I Lost, Therefore I Am

Cultural anthropology is a discipline of cultural study which concentrates on thelife style of people, meanwhile cultural analyses attempt to interpret one specificlifestyle and its impicit or explicit siginificance and value. In this dissertation, thelifestyle of otakus(おたく) refers to their the clothing, food, shelter,entertainment,expenditure and communicative interaction.Moreover,it also indicatestheir attitude, value and view of world in their daily life.ACG otaku is a peculiar social community which has emerged with the fastdevelopment of ACG culture and modern information technology since the1980s.The unique life style of otakus creates their own texts, signs,symbols and meanings,resulting in the formation of ACG subculture---a culture of lifestyle. Japan is the No.1ACG power which has a great impact on the countries all over the world.Accordingly,the lifestyle, behavioural pattern and aesthetic consciousness of otakus in the othercountries (including China) fall into Japanese-category. In China, the new generationhas been influenced strongly by Japanese ACG culture and the life style, thinking andbehavioural pattern of otakus since1980s.The study object in this dissertation is otaku----a subcutural community in Japan.This dissertation is attempted to explore the life style, thinking and behaviouralpattern of otakus. Theoretically it draws on anthropology, cultural sociology andanthropology of mass media. Methodologically, it is a good combination of fieldinvestigation and document research. Then it tries to explore the significance andvalue which is hidden behind the lifestyle and behavioural pattern of otakus in orderto enhance our understanding of this subcutural community and its knowledge formand cultural features.The theoretical significance of this dissertation lies in the followingaspects.Through the literature review on otakus and ACG culture, there are fewfindings which are concerned with anthropology and ethnography in this area. Mostof the scholars at home have done some studies from the perspectives ofcommunication, psychology and culture Industry, but there haven’t been yet profoundand systematic explorations in the lifestyle of Japanese otakus from the angle ofanthropology. Therefore, this dissertation will fill this kind of research gap. As far asthe methodology is concerned, this dissertation goes beyond the limitations of on-the-spot field investigation and vis-à-vis interview, regarding the internet as a newfield and participating in the communicative interaction with Japanese otakus besidescollecting first-hand data, because they actually live their lives in vitual cyper-space.The practical significance of this dissertation is conveyed through the deepexploration of the lifestyle of Japanese otakus,clarifying the confused notions ofotakus, providing useful insights into the research in this area in China, and evenenhancing our understanding of cultural diversities.This dissertation is composed of three parts: introduction, body andconclusion.The introduction part introduces the research goal and the theoreticalsignificance, the research status at home and abroad, the research content,methodology and the innovations; Moreover, it also gives the definitions andexplanations to some relevant notions and terminologies.The main body of this dissertation is divided into five chapters.Chapter one introduces the background information about the developmentjourney of Japanese ACG and analyzes its fundamental characteristics, itscommunication modes and channels.Chapter Two defines the notion of ACG otakus, distinguishing the otakus fromcommon ACG amateurs and analyzing the contributing factors of the emergence ofthis kind of community.Chapter Three consists of three parts.First, an analysis of the image ofotakuswhich is understood and evaluated by people inside and outside this community iscarried out.Secondly, an interpretation on language use, aesthetic value, love, clothingand apparel of otakus is conducted based on field investigation. Thirdly, anexploration in the communicative interactions such as person-to-computer-to-personinteraction or person-to-person one in cyper-space by means of cyper field andon-the-spot field investigations.Finally, field investigations are made in Akihabara,Ikebukuro Otome roadand Washimiya-chowhich are important shrines for otakus,revealing the close relationship between otakus and their shrines.Chapter Four gives a definition for the “Cosplay”. Drawing on the description ofthe origin and development of the Cosplay itself, a careful field investigation has beenmade on a maid cafe in Akihab-ara and a butler cafe in Ikebukuro Otome road,whereACG elements are in abundance,to explore how otakus pursue two-dimensionalculture and how they are integrated into theACG community. Chapter Five carries out a tentative analysis and interpretation of the identity,lifestyle and meaning realization of otakus from the perspective of cultural anthropologyand cultural sociology.The conclusion is drawn through the interpretation of its major findings, valuableimplications, limitations of the present research and suggestions for further research.The main ideas of this dissertation will be illustrated as follows:First,the most striking feature of the lifestyle of otakus is the marriage of life andACG. The integration of life and ACG is represented through ACG sub-culture. Thevalue pursuit and aesthetic awareness are internalized by otakus, meanwhile theirlifestyle and behavioural pattern are demonstrated externally.In the second place, the surface meaning and the deep meaning of the lifestyle ofotakus is interpreted. On the one hand, they show off their styles, personalities andattitudes ostentatiously; on the other hand, they attempt to construct self-identities insuch a sub-cultural community.Thirdly, through decades’development, the OTAKU has already been aninfluential sub-culture, permeating into the mainstream of society. In this new-mediaage, gambling occur in the process of interactions between the lifestyle of otakus andcultural consumption pattern, where both of them benefit from each other.Last but not least, otakus originate from commercial society and Knowledgeeconomy, and ACG culture is a fundamental part of diversified culture. Therefore, theexistence of this community reveals social dynamism. At the same time, ACGobsession in this community is transitional, because there exists differences betweentheir self-identity and the evaluation of outsiders.