Otaku Among
Secondary School Students in
Hong Kong at Present

Content
Introduction P.1
What is the definition of Otaku? P.2
What is the current situation of Otaku in HK? P.3-5
What causes Otaku? P.6
What are the effects of Otaku? P.7
How can we help Otaku? P.8
Conclusion P.9
Our opinions P.9
Reference P.9
Appendix (Questionnaire) P.10-11

Introduction
Our topic is “Otaku among secondary school students in Hong Kong at present”.
We did this project to investigate the problem of being an Otaku is serious problem among secondary student or not. Also we want to find out some negative effect and the positive effect of an Otaku or being an Otaku.

P.1

What is the definition of Otaku?
“Otaku” this word comes from the Japanese world “おたく” or “御宅”.The original meaning of this word (in Japan) is people who are interesting in something seriously, particularly
ACG (A=Animes/Animations, C=Comics, G=(computer/video) Games).
In Japan, this word is a neutral, only an noun to describe people who love ACG.
But in Hong Kong, after the depict of media, TV programs and movies, it become a negative word ,many people think that “Otaku” equals to hikikomori(隱蔽青年), Densha Otoko(電車男), Takuo(たくお/ 宅男), but they are not the same.
Because most of the Hong Kong do not know the real meaning of Otaku, so "Otaku" has mainly two meangs in Hong Kong, one is the original one and the other one is the negative meaning one.

P.2

What is the current situation of Otaku in HK? According to the survey which we have conducted, we have found the followings.

Firstly, we have found that 90% of the people have played/watched at least one category in A/C/G, almost 40% of the people have played/watched all the three categories of ACG.

Secondly, over half of the people said that they will spend over 30 minutes on ACG per day, and 7% of the people said that they will spend over 2 hours on ACG per day.

P.3 Thirdly, 24%of the people will spend over HK$50 per week (about $200 per month), 7% of the people will spend over $300 per week (about $1200 per month). Fourthly, over half of the people prefer staying at home rather at going out when they are free.

P.4
Fifth, only 41% of the people would like to communicate with others by face-to-face chat, others would like to communicate by phone or Internet. Lastly, only 4% of the people think they are Otaku. From the above information, we can say that almost all of the secondary students have get in touch of A/C/G. 1 in 14 people will spend over 14 hours and $300 on ACG per week. Many secondary school students prefer communicating others by phone or through Internet, these can be done at home. So they will usually stay at home when they are free. This is the situation of Hong Kong secondary school students. So Otaku is not a serious problem at this moment in Hong Kong, they will not commit crimes now. But they are spending money and time on it, and they might be addicted to ACG, so this problem cannot be completely ignored.

P.5
What causes Otaku?
Otaku entered the world of ACG is mainly caused by peer influence and the atmosphere of the society. Children in Hong Kong usually watch television(which includes anime) and play computer games as their leisure activities, some like to watch comics instead of reading books, so they started to get in touch of ACG. After they watch/play ACG for a period of time, they start to get use to do it when they are free. Some children has weak self-control ability, so they might be addicted. When they grow up to be secondary school students they will be seriously addicted and become Otaku.

P.6

What are the effects of Otaku?
The effect of the Otaku can be simply divided in two parts. The first part is the good effect and the second part is the bad effect.
First is the bad effect, when someone becomes an Otaku, he/she may concentrate on the ACG, including characters in ACG whole day. He/she will pay less attention on his/her studies, not caring about the exam results, or even worsen the relationship with friends and their family. Nowadays Otaku in Japan are becoming worse than before. They live in their own world or the ACG world. Some will not communicate with anyone even their family. Their moral standards do not fit the true world. When the Otaku thinks that he can do anything to the Anime girl in the internet world, he/she may pay action in the true world; for example, In 1988-1989 Miyazaki Tsutomu （宮﨑 勤) who kidnaped and killed young girls have the image of an otaku.
The Otaku like walking around the computer shops and ACG shops, and usually cannot find a girlfriend/boyfriend. When they come back home, they will sit in front of the computer immediately to find their pleasures of life. If the computer is out of order, they may have the anxiety symptoms just like a kid that cannot go back home. They think that the Internet or the ACG world is the real world.

The second part is the good effect of Otaku. An Otaku likes spending time in the internet/ACG world. They may make a lot of new friends in through internet and also may find out some people they knew are Otaku too. They may have more topics to talk with their classmate or friends. The ACG culture comes from Japan. An Otaku spends most of their time on ACG. Therefore they can build up an interest on the Japanese culture and go to learn Japanese. It can widen their knowledge. Some Otaku like to be a cosplayer. They dress like a characters in ACG and go on the stage to show it to other people, this can increase their self-confidence.

P.7
How can we help Otaku?
Not all Otaku have social problem with other, but some still have have social barriers. Otaku is different to Hikikomori (隱蔽青年), they usually have normal daily activity, but they may not have good social ability with other. Family and friends can encourage them to participate in more group activities, to improve interpersonal relationship and ability to make friends. Also parents and teachers should teach them to judge the value and friends should remind each other not to be addicted in ACG and always remind that the ACG world and the real world are different.

P.8
Conclusion
Otaku can be a serious problem as we see from Japan, but it is not always a negative word. It is important to balance the time and money spent on ACG and doing other things. Enjoying ACG can release pressure, but remember not to be addicted to it!

P.9

Appendix (Questionnaire)
Questionaire
We are some Form 3 students of SKH TSK Secondary School.
We are doing a survey on youth problem. Our topic is Otaku among secondary students in Hong Kong at present. Please kindly answer the following questions.

1. Do you know what is "Otaku"?
□Yes □No

2. Have you ever played/ watched ACG(Animes, Comics, Games)?
(If yes, please tick in the appropriate boxes.)
□Animes □Comics □Games

3. How much time will you spend on ACG per day?
□0-30min. □30-60min. □1-2hours □more than 2hours

4. If you have spare time, will you prefer staying at home or going out?
□Staying at home □Going out

5. How much money(HKD) do you spend on ACG per week?
□$0-50 □$50-100 □$100-200 □$200-300 □more than $300

6. If you have watched/played ACG before, will you share the information or exercise or experience with others?
□Yes □No

P.10
7. How do you usually communicate with others?
□Face to face chat □via phone
□via Internet (e-mail, MSN, Facebook…)

8.Do you think you are a Otaku?
□Yes □No

9.Do you think watching/ playing ACG is good for teenagers? Why?

10.Do you think Otaku is a serious youth problem in Hong Kong? Why?

Personal Information

Gender: M / F

Age:

Education Level: □F.1 □F.2 □F.3 □F.4 □F.5 □F.6 □F.7

~END~
P.11