Ask John: Can Pokemon Fans Be True Otaku?

Question:
Many of my friends in America apparently don’t get mecha series. They either don’t care, or just don’t get it. All they know are Seed and Wing. But they do like stuff such as Pokemon. So in my mind, I am differentiating between “Western otaku” and “real Japanese otaku” by judging whether that particular person liked mecha series or not. I have never liked Pokemon, Digimon, or anything that has “monster catching” theme to it. I watched pokemon before, and seriously I don’t get why so many people hype over it. Bunch of kids commanding their pets to battle each other. There’s no sense of heroism. The story doesn’t have the sense of fighting evil, nor does it has any deep psychological twist plot behind it. I don’t get why people still like it. I have got the sense they don’t care anymore about “grand narrative,” instead they just reading up all these monsters. Does Pokemon actually represent hardcore otaku community in Japan or is it only for mainstream? I somehow can’t find the relationship between Gundam audience and Pokemon audience in term of mentality. It just doesn’t connect together. Pokemon or many other monster catching theme out there doesn’t have “grand narrative.”

Answer:
The Pocket Monster franchise is a bit of an odd contradiction because it’s not a conventional “otaku” anime, yet it has very traditional Japanese origins and adheres to the core principal of being “otaku.” Despite Pokemon being hugely successful and popular in Japan, visitors to Tokyo’s famous Akihabara otaku shopping district will not find a plethora of Pokemon merchandise. Pokemon goods are sold in specialized Pokemon stores that are not located in conventional otaku hubs, and in mainstream retail outlets that typically cater to families and average consumers rather than hardcore fanatics searching for very specific collectible goods. Pokemon is a children’s anime, and typical Japanese fans perceive it as a franchise that’s respectable but simply different from typical otaku-oriented anime that air on late-night TV and are targeted at a very small audience of hardcore fans. But while Pokemon may not be as overtly otaku-oriented as Toho Project, Type-Moon, and current anime like Haganai & Tamako Market, it may not actually be as unlike otaku anime as it seems.

Much more so than America, for example, Japan has a traditional empathic relationship with nature. American culture utilizes trees and plants, and appreciates the benefits of an outdoor environment. Japanese culture honors and respects trees, nature, and the outdoor environment, not just what humans can get from them, but the elements of nature itself. Bug collecting has long been a traditional hobby among Japanese children. Anime ranging from Pretty Cure to Suzumiya Haruhi to Jormungand include insect catching. Anime including Konchu Monogatari Minashigo Hutch, Mitsubachi Maya no Bouken, Spider Riders, Mushiking, Oshiri Kajiri Mushi, and Bouken Yuuki Pluster World all star insects. Anime including Kabutoborg & Mushiuta reference the power of insects. Pokemon creator Satoshi Tajiri grew up dreaming of becoming an entomologist and developed Pokemon as a way of
creating a digital simulation of his beloved insect collecting hobby. So Pokemon’s concept of combining a traditional Japanese past-time with an adventure narrative heavily revolving around conflict and battle is very much in line with the same philosophies that inspire most anime.

The difference between an otaku and an ordinary enthusiast or a fan with a moderate interest is distinguished by the otaku’s obsessive fascination with amassing trivia. The otaku relishes categorizing, memorizing details, analyzing minute differences. The most hardcore robot otaku want to know how much various robots weigh. Bishoujo otaku want to know the blood types of their favorite characters. Magical girl otaku want to study the sentence construction of different heroines’ transformation spells. Weapon otaku want to know if a gun uses a Lee-Enfield or Mosin–Nagant bolt system. Pokemon feeds directly into this same otaku mentality by offering hundreds of different monsters to remember, many of them with slightly different evolutions or variations to study and compare. Diligent Pokemon otaku can evaluate battle strategies and debate the most effective methods and rivalries to defeat other pocket monsters. The epitome of “otaku” culture isn’t narrative or literary appreciation; it’s not appreciating intriguing epic stories with powerful themes. The epitome of otaku culture is being able to study, evaluate, classify, and quantify something down to its most fundamental components. In that regard, someone that learns all of the life cycles of all of the pokemon is arguably more of a true otaku than someone who passionately respects Mobile Suit Gundam for its nuanced, thematic story. After all, even mainstream viewers can appreciate a complex, literate story that’s told well, but only an otaku will care about specific details like particular robots’ weight to mass ratio or how many turns a specific pocket monster can perform a particular attack.

Because Pokemon is a children’s anime and not an otaku-centric anime, typical Japanese otaku distinguish a difference between “their” anime and Pocket Monster. However, the sort of obsessive mentality that draws people to like both hardcore otaku anime and Pokemon is not different at all. “Otaku” status is not defined by the genre of anime that one prefers. Not liking mecha anime does not exclude a person from being an otaku. In fact, the characteristics of Pokemon make it better suited to encouraging otaku obsession than many mecha anime like Aquarion, Fafner, Muv-Luv, Giant Robo, and Zegapain that don’t have a wealth of specific detailed data to study. When you say that, “I have got the sense they don’t care anymore about ‘grand narrative,’ instead they just reading up all these monsters,” you’re exactly correct. Being a true otaku is not about appreciating “grand narrative.” A true Japanese otaku does “just read up [on] all these monsters.” Of course, otaku also appreciate a work’s total narrative and literary quality, but that’s not the same thing as narrowly focused otaku obsession on details.