We are all into animé (in one way or another)... We collect stuff, join cosplays, acquire the Japanese trend, eat sushi, sing J-pop songs, etc...

Coz of these, some people may find us weird, freaky and even call us jologs.

So what do you do to avoid them? What are the things you do to keep your life normal despite being an otaku?

QUOTE (meiko @ Jun 12 2003, 11:46 AM)

We are all into animé (in one way or another)... We collect stuff, join cosplays, acquire the Japanese trend, eat sushi, sing J-pop songs, etc... Coz of these, some people may find us weird, freaky and even call us jologs. So what do you do to avoid them? What are the things you do to keep your life normal despite being an otaku?

I don't think we should avoid people just because they find us weird. I mean, we have every right to be who we are, just like they have every right to think what they want of us. No matter what we do, there will always be someone who is critical of what we do, so there's no point in avoiding that.

Besides, being an otaku is not all there is to our lives, right? We have work, we have our personal lives, our little hobbies, and surely there are some things that we do that are totally unrelated to anime. And who said being an otaku is not normal? I'm sure there are some people out there who are into something else like maybe Harry Potter, video games, comic books, Jolina ( :lol: ), etc. The perception of weird, freaky or even jologs is really relative, so who's to say who's normal these days? :)

Oh Yeah, I see your point. I get that kind of discrimination sometimes.

My school paper adviser doesn't favor me because I like animé, stuff he can't understand, wouldn't understand at all.

I don't look like an otaku or some geek at a glance, though, when you see my stuff in the bag, my conversation topics, and weird animé-ish attitude that's when you can conclude that I am indeed one, too.

Try wearing SailorMoon hair and people will stare at you. O_O.

That's because they don't see that type of people everyday.
They don't see the -decent- people like us [lol] everyday.
Maybe they do see so-called otakus...the jolog-ized version, GMA/ABS-CBN animé followers,

so they call all the animé people jologs as well.

We're unique, we're smart [most otakus are XD] and they're definitely not like us!

Ok, medyo naligaw ako dun sa tanong ahh.

Besides being a japanese-freak that I am, here are the other things that I do:

+ skating
+ drawing
+ reading&writing
+ learning more of Asia

heck, no matter what I do, I'll always be connected to Japanese/animé. Lol.

Aha, an inevitable forum topic, and one of my personal favourites. XD

It was once quoted that "The clothes maketh not the man, but rather the man maketh the clothes."* In the same way, our fandom doesn't necessarily govern who we are. Although, at least in my case, it helped shape me into what I've become... :) But that's getting ahead of myself.

I've gotten more than my fair share of rude stares and comments myself, particularly since many people think it's unbecoming for a collegiala like me to be involved in such a financially taxing and mass appeal-driven sort of fandom. Usually I just tell them to either take me as I am, or f*ck off.

In the first place, my being a "collegiala" is already a factor which I think would separate me from the rest. I come from a background that would make the so-called "jologs" fans squirm in envy. Until recently I could make coherent AND complicated Spanish sentences, Spanish being the required subject of my high school alma mater until last year. (Right now I'd rather keep them simple. ;) )

Another thing would be my hobbies. Sure, I draw, read and write. But when I really, REALLY want to, I can write things beyond blog replies, board replies and letters. I mean, I can ask Ryan/Tasuki-kun to bring out the Chalk issues I wrote for. I worked my way up the school paper, becoming editor-in-chief in my last year. And I don't mean to brag but I have to admit that I didn't win my Palanca award for nothing! <_< :angel3: (When people who have intially known me for my dizzy animé-ted attitude learn about this they always, ALWAYS blush in embarrassment. It pays to look beyond the surface ne? XD )

That doesn't even mention the fact that I used to sing for church choir, plus I used to be a singer for a high school band. (Ok, I am a frustrated singer, but at least I have some experience right? --; ) I also played the piano when I was younger; honestly speaking I would be willing to teach myself to play once more (I'm self-taught in reading, writing, drawing, some computer stuff and piano-playing) if I had a decent piano and not the electronic one which, for some strange reason, has "D" keys which no longer work, plus sheet music (mine are all missing! ;_; ). I also cook, and if one of your hobbies is eating you should have cooking as a hobby as well!

My other hobbies include running (which I had to stop since scoliosis has ruined my sense of balance), trying to learn how to dance, going out with friends (usually to clubs or bars where the bands whose members they're acquainted with are playing), shopping, and even watching non-animé shows like Charmed, Roswell, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Whose Line Is It Anyway?. And although I HATE school, I still LOVE learning new things, whether it be how to fix the screws which keep the legs of our sofa together, or the intricacies of Philippine socio-political dynamics (I flunked it in school though...) or the many nuances of homonyms in Asian languages. I don't know if you can count engaging in socio-civic work as a hobby, but I consider it one for myself. It's weird but I get real kicks out of helping other people!!! :lol: :P :cute: :angel1: :peace: :dance: :turn:

Okay, I can't think of much else now... Feel free to react as you wish, boyz and grrlz!

======
* Disclaimer: I really don't remember where it came from, so please allow some inaccuracies with the actual sentence construction of this quote.

things that i do:

-blogging
-website [pero may connection din sa anime.. waaahh XD ]
-learning to play guitar
-skating
-work [graphic artist chuva] :petrify:
-shopping :D
-going to libis

i didn't know that having anime/asian influence on me was weird or even ... JOLOGS O__O ... well then if that's the case I must be even weirder now :rolleyes:

And to make my life a bit more normal ... I still eat ice cream, i get paid for working ... that's normal .. <_< what else ... oh i think I don't wanna be too normal at all XD

For the record, I would just like to point out that if people call us jologs, do they realize that this "fad"... this HYPE they're creating over a Taiwanese series began as an ANIME?! That in fact the series wouldn't have existed if the manga/anime didn't exist!? That since they ARE supporting this said series they are in fact GUILTY BEYOND DOUBT of being JOLOGS THEMSELVES?!

Mindless idiots. The world is full of it. Harumph.

Oops, gomen, off-comment ranting. ^^; Anyway...

Define freak. One of the meanings of freak is someone who is different in a certain group, ergo, in a group of people who like anime, a person who starts naming the other members of the group freaks IS the freak.

My life consists of the inane stuff, like STUDYING, besides reading, writing, ice skating, working out at the gym, hanging out with friends, surfing the internet, trying desperately to organize my website... :rolleyes: I'm a sop2 in our college choir whenever I feel like joining, and an alto in our church choir, but that suffered because I can't wake up Sunday mornings now. ^^; Sometimes I shop, play badminton, and swim. I'm presently trying to learn how to drive...

But a really BIG part of what makes me ME is anime. I don't deny or hide the fact that I like it. It's part of my so-called normality. (If I suddenly woke up without a clue about what anime is, I know people would be VERY VERY worried.) I tell supposedly "normal" schoolmates that I cosplay. I even show them pictures. People can roll their eyes my way or shake their heads but I LOVE anime. It's what makes me unique. If people avoid me because of it, fine! To absolute damnation with them! Life is better off having people and friends who accept you for who you are. If they can't, then sadly they're not worth knowing.

people who thrash other people and call them names, like weirdo or nerd or no-life just because they like something that they could not understand, should be pitied. Why?
Because their self-esteem is so low that they establish their own identity by making people feel bad about themselves.

What is the definition of jologs? imho, i think it is a person who has to constantly remind themselves and the world of what they want people to perceive as their identity and self-worth. Being boisterous to a point where it becomes a nuisance.

My point being, just be yourself. :peace:

If you know deep within your heart who you are, and what you are, respect that and just live your life. And at the same time, respect other people and their beliefs. ^_^ Respect is a two-way process.

and I believe that there is no such thing as "Normal", there is no definition for it :D what can be normal for one person, could be the exact opposite to another. Kaya masaya ang buhay dahil may diversity hehe :)

yeah gems right you just need to be yourself... and dont mind the people who are saying that pips that like anime are weird pips.. (although im one of them before... :angry: ). mga inggit lang yan and walang magawa sa buhay... they think they are better people because they are not hooked up with anime or cartoons/anime/jrock (most of them kasi they call it that). before, me i used to shout at my cousins that they are damn weird pips because ang tanda na nila nanood pa sila ng cartoons/anime pero now i realize nah somehow sa panonood nila nababago nila personality nila in a very damn goodway ^_^... me din nga some of my old friends they call me an anime freak (although i dont really watch anime) because i hang out with people who watches anime or listens to jrock or whatever... pero it doesnt really bother me kasi i dont care what they think about me kasi i have great friends and thats all that matters ^_^ :) :) :) ... haba ng sinulat ko... basta dont mind the pips around you na nagsasalita ng ganyan kasi mga epal sila hehehe mga insecure lang yung mga yun hehehe ok yun lang ^_^

Sila ang jologs, di tayo. Mwehehehe :lol:

It's highly understandable because they do not understand the trends of our hobby. Heck, they do not even know the difference between F4 and SMAP, all the while they might be assuming that both boybands hail from the same country. No offense to these people, honestly I think makikitid pag iisip nila. It's basically the same for people who call fine arts student weird and deranged, whence these fine fine arts people are technically better thinkers than those people pressing them down. Anyway, that's just an example.

Besides, we don't have to be insecured about this because I honestly think there's nothing wrong about our hobby. It's just that people are not able to comprehend with the complexity of our nature and dedication to our hobby. Let's all admit it, we do have convolutional thinkings about the other things people do as well. It's not just them, we are also a part of this cynical misconception. It's the natural order of a society, be it in a good condition or a bad.

Well, aside from animes, I [am] also:

Play videogames and arcade games
Play bowling whenever I have the time
A free lance writer of an anonymous magazine
A Chinese literature avid reader (San Guo Yan Yi, Monkey King, Sun-Tzu)

i dont even care about what other people think as long as i'm happy with what i am doing! XD :P

basta as long as madami namang sumusuporta dun sa nigagawa mo, ok lang. tsaka care nila, yun ang gusto naman natin eh, right natin yun, tsaka masaya naman yung ginagawa natin eh, wala namang problema dun...

... sandali, ano daw? ngik!

nigagawa ko? sa bahay? magbasa... maglaro (kung me time) at gumawa ng katakot-takot na assignments, kahit na kauumpisa pa lang ng klase, haaa, buhay! nag-mamall din ako pero nde lagi-lagi kasi umuuwi din ako kaagad galing school kse sa nipagod din, oist ha! hirap din nun, ilang oras lakbay mo.... "mandaragat" nga eh.

Jologs? kay Jolina naman galing yun ehhhhh...... Jolina, jologs... ngye.

there is a big difference from being a very avid fan (raise your hands) and being an otaku. i dont even hear "otaku" being used these days.

before, around 1997-ish or so, they used it to describe anime fans, but the word had very bad connotations in japanese. it meant somebody who have voluminous collections of videos (not restricted to anime) and just watches them all day long. yun lang ang buhay nila. the japanese word o-taku originally means "one's house". it got a bad connotation due to one homicide case where the suspect had been found to have large collection of vhs tapes and was reported to have been doing nothing but watching the whole day, never goes out. american anime enthusiasts adopted the term for themselves.


ANyWaYs, we surely do something aside from watching and playing all day. i play video games, read fantasy books. do work, of course, read the newspapers. think about my life and my destiny. daydream. talk to friends about lovelife. GaNuN. :P