For the next section of this series, I will be examining some other contemporary studies of otaku/postmodern culture in comparison to Azuma’s model.
Mr. Okada Toshio |
Otakuology is perhaps closer to Nietzschean philosophy, in
that it presents otaku as a “New
Type” of humanity (taking the term from Mobile
Suit Gundam) more skilled at
processing visual information and resisting social pressures than “normal”
humans (14). The message is that otaku
are an advanced, improved version of humanity
Okada was born in 1958 in Osaka. He attended the Osaka University of the Arts, but dropped out of school to co-found the legendary animation studio Gainax. He became one of the first public advocates of the otaku culture at a time when the word “otaku” could not be broadcast on NHK (1). He was frequently invited to speak on television shows and adopted the nickname of “Otaking.” He has written over 30 books, the majority of which are about the otaku subculture, and was a critical figure in helping American
Okada was born in 1958 in Osaka. He attended the Osaka University of the Arts, but dropped out of school to co-found the legendary animation studio Gainax. He became one of the first public advocates of the otaku culture at a time when the word “otaku” could not be broadcast on NHK (1). He was frequently invited to speak on television shows and adopted the nickname of “Otaking.” He has written over 30 books, the majority of which are about the otaku subculture, and was a critical figure in helping American
entrepreneurs secure
the rights to sell anime in the United States (Leonard 38).
The writings of Okada have not
received an English translation, perhaps because they lack the refined critical
structure of Azuma. But as the otaku
community’s first apologist, his work deserves attention as a crucial link in otaku evolution.
In Introduction to Otakuology, Okada presents three generations of otaku, with his periodization based
around what media they were most interested in and what technology they used to
enjoy it. The three generations are:
First Generation - Born in Showa 30
(1955), Okada describes them as the “Special Effects Generation.” The SFX Generation was interested in Godzilla, Ultraman, and classic American Sci-Fi such as Lost in Space.
Second Generation - Born in Showa 40
(1965), Okada describes them as the “Anime Generation.” As with Azuma's Era of Fiction, they were
interested in anime such as Mobile Suit
Gundam and Space Battleship Yamato.
Third Generation - Born in Showa 50
(1975), Okada does not give them a special generational label. This generation
is described as having a wide variety of interests; garage kits, video games,
voice actors, Neon Genesis Evangelion,
dōjinshi (fan comics), and dating
simulators.
Given that Okada consistently sets
ten years between generations, it is interesting that he does not describe otaku born in Showa 60 (1985), perhaps
because they would only have been eleven years old at the time. Okada did, however, revisit
the issue of the emerging generations of otaku in his 2008 book Otaku
wa sude ni shindeiru (You Otaku
Are Already Dead).
In this book, Okada lays out his
grievances against the younger generations of otaku, claiming that they have destroyed what it means to be an otaku (thus, “you otaku are already dead”).
His complaints are varied, but they can perhaps be summed up in two
points: moe subculture and the
younger generation’s desire for social acceptance.
It is interesting that moe subculture is such a point of
contention for Okada, seeing as how Azuma places Gainax’s Evangelion as the Genesis of moe
culture. Okada says that his anger
is based on experiences with moe fans
that claim one cannot be an otaku if
one does not “get” moe
subculture.
Okada, the self-proclaimed
“Otaking,” takes issue with this. How dare moe
fans accuse him of not being an otaku?
He was the leading defender of the otaku
community decades before moe existed.
According to Okada, the older generations of otaku had a Big Tent policy where fans of anime, SFX shows, Science
Fiction, and military equipment all got along as one happy family. To say that
a person is not an otaku because they
are not interested in one aspect of otaku
culture conflicts with his utopian vision of the otaku community.
Okada also sees the younger
generations as desiring mainstream approval. This conflicts with Okada's view of
otaku as a “New Type” of humanity (essentially
the next stage in evolution) superior to the average human. He contrasts the calendars of “normal people”
going on Christmas dates in December and celebrating New Year's in January with
the otaku calendar, which centers on
the release schedule of new anime and the summer and winter Comic Markets. Moe
fans who desire the approval of mainstream society are counter-evolutionaries.
Okada's work is interesting not just
because his periodization is so similar to Azuma's, but because it so clearly
encapsulates changes in the otaku
community. Born in 1958, Okada is very
much an exemplar of the First Generation, with very strong sense of the Grand
Narrative. For him, being an otaku is not simply about being a fan of
anime or video games, it is about being a member of a group with a very
specific worldview.
Much like the Red Army or Aum
Shinrikyo, he has an “us vs. them” mentality with society-rejecting otaku on one side and everyone else on
the other. The influx of moe fans who do not share these social
values has overwhelmed the “true” otaku,
making it impossible to have a legitimate otaku
subculture.
While Okada’s philosophy does not
line up with Azuma, his periodization of different generations of otaku is almost identical. Azuma focuses
on historical turning points and Okada simply gives 10-year spans, but both
reach the same conclusions on the tastes and consumption patterns of otaku generations.
Having declared the death of otaku, Okada went on to write books on
dieting and career success. It was a
bizarre end to the reign of the Otaking, who had helped create anime giant
Gainax, wrote Otaku no Video, and
helped usher in an era of international mainstream success for the otaku industry. In many ways a victim of his own success,
Okada's tireless efforts to redefine otaku
as something other than sexual deviants paved the way for critics such as Eiji
Ōtsuka and Azuma Hiroki.
Don't Stop Believin' |
Next: [005] Azuma vs. Allison: Global Flows
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