"What is an Otaku?"
Now, I don't mean to single out every individual who has ever asked me this in a negative way: In fact, I'm not surprised that people don't get the term. After all, the word "Otaku" is part of the anime jargon, and unless you watch excessive amounts of anime, you won't know what "Otaku" means.
Anyways, back on topic: so, by definition, the dictionary states that an Otaku is:
(in Japan) a young person who is obsessed with computers or particular aspects of popular culture to the detriment of their social skills.
Okay, let's backtrack a bit. Whilst the dictionary admittedly portrays an Otaku to be one anti-social hermit, anime jargon presents a slightly different, if not more positive view on Otakus. To put it simply, a person is referred to as an Otaku when they are either very much obsessed with anime, manga, or both.
So, if you know me personally, you may now understand why I consider myself as an "Otaku". In fact, just by looking at how this site is set up, you probably don't need to personally know me to understand why I associate with the term.
Most people consider themselves to be an "Otaku" if they've watched either a number of Studio Ghibli movies (*cough* more like one) or if they've watched one of the 'popular' animes (meaning the ones most heavily advertised in the western civilisation). Unsurprising, this actually poses as one the largest pet peeves anime obsessors have, because "there's more to anime than just Studio Ghibli and Naruto". Personally, I find that it's not that big a deal, but perhaps that's because, despite having watched now 168 animes, I have not watched Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, or any of those 'popular' animes.
However, the fact that I've watched 168 others just goes to show that you don't need to have watched all the popular animes and some others to consider yourself an Otaku. In fact, at the end of the day, does it really matter whether or not one considers themselves as an Otaku because you've watched just one Studio Ghibli film, or you've watched 500 animes? No- I didn't think so.
As for the rest of my blog's title: "The NOt So Personal Blog", it's basically the result of my thought process when I was creating this blog. As you may have realised, I initially intended to create this as a way for me to document (more like vent) my life and thoughts. In other words, a "Personal Blog". But then, when I was writing that, I realised the very obvious truth: Everything and Anything that goes on the Internet will never be personal. Therefore, it's not really going to be a "Personal Blog", but instead, a "Not so Personal Blog". And hence, the name was created.