The 4 types of Pinoy Otaku: A short psychological analysis

Seeing as you are reading this at pinoycosplay.blogspot.com, I'm sure you are already aware of what the term "Otaku" means. But for those the sake of the idiots out there, here is a brief overview.

Otaku (おたく / オタク), as defined by wikipedia, is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga, or video games.

Now there are several types of Otaku, but today I shall only discuss the 4 most common types of otaku frequenting our Philippine culture and the personality disorder that can be associated with them.

1. Anime and Manga Otaku: The Schizotypal

These otakus have an obsessive interest which mainly focuses on animation and comics. Mostly consisting of pimply fat chicks, they are the most common type which can be found in the pinoy cosplay scene. They create their own little fantasy world filled with anime bishounens and rabu~rabu~ and this schizotypal tendency hinders them from creating "normal" relationships thus, making them school outcasts and bottom feeders of the social food chain.

2. Cosplay Otaku: The Histrionic

"Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking, including an excessive need for approval and inappropriately seductive behavior, usually beginning in early adulthood. These individuals are lively, dramatic, enthusiastic, and flirtatious." -Seriously? Do I even need to explain this?

3. Game Otaku: The anti-social

Game Otaku or "Gemu Otaku" are otakus with obsessive interest in playing video games. Most commonly played games are Dating Simulation Games, Role-Playing Games (RPG), and Massive Multi-player On-line Role Playing Games (MMORPG).

I asked a patient who is a gamer once what makes videogames so addictive. He told me that in the gaming world, there are no attachments. There are rules but they can be bypassed. You don't have to care about others. It's just you and the game. Nothing else matters.

From this short interview alone you can see why people with anti-social personality disorder are so attached to gaming. ASPD (anti-social personality disorder) is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a pervasive pattern of disregard for, violation of, the rights of others. Their traits include failure to confirm to social norms, impulsiveness, irritability or aggression, and lack of remorse to name a few.

Surely enough, you don't feel remorse when you’re shooting down a counter-terrorist. On the contrary, it excites you. The thrill of killing gives you such a high that no other drug can produce.

4. Figure and Doll Otakus: The Obsessive-Compulsive

Figure Otakus are otakus with obsessive interests in collectibles like posters, accessories, and mecha figures and of course, dolls.

These Otakus possess a freakish love for control and details. Everything has to be perfect. From color, to texture heck even brush strokes. These people have a constant need to make things absolutely perfect. Their preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism and control makes them perfect candidates for people with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

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There you have it folks. I just want to point out though that not all otakus have these personality disorders. However if you feel like you can strongly associate with what I have written here, rest assured that all of these personality disorders listed have existing treatment plans. There is still hope for you left.