!
“I’m number six! I wore an all-black suit at my Coming of Age Ceremony and also wear one for workk.”
“I’m a complete match with number six!”
“I’m the black one.”
“I’m number one (sweat emoji)”
“I’m number six. Thanks for including me in your drawing!”
“I’m number six but I don’t really like Re:Zero…”
“I’m number one…I’m sorry”
“I’m number three…”
“Number five. Otaku are otaku no matter what they wear!”
“Even if you work out, an otaku is an otaku. It’s not just a hobby–we’re a race!”
So go out and be a proud otaku! Don’t worry about your fashion–who has time for that anyway, when there are beautiful waifus to cuddle and mountains of merchandise to buy?!
Source: Twitter/@I_LOVE_Syoko via My Game News Flash
Top image: Pakutaso (edited by SoraNews24)
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