Shooting Star Dreamer

Do you ever wonder what people go through in their daily lives? Before you laugh and belittle someone, how about thinking about what they confront, what they face, the many challenges they endure. What if you were that person who you are looking down on, at this point in time?  I'm basically making this post, because of events that have happened to me recently. As you all know, I consider myself an otaku. Yes, I go outside, but I consider myself an otaku. I'm aware that this isn't the "textbook" definition , but I define the word in a different way compared to everyone else.  I've done many posts on what it means to be otaku. I've examined the myth of deciding between anime or success, the stereotypes that otaku face, and other things. Although I've been talking about them, I haven't always been the one in the line of fire when it comes to discrimination. However, today I was faced with it directly. Not only that, it came from a teac...

In life and animation, we tend to see elements grouped into multiple categories and stereotypes. Water is known to e calm and cool. Earth is rigid and grounded. Wind is light-hearted, and on the move. When it comes to the elements, there are mainly positive connotations associated with each. However, with fire we see a wide variety of views. The common viewpoints of fire label the element as being inherently "bad." When we look at crazy villains they rarely wash the villages and towns away with water. They usually use fire to burn down things in their path. Fire is the thing that people tend to associate with danger. Burning buildings, smoke rising, burn scars, and more. Connotations I've seen in fictional media are hotheadedness, leadership, wildness, lack of restraint, rage, danger , destruction , and evil . See the large amount of negative qualities linked to this element? Why is fire treated in such a way? I think the answer lies within our media and even...

Since I recently did a post on the common tsundere, I wanted to take the time to make a post to inform people that there's quite a few other categories. I understand this type of post has been done multiple times, but I'll be going further than the well-known four categories. As the amount of anime increases, the amount of classifications for characters also tends to grow. On to the list! The Big Four Asuka Langley Soryu (Neon Genesis Evangelion) Tsundere: First up is the ever so popular tsundere. Basically when the girl (or guy) hides their feelings for their love with very contrasting attitudes. They're prone to switching between affection and later anger. They often stutter and become embarrassed which is accompanied with a bright red blushing face. ( Extra) Tsunshun: Similar to tsundere, but reasons are not typically romantic. They're very violent and angry, but this is not because of love; it's usually due to underlying emotional reasons such as d...

Throughout my years I've seen many people question the definition of otaku. "Am I an otaku because I watch anime? Is being an otaku a bad thing? What if people don't like me?" These are all excellent questions, and with something that is not common knowledge it's normal to feel confused. The truth is, many of us consider ourselves otaku, yet the meaning differs from person to person. If you want a literal textbook definition of an otaku, one must be "an avid collector or enthusiast, esp. one who is obsessed anime, video games, or computer and rarely leaves home." (Dictionary.com) Maybe this doesn't describe all of us, maybe it describes most of us, but there is no disputing the fact that this is the literal textbook definition. Yet even if we don't fit this exactly, we still label ourselves as such. Are we wrong to do so? In my opinion, there is no wrong use of the word. While mostly everyone in the United States speaks English, we do n...

     What is an Otaku? I commonly hear this question being asked among the internet and social gatherings. Well unlike the stereotypes say, an Otaku isn't just a person who never leaves their house. Those normal looking people you see everyday could easily be closet Otaku.    According to Dictionary.com Otaku in Japan are:  Young people who are highly skilled in or obsessed with computer technology to the detriment of their social skills.         Hmm, interesting. This is such a generic description. Otaku isn't just dealing with technology, anime, or manga. You can be an Otaku for almost anything. It just means you're obsessed with something. There's train, manga, vocaloid, ramen Otaku. The list can go on. Definitions like this tend to mislead people. For those who don't know the stereotypical Otaku is similar to the man in this image.    I don't know about you guys, but I've never see...