The Otaku : negotiation of reality and fantasy beyond the body

Abstract

Based on the Otaku subculture that has flourished here in Singapore, this research aims to understand how these Otaku negotiate between their material reality and the fantasical realm of anime and manga through their consumption of anime-related merchandise and other strategies such as the utilization of advanced media technology and through costume-play (cosplay). These merchandise are not merely objects, but “enchanted commodities” (Allison 2006), serving to narrow the gap between the Otaku and characters from the narratives of anime and manga. This research also serves to understand how heterosexual Otakus affirm their own heterosexuality through the consumption of these same gendered and sexualized merchandise. At the same time, because of the direction that they orientate their heterosexuality towards – objects instead of ‘real’ human beings, what is seen as mainstream and unquestioned (i.e their heterosexuality) is deviantized.