otaku

This Awesome Robot Art Was Built With Broken Toys And Old Electronics

Andrea Petrachi is a sculptor. He doesn’t use clay or marble. Instead, he creates with broken toys and discarded electronics, from electric shavers and audio connectors to old doll heads and figurine parts. His work is a mishmash of plastic and metal, joined in their common bond: they’ve been tossed aside for trash.


This Formula One Champ Is A Big Japanese Role-Playing Game Geek

A favourite otaku (geek) hobby in Japan is taking photos of toys. The pictures can make oh-so-cute miniature figurines look lifelike. But this trend isn’t only a Japanese thing. It’s also a Formula One racer thing — at least for one man. Via social media, Spanish F1 driver Fernando Alonso provides a look at Formula One that fans expect: fast cars, scenic locals, and killing time between races. He also shows a different side of the motorsport. A nerdier one.


Nine Nerd Belongings That Freak Japanese Ladies Out

If you are a nerd, be proud. But also beware that some people in Japan might not be totally cool with your otaku (geek) lifestyle — even fellow geeks.


The Cars And Cosplay Of This Party Are Dreamy

Held in both Osaka and Tokyo, Dream Party is a bi-annual event for bishoujo (beautiful young girl) computer games. This weekend, Dream Party rolled through Tokyo, filling the Tokyo Big Sight convention hall with cosplayers, figurines, computer games and cars covered in nerdy decals.


Snowboarding Gets All Nerdy

No wonder a former Japanese Olympic snowboarder is so into otaku (“geek”) culture. It seems there a whole group of snowboarding otaku, decked out in unabashedly nerdy attire.


Japan Is Now Studying Its Geeks

“Otaku” in Japanese is usually to refer to individuals who are really into things, whether that be trains, movies, or video games. There are a wide variety of different otaku, but within the last few years the word “otaku” has become shorthand for gaming, anime, or idol diehards.


Unboxing Nerdy Stuff… In The Bathtub

In my day, I’ve seen loads of unboxing videos — you know, those clips in which people remove products from, well, their boxes. I thought the strangest one I’d ever see depicted shirtless fat men unboxing Skyrim. I was wrong.


10 Ways Japanese Girls Know You Are A ‘Creepy’ Otaku

Some of you are nerds. That’s fine. Some of you are not. Likewise — fine. But for the geeky male readers out there, not all members of the opposite sex are going to be down with your peculiarities. According to Japanese site Sugoren, here are nine ways that Japanese women can instantly spot “creepy” otaku.


This Chocolate Isn’t Painful. It’s Sweet And Dorky.

You know “itasha”, right? It means “painmobile” and refers to cars covered in nerdy stickers. These days, everything that has been covered with nerdy imagery — from Shinto plaques to bicycles — seems to get the “ita” label in Japan. Heck, there are even “itachoco” this Valentine’s Day. I guess a literal translation would be “painful chocolate”.


The Waitress Uniform That Started It All

For a generation, Anna Miller’s was more than a coffee shop. For a generation, it inspired video games, anime and countless cosplay. For a generation, it’s quickly becoming a memory.


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