Life of Guangzhou - Escaping the Otaku Obsession

Wang Fan, a 25-year-old former otaku, has a new Web site at znanziny.com to help other addicts buck what Wang said is an impassive lifestyle.

The otaku culture was once unique to Japan, where people over 20 years old retreat from the world by funneling all their time, money and energy into odd hobbies. The otaku is obsessed over animation, characters, the techniques of media creation, comics, video games, voice actors and just about anything else.

Artwork image of an otaku. (China Daily)

Retreat from reality

Hu Liangxi, vice director of social education and research at Zhongshan University, breaks China’s otaku into three levels. The serious oaku retreats entirely into his room and refuses to communicate with anyone, even parents. They only exit their rooms to eat. The less serious otaku can still manage basic communication with family. The entry level otaku only associates with other students who go straight home after school.

Hu said an institute in Hong Kong researched the local school-going population and found 7,000 adolescents fit the otaku profile. "I estimate thre may be 20,000 by now," Hu said. Chen Liru, a physiologist in Guangzhou, said teenagers easily hide from disappointment or failure in reality by retreating into a visual world.

"The generation born in the 1980s is te first group of only-childs. They were spoiled," Chen said. When it is time for them to step into society and face failure, many abandon ship and become otaku

Hu said otaku are formed by their families. Parents who pamper and dote on their children and worry they may make bad friends prefer to keep them home, where they spend considerable time on the Internet, Hu said. If they spend all their time playing computer games, the parents assume all is well and make sure their meals are always ready.

When obsession goes too far

One otaku woman shared her story on the Web site:

"I was outgoing as a child, but things changed when I got to college. I thought my clssmates were extremely vain. After graduation, I couldn’t handle the pressures of work and society and turned inward. I did not go out with friends, I did not want to call anyone or be called and I started to obsess ove computer games. It was easier to communicate with people through games than with people in real life. I quit my job and started playing games all the time, and I only looked for jobs when I ran out of money. I ate poorly. One day, I panicked when I went outside, and after that I would not go out anymore. My life was neither at work or home, and I even forgot simple things like how to read bus stop signs."Most otaku are young people who do not have jobs. They have no opportunity to pursue higher education, and cannot find jobs after graduation. The otaku’s poor social skills leave them feeling a perpetual victim, and they usually prefer to give up and tay at home.

Hu suspects otaku can hardly become good stay-at-home workers. "Working in a home office takes dedication, not just being at home," Hu said.He said he thinks it natural that young people like animation and video games, but banning them from reading comics or playing computer games is not a solution.

"Teenagers need encouragement to go out and travel or look for jobs. Some well-off families look down on any low-paying job, which is a real mistake," Hu said.Anti-otaku forum

Wang's znanziny.com is China’s first anti-otaku forum. Wang escaped the otaku lifestyle and found work as a freelancer. He said he hopes the forum can help othe like him to escape a destructive lifestyle.

The forum opened last December and has 3,000 registered members.

Wang said the members include other freelancers who work at home, students and housewives.

The Web site has different sections, including comics and video games to attract otaku attention. Its dual function is to provide a platform for otaku to discuss amongst themselves how to escape being one.

"I organize some offlineevents as well," Wang said

Escaping the circle

Shorten your time on the computer. The otaku life thrives on the Internet, either playing games or surfing pages. If you are used to spending more than 13 hours on the computer, try to gradually cut back from less than 13 to 6.

Get off line. The typical otaku prefers hanging out online even he finds nothing interesting to read, to watch or to play. Log out and walk away from the computer.

Get out of the apartment. Otaku like to spend all their time at home instead of going out, going to school or to work. Try to take a walk after each meal. Go to the gym, the movies or just go shopping.

Be sociable. Most otaku hate going outside and meeting other people. They need to encourage themselves to make new friends. It is easy to start from a nice chat with the local grocer or beer delivery man.

Find a boyfriend or girlfriend. Most otaku are single, so try to get yourself a date and start a relationship. You can ask your friends, family or co-workers to introduce nice single men or women to you.

(By Annie Wei )