Otakukin: A Faith in Anime?
Offline Okay this is some seriously messed up shit.
To sum up, these individuals, brought together by the internet(oh how I love AND loathe the internet) believe they have the souls of anime characters.
From the site:
"What are Otakukin? Generally speaking ‘Otas’ are people who have a spiritual connection to what are considered fictional characters, or worlds. They are different from ‘soulbonders’ because Otas believe it is their own identity which is fiction, not an outside entity in communication. They are different from Otherkin who believe that their souls are derived from mythical creatures; Otakukin believe their souls are derived from ‘modern myths’ of pop culture literature and entertainment, usually Japanese in origin."
Oh by the way, look up Otherkin if you wanna laugh really hard. Although if you can handle Otakukin I think you're ready to see Otherkin. And yes, "Soulbonders" means the individual in question believes they channel messages from characters like Sonic the Hedgehog and Sailor Moon.
Otakukin, Otherkin, Soulbonders and furries also seem to have huge persecution complexes overall.
" If any of these groups is to gain a measure of acceptance and respect in even the fringes of main stream society, a greater measure of communication and concerted effort between them will certainly be necessary. "
It's scary. And yet what should I see but the burden of proof argument. *rolls eyes* Try to argue THIS blistering logic! You can't DIS prove that this girl isn't the reincarnation of Kagome from InuYasha!!!!! SO THERE! HA HA!
" Okay, so even if Otakukin aren’t a danger to themselves, aren’t they still delusional?
\In a word, no. Otakukin is not a delusion any more than any other belief or spirituality is. A delusion is defined as “an erroneous belief that is held in the face of evidence to the contrary”. There is no evidence to the contrary with Otas. You may not personally believe in worlds where anime exists, but you can’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they don’t. Neither can Otakukin prove that they do. All that Otas can offer is the subjective evidence of memories and feelings that leads them to their belief."
The same arguments are being used for this as on many theist sites. And the large online groupings of these kooks leads them to believe they are a persecuted minority, and they construct terms and rules and a little religion out of it. Man, oh, man, the human race is messed up.
"When someone tells us that they remember doing something, the logical course is to believe them, rather to go to the extreme of telling them they must have invented the memory.
So if Otakukin aren’t crazy and delusional, are they for real? Yes, Otas are ‘for real’, in that they are real people with real beliefs. Those who have the experience of being Ota are having a real and valid experience, which deserves to be respected."
Go. Laugh. Learn. Come back here and chat with me about it.
- Login to post comments
Kaaaa Meeeeeeeh......
Haaaa Meeeeeeeh......
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
HAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh Goku... *sigh*
*gigglesnort*
Hey, you look like Squall to me. I can deal, he's stoic and kind of a jerk, but he's very pretty and knows how to handle his gunblade.
Squall matches me pretty well. Except for the gunblade part. Haven't found a manufacturer of real ones. > >
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
Actually, I'm sorry to say this but, I have actually met a few of them in my lifetime. Many of my friends during my early high school years were into it. Most notably, one friend of mine, who believed she was the incarnation of Link from the Legend of Zelda games. They wanted to get me into it too... I'm not sure if they were just scizophrenic or making it all up for attention (although I vote for the latter).
JESUS SAVES!!! .... and takes only half damage!
Heh, check this out: http://www.demon-sushi.com/warning/mee.html
As a devourer of Japanese anime, I can say that I myself understand what's in the minds of those poor bastards... However, I also understand that there's a lot of will to escape from this world as well... which can only be translated as a milder form of schizotipy...
Inquisition - "The flames are all long gone, but the pain lingers on..."
http://rigoromortis.blogspot.com/
Thanks for the link inspectormustard. I can relate to that guy a little. I'm very glad that I was younger though. I didn't have a place to myself, my own transportation, or funds. I fell kind of into the stereotype of the young kid who had figured the whole universe out. It still is a dark area in my past I try to avoid, because I was so gullible and stupid.
Anyway, the part that had me hooked into our little 'cult' is that many of my friends (who I didn't even know were spiritual at all) claimed to have met spirits and gone to other dimentions and places (like the lost city of Atlantis). I guess I was jealous, because I had a facination of spirituality at that time, and had read many books about it. However, my friends, with now prior knowledge, could instantly leave their bodies to go to another universe. Our group also had a rivalry with the local Pagans too. I was caught in the middle. I didn't want to believe my friends were conciously lying to me, but I couldn't digest all that bullshit they were throwing at me. Heck, the Pagans weren't that much better either. Everyone claimed there was going to be a big 'war' coming, and I had to pick a side. Needless to say, I'm doing fine now.
Anyway, I can really identify on how that guy felt. It is kind of an escape from life in a way. You know how if you keep on telling yourself a lie in your head so many times you will believe it? That's how it worked. The thing that kept me interested was that no matter how many times I tried to 'debunk' my friends' thinking, they would come up with an excuse. For example, one time my friend left to go to another universe, so she had a shapeshifter take her place. I asked the shapeshifter to change into a door or something to prove it. She then told me a in depth explaination (that I thought made absolute sense at the time) on how come the energies of the Earth prevent her from changing back until my actual friend came back. I know... weird. I'm still banging my head on the wall for believing that. It goes to show you that even the most intelligent person can fall into one of these little 'cults.'
JESUS SAVES!!! .... and takes only half damage!
I love anime, and I watch it all the time. However, I often am hesitant to admit it because I don't want to be associated with some of the people who share that interest with me. This just gives me another reason.
It's only the fairy tales they believe.
Wow, that's really scary. I mean, I love FFVII, but, that is just FUCKED UP.
I'm vaguely familiar with these types of groups. The furries I'm most acquainted with, and have spent some time talking with them. They feel that the character is a part of them, as if they are channelling that character in some way. It seems related to the idea of a totem. For the furries, it is that they feel more like their chosen animal than human.
What I try to explain to them is that the feelings that they have and associate with the animal are by-definition himan characteristics. They are simply projecting these qualities onto animals in some way then taking on that attribute and saying it is inherently animalistic. The source, I believe (and someone like Todangst could weigh in here to correct me if I'm wrong), is the false dichotomy between animal and human; we are animals, thus when furries feel like they are more cat than human, it is because they forget that those feline qualities are also human qualities.
That, and they just really like furry cute things. Talking animals in media at an early age could have possibly initiated an association between the characteristics and the animal. In general, when we are exposed to ideas, traits, and personalities through a character, we associate the traits with the character, rather than the character to the trait.
Shaun
I'll fight for a person's right to speak so long as that person will, in return, fight to allow me to challenge their opinions and ridicule them as the content of their ideas merit.
Yeah, I've had encounters with furries. Their "fursonas" just seem to be a way of feeling bigger and cooler than they actually are. The ones I've met are either only in the scene to look at or sell art(furries will buy really ugly fursona fanart of themselves for exorbitant amounts of monies) or are the truly hideously socially maladjusted. There's not a lot of middle ground.
Like, seriously, a lot of times, all these people need are good friends, and a social life and they quickly wise up. Other times, lacking a real life group of close friends they just withdraw and find this supportive online "community" and once those hooks are in, they're pretty much in it for life. The community completely encourages it.
Sometimes I wonder who actually believes they are a fox and have a spirit tail that people are always stepping on, and who's just reaching out by playing pretend with a group of adults that really doesn't know how to socialize normally without "playtime". It's kind of sad.
Well, until you have to hang out with one in real life. Or, perish the thought, a group. Seriously, messed up. A friend had a furry "flop-house" where furs from all over would just show up and stay there. Yes, they had fursuits. Yes, they had sex in them sometimes. One guy thought he was a dragon. This is all before I knew him though. *shakes head*
ddking can tell you more I'm sure, he visited his friend a few times while there were weirdo furries there.
Oh man, I can't wait for furries to find this site so they can scream "fursecution" right along with the theists "persecution"!!! :D
Fucking LOL!
I almost fell out of my chair laughing (and I'm at work).
I had not heard the term before, but a quick google search had this pop up first. So good...
Shaun
I'll fight for a person's right to speak so long as that person will, in return, fight to allow me to challenge their opinions and ridicule them as the content of their ideas merit.
These kinds of people annoy me. They are corrupting the greatness of gaming. Gaming is supposed to be an escape to a more fun place temporarily. An excersize in imagination if you will. Bringing the unreal into reality destroys it's purpose and demeans it. Blasphemy I say.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
Too late.
(Don't worry, I don't think I even -know- someone who would genuinely use or even entertain the idea of 'fursicution', one should not associate with such drama llamas, for it can not end well.)
What? I like it.-----------------------
I'll get back to you when I think of something worthwhile to say.