Liam the Intern writes: According to the results of a study released by Nomura Research Institute in Japan on the 24th, there are 2,850,000 people considered “otaku” in Japan, with a combined market power of around $2.6 billion.
“Hey, bitchin,” will probably be the response of many anime fans here in the USA who call themselves “otaku” as though it were something good, despite sometimes less-than-favorable connotation. In Japan, however, “otaku” is by no means a badge worn proudly by fans who suffer the consequences of being dubbed “maniacs,” as the Japanese put it. “Otaku” can also mean “my house,” but hey, that’s completely off the subject.
NRI broke down the term “otaku” into five different categories – anime, idols, comics, games, and PC assembly. I’ve created a handy dandy pie chart above that outlines the distribution for your convenience, but mostly to justify that damn freshman Management Science class I had to take.
Read – Press Release [NRI]
