Otakus. are they helping anime or hurting it

Lauded animated film director Hayao Miyazaki says anime suffers when the people making it can't stand observing real people.

Hayao Miyazaki spoke out against the anime industry in a recent television interview. He recently retired, making The Wind Rises his final film, with many of his previous works such as Spirited Away becoming popular even outside of Japan. According to Miyazaki the quality of anime is suffering because industry staff is made up of "otaku," or people who obsessively love anime.

The term "otaku" has a rather negative connotation in Japan and is used more to classify fans who obsess over something (this need not be anime). Miyazaki's specific concerns are over the lack of attention paid to people in real life. He said people in the industry "don't spend time watching real people" and can be characterized as "humans who can't stand looking at other humans." He then called the industry "full of otaku."

Miyazaki approaches animation by observing others. In the interview, as Miyazaki sketches, he explains he's able to create art because he spends time watching others. "Whether you can draw like this or not, being able to think up this kind of design, depends on whether or not you can say to yourself, 'Oh, yeah, girls like this exist in real life.'"

With plenty of anime portraying characters without development or capability of change and agency, Miyazaki has a point. In order to create compelling stories and characters, a person needs to both have well-rounded experiences and meet different people.

Without them, animated movies and shows would not be making the money they do, nor gaining the exposure worldwide.

With them, there are always nutso fans and bad apples in every group who give otaku a bad name.

The term otaku has a less harsher meaning then it use to in Japan, but I think the reason they dislike it moreso now is because of the fact that other countries like America coin it with it's own specific meaning. Otaku originally implied "you" meaning someone who was obsessive with their own personal interests and hobbies. This term is now more commonly used for people fascinated over anime/manga and videogames associated with them.

I agree with gizgal, if we didn't have fans of the subject, there would be no or less sales and interests. The problem with the popularity is in relation to quantity/quality vs demand. The higher the demand, the more quantity and sometimes this leads to lower quality. I agree with Miyasaki that the quality of anime can suffer from people who are so obsessive over things such as money and their own desires, but this will always happen.

I see this with videogames quite a bit. People try to create the coolest most awesome special effects and graphics for a game since the technology is way better then what was available in the past. The problem I now see is that there is a lot less quality in the story and gameplay. The qwirks and originality that they once held has slowly disappeared over the years.

When I look at otaku's in this whole hurting and helping anime thing. I'd say they help since they boost the potentional for people to view and appreciate it, since it wouldn't be possible unless I was from the country that was creating/producing it. They hurt the industry because the quality and originality can go down, but this is normal with anything that is popular. Creativity never ceases to rise from the ashes.

Well, they're helping anime. Their support help keeps the money rolling. Though if they ever get really really obsessed they can end up hurting themselves

Otaku are ruining the anime business.

I can see where he was going with this, but keep in mind, this is my personal opinion and observation of what he means by that.

If you look at the anime now vs the anime of, say, the 70s or 80s, you can see a really really huge difference both in the animation style and how adventurous the storytelling is.

I've watched lots of older anime, and lots of the newer stuff. It always felt like the anime from the past took more risks, explored more controversial topics, showed you what real emotional development in a character was really like. The more recent shows seem to focus on the spectacle, the glamour, and the sex. Sure, you need to appeal to the masses, but they all want pretty much the same thing now. Pretty things to look at. Its not just the pretty things either. Its familiarity. Most people don't want to embrace things that are new, different, exciting. They prefer a cozy blanket that never changes, never gets washed, and smells fucking stale.

Shigeru Miyamoto also said that the comfort zone in Japan is making it difficult to produce new and innovative content for anything. Everyone loves their Final Fantasy, Mario Brothers, or anything that plays remotely similar to that.

This is why the entertainment industry is being suffocated in Japan, therefore affecting everyone else around the world.

But Otaku is a bad name to begin with. With that said there needs to be more of a balance in the anime industry, but the staff only goes with what makes the most money.

actually thats not completely true. anime/manga industries encourage people to submit their works in EVEN IF they're paradies or porn. yup even porn.

even if its a bad name. they are like the building blocks of the tower called anime/manga. thats what fans do! support their fandom.

In the end, would you rather bring a cod or battlefield player into a war, or bring in a gun enthusiast who has actual experience with weapons and has researched them all instead? Otaku's help in the fact that they have an idea of what they are doing, but yes there is that small bump of public interaction at times, but that's what forums such as these and the internet are for right?

It use to be a negative term espically when the term was used in relation to the serial murder Tsutoum Miyazaki. The term currently holds the meaning most similar to nerd/geek. It's still a negative term, but it depends on who is using it. Some identify with it and are proud to be an otaku, others consider it weird and different.

And your right about the money thing. People nationwide have become complacent in what they create for the fans and masss, that it's sad to see. I think that will change in the future since the disapoinment factor is only rising and change is much in demand.

You seem to be missing the point. Its not that they aren't taking the risks. Its because they are that Miyamoto said what he said.

It depend on how someone think about Otaku. Even the best service when looked at different angle can be the the worst ever. Well Otaku are not hurting it actually it help it a lot. Let say someone in the fakku realm has an art that could be actually a great art but without these "Otaku" these great art cannot become a great art.

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I said it a few times in the above, but... I pretty much agree with Miyazaki, I view it a bit differently tho, such as, escapism from the real world, and, companies capitalizing on those desires, as well, it being more than just the Anime companies, I'm including Manga and game publishers. I could also hold the community accountable for endorsing such products that pander in such direction, but I am still working out if you can hold the consumer responsible for the establishment and continued existence of a status quo, and if, by extension, it influences what creators can be allowed to create (get away with)... if I can, I can be mad at people who buy CoD/BF stating how it, and the creators, conduct themselves in a good way...

Random people who just happen to enjoy anime, manga and related stuff as a hobby are not otaku - those who make that stuff their lifestyle are otaku.

The term is misused IMHO, as it became a placeholder name for "everyone who reads manga or watches anime or collects Japanese merchandise", at least as far as I know.

Miyazaki is a filmmaker, so he deals with stuff that is completely different than your average anime, I can understand his concern but please don't tell me he's in only for the art - if he didn't make money out of his movies, he would've stopped a lot of time ago.

The word Otaku, from a number of different definitions, loosely translates into "geek" or "nerd". But more-or-less means "-obsessed" and can be attributed to any type of "theme, topic, hobby or form", such as a "basketball-otaku, car-otaku, sandcastle-otaku". It was after it's creation that it was used to define anime-otaku's through the single use of "otaku", I don't know the whole history behind it though. (The history of the word being used to self identify otaku culture.)

And ignoring the other meanings to words doesn't mean they don't exist, their are a number of words in the English language whose meaning has changed over the years. "F@g" for example.

Artist are exhibitionist. They want the world to see what they create and acquire acknowledgement and a sense of satisfaction from others viewing their work. It's not a matter of money for them, otherwise they would go into a profession that pays a hell of a lot more for a lot less effort. And it just so happens, that anime is hard to make by yourself. To higher people cost money, that the creators most likely don't have, so they have to find investors who demand profit in return for their investments, as well, in order to continue living to see the completions of their works, they need a place to sleep, food, water, electricity, and good health, and if they have family.... all of which cost money in our societies.

Miyazaki is pretty open about what he does to create his stories, the same thing most people do when they write stories dealing with humans, observe human behavior. "Someone who's never been out of the cave, forever only watching shadows dance on a wall, wouldn't know the first thing about human behavior", a philosophy reference.

Last one... He probably went with the anime format, because he had a sense of pride and/or love of the format, and wanted his work to be represented through it. As you said, he is a film maker, meaning he could have made actual films using real people, but he choose anime, and thanks to his work, anime has grown greatly outside of Japan. To many people, he is the face of anime, and the expectation to people who walk into the culture of. I believe he is in the best position to state what he has stated.

It really depends on how people express their otakuness. If you are completely obnoxious about it, as are many fan bases, it really ticks people off. But you know you are a good fan if you can be a good spokesperson about it

To much of one thing can be harmful, So I do not disagree with him, to a point, But with out Otaku, no one would read/watch any of the manga or anime, artist would be out of jobs, and a good chunk of the Japanese/Korean country income would be gone. Plus there would be a much sadder world.

It is of my oppinion that otakus are both helping and hurting anime, but only western otakus are doing the hurting. Right now, anime is small market in the us, so what we get and what makes it on to CR and other sites is largly based on what japanese otakus are hypeing, but if anime were to become as popular in the us as it is in japan, it could influance what japanese studios put out, if the market was largly influanced by america, and that would hurt the industry because americans might have trouble acepting things that are too japanese. Things like slice of life shows, or shows that have an excess of moe or fanservece would likly pitter out and no longer be the core that they are now.

sometimes fans can do more harm than good in the sense that the industry and I mean any industry like Hollywood, video games, and anime, end up spiting out the same old stuff in order to please those fans insted of taking risk on new stuff in order to expand. To me lately it seems that anime has taken a few steps back but it also taking steps in the right direction as well.