Salutations, and welcome to my blog. I invite you to know me as "Murasaki-san." Yes, it's a funny name isn't it? Murasaki is the Japanese word for purple. Now, aside from why I chose to go by a pen-name in Japanese of all languages, I'm sure you have some questions.
For instance, I bet you're asking, "Who is the author of this blog?; or maybe, "What exactly is this blog about?"; or perhaps "What the heck is an 'Otaku' ANYWAY?" I hope you're asking that last one, because I question anyone who would read a blog with a funny-sounding word like "Otaku" in the title without wanting to know what that funny-sounding word means.
There is a good chance that some of my viewers might be reading this simply because the word "otaku" is in the title. I will get around to speaking to my fellow otaku, but first I'll address those who have no idea what it is.
To answer the first question: As I mentioned above, I like to go by the pseudonym "Murasaki-san". I am first a Christian, second a woman, and third an American. I was home-schooled (as you might have guessed from the title); and I also happen to like Japan... a lot... a little more than a lot. If it has anything to do with Japanese culture, Japanese history, or the Japanese language, you can almost be sure I will find interest in it. So... how did that happen? We'll, the cause of my deep interest with any subject pertaining to Japan, is a simple word which begins with "A": anime.
Ooh - that may raise another question for some of you and, well... not others: "What's anime?". Anime is many things to those who take interest in it, but for the purposes of this explanation, anime is Japanese "cartoons" or animation.
To clear up any remaining confusion, an example of anime that is widely or moderately known here in the U.S. is "Pokemon". I'm pretty sure multitudes have heard of THAT. Another one which might be recognized by the teenagers of the 90's is "Dragon Ball". Then there's also "Yu-Gi-Oh", and some more modern ones like "Naruto" and "Bleach".
Now, if you are someone who doesn't like anime (Like my mother), or if you don't know and don't WANT to know anything about the anime world you are welcome to stop reading, because now I'm going to answer question number two, and you probably won't like it. This blog is pretty much about my daily life as a home-schooled Christian girl, and since my social connections are very limited, anime is mainly what I'll be posting about.
Which brings us to the third question: "What is an 'otaku' anyway?"
Otaku translates from Japanese as "One who remains at home". Here in the Western world, it is used to refer to a fan of anime or manga (Japanese comics). In Japan, it's definition is somewhat wider and more negative. In Japan, otaku refers to any one with obsessive interests in ANYTHING. Any subject -- period. Whether that be anime, manga, cars, movies, trains, history, science, sports, fashion or - dare I say it? - jellyfish. Yes - jellyfish.
Now, I am an otaku in the western sense of the word only - even so a lot of people who know about anime/manga might wonder if being a Christian otaku, isn't a little contradictory.
To be sure, there are a lot of things in many animes and mangas that don't exactly line up with some Christian values like keeping one's thought pure; and being obsessed with anything could be seen as being in violation of certain commandments such as not having idols, or not loving anything or anyone more than God, but I manage, because I stick to my convictions, and I was a Christian, looooong before I got into the sand-trap known as anime. I'm writing this blog because my being a Christian gives me a somewhat unique perspective on the anime/ manga world. I would like to use this as a means to share my thoughts on some of my favourite animes/mangas with my fellow otaku. I'd also like to explain some things about anime to novices on the subject, and parents who just don't get why their kids like "this crazy Japanese stuff."
Next time, I'll share some observations I've made about my fellow anime fans.
This has been the Christian, Home-schooled Otaku, thank you for reading.
