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Normies vs Otaku

One of my colleagues asked me the other day "So what do you actually do? Do you spend all of your time watching that cartoon thing?" I replied "Well that cartoon thing I watch is called anime and no, it is not for children." (I recommended Corpse Party) "And I don't just watch anime I do a lot of other things like running my anime group, making my cosplays, planning for Comic Con etc. etc." They were shocked because they didn't realise that otakus, despite popular belief, are actaully quite sociable beings.

Being the only otaku in my workplace I get a few questions like that. I have also observed these people's behaviour, these people are what we otaku call 'Normies' because they are labelled as 'normal' to the rest of society; and I have noticed a big difference between us and them. So, in true Hannah fashion, I made a table. Now as a disclaimer, this is in regard to each group as a whole and not just one or two people. There are also a few cross overs, which I will explain later.
Normies:
Otakus:
TV:
‘Mainstream shows’ like Love Island, Big Brother, various soap operas etc.
Anime, Japanese dramas and real life movies, documentaries on Japan and Japanese culture and other animated films like Final Fantasy
Shopping:
High street shops like New Look, Zara, River Island and Dorothy Perkins. Makeup shops like Boots, Superdrug. Shoe stores like JD Sports and Sports Direct
Online shops like eBay and Amazon for clothing and wigs, HMV, Forbidden Planet and Tokyo Toyz for merchandise and other anime goods
Hobbies:
Going out with friends, going clubbing, getting drunk and possibly playing sports (person depending)
Playing Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer tournaments, cosplay groups and meetups, Comic Cons, anime and gaming meets. Making and planning cosplays and organising trips to the next con (short for Comic Con)
Special Days:
Halloween, New Years, Christmas, other religious festivals and birthdays
Star Wars Day, Back To The Future Day, character birthdays, Cons, meets, Halloween, birthdays etc.
Holidays:
Girls and Lads holidays to Magaluf, Ibiza and other party places. But also cities like London, Paris and Amsterdam
Japan, Akihbara, South Korea etc.
Talking Points:
TV, hobbies, planning the next night out, jobs, office politics, weather
New anime, cosplays hints and tips, anime and gaming meets, Comic Con, TV, hobbies, books, manga etc.
Reading:
Trashy magazines, news, Daily Mail, celebrity tweets and SnapChats and various forms of social media
Japanese culture books, Japanese/Korean language books, manga, fictional books and magazines
Social Groups:
Work, school friends, university friends, fuck buddies etc.
Cosplay friends, Dungeons and Dragons team mates, Warhammer, fellow Comic Conners etc.
Music:
Latest music and music videos
J-pop/rock, K-pop/rock, anime opening and closing themes, vocaloids
Movies:
Mainstreams movies, trending on social media
Mainstreams movies as well as anime movies and other animated movies
As I said before, there are a few cross overs. Otakus may have the same sort of social groups and celebrate the same religious festivals as a normie. A normie may celebrate Star wars Day and want to go to Japan. An otaku may also shop at New Look and Superdrug (I do as they are good for cosplay makeup and basic clothing).

I have seen this difference quite a few times and although I do look strange to people when I am wearing my Viktor Nikiforov wig with the jacket and black lipstick on with the closing them playing through my headphones; it is what I feel confident in. The moral of the story is, don't change yourself to sit in with other people, being yourself is much better than being like everyone else.

(Here is the link to the closing theme I was on about. I have the opening theme, the one with the paint droplets and the guys skating as my ringtone!)



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