Otaku-licious

I’ve noticed something interesting about myself lately and I wanted to comment on it.

Now, I’ve been reading comic books (most especially Japanese manga) for as long as I can remember and I’ve never really considered myself to be a manga “otaku”. However, I am starting to question now whether or not I am.

I never used to purchase comic books, rather I would just sit in a library or store and look over them when I had the time or was just bored. They were also something to do while sitting over at Chris’s house and engaging in not-so-legal activities. I always liked comic books/manga and really felt jealous sometimes of people’s abilities to create whole new worlds and characters out of thin air and put them on paper. Ah, yes. That’s the ability I envy the most, the ability to draw comic books.

In the last few years however, I’ve gone from the occasional indulger to the avid collector/reader. I have purchased something along the lines of about 200 manga comics or tankobon in the past 2 years. That is well over $1000 in comic books alone. Since I started my new job 5 months ago, I have purchased about 40 or so tankobon and it seems I am buying at least 2 per week.

I love reading them when I am traveling on the train or bus or sometimes when I just get the urge to lay down and read something. Besides being decent Japanese reading practice, I like how completely immersed in the storylines I become when I crack them open. It really helps me get away from the stress and worrying of the real world even if only for the 10 minute train ride.

I don’t know if this makes me an “otaku” or not but I guess if it does I really don’t mind the moniker at all. I used to think of “otaku” as scraggily haired white kids who wear anime shirts and spout off the random 3 words they know in Japanese at the most inappropriate times. I actually still do carry that stereotype now that I think about it. Maybe I’m a new type of otaku, a more suave type of comic book nerd….

Probably not though…

At least my hair isn’t scraggily.

Here is a list of the current manga I am reading. If there are other “suave otaku” out there who feel like sharing their list with me, it would be appreciated. Recommendations are great too.

“Samurai Deeper Kyo”
“Naruto”
“Bleach”
“D Gray Man”
“Full Metal Alchemist”
“Death Note”