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In recent years, the American population has become fascinated with Japanese culture, most notably in the form of Anime or Japanese Animation. The first taste of this culture came to American in the late 80’s with the film Akira, and over time anime series such as Dragonball Z and Pokemon have greatly increased its popularity. This has given birth to a wide stretching minority group known as anime nerds, or Otakus.
The Otaku is a solitary creature, often spending many hours of its days inside its room, indulging in its obsessions, watching anime episodes downloaded onto their computers or playing various video games. The Okatu does not thrive in social settings, the majority of the Otaku’s acquaintances consist of other Otakus. Their limited social engagements consist only of watching anime and playing video games in groups, or having heated discussions of said anime and video games.
The diet of an Otaku consists mainly of Ramen noodles for two primary reasons, it is a Japanese food, allowing them to further indulge in their obsession, and because it is cheaply priced, allowing more money to be spent on anime and video games or other related merchandise. The Otaku is also known to eat Pocky, a Japanese candy made of breaded sticks dipped in chocolate or strawberry sauce, though these instances are less frequent due to the items rarity.
The Otaku is an easy creature to spot due to several indicators. They often carry with them bags or backpacks decorated with anime or video game characters. These bags are usually decorated further with anime-related pins and keychains. They also tend to carry with them handheld gaming devices for use when not in their rooms, and are usually seen playing with them. They’re accent is also an indicator of an Otaku. While they speak with American accents, they tend to slip in short Japanese words into every day conversation. They can often be spotted in manga sections of book stores, by any place that sells sushi, or near arcades with Dance Dance Revolution machines, a video game that is often also used for what little exercise they receive, and as a mating ritual. The best Dance Dance Revolution players are highly prized.
Once a year in late April, the Otakus of Bowling Green migrate to Olscamp for an anime convention. They come from all over. Many participate in a pastime know as cosplay where they dress up as their favorite characters, the more detailed costume, the better. Some characters are more cherished than others. This can usually be determined by the size of the character’s sword, the bigger the better. At these conventions, several activities take place. They have video game tournaments, costume contests, anime music concerts, and special screenings of anime where the Otakus squeal in delight upon the entrance of their favorite characters, or when their character finally defeats the villain. The most popular of these activities is the marketplace where Otakus can stock up on Pocky, and useless anime-related trinkets to be shown off with pride to the other Otakus.