O t a k i n:
A sort of crossbreed between fans of anime and otherkin, Otakin believe that they are actually the reincarnation of an anime (or occasionally game) character and that the worlds depicted in popular animes such as evangelion and games like final fantasy exist in another dimension. Unlike their otherkin counterparts, otakin are relatively rare and tend to limit their activities to obscure message boards and livejournal communities.
"My name is Rei, I'm an otakin, and in a past life I was a pokemon...
Most of the time I'd say, 'to each their own', but occassionally something to totally batshit like this pops up I'm utterly flabbergasted. Having an hearty imagination is a good thing, but believing you are 'soul bonded' to some character a guy named Toukishiro Yamamoto (made up name) created in Japan walks well beyond the line of insane.
I can't even list all the psychiatric disorders that go along with this.
I like my hobbles. Hell, most people here know I like anime, manga, and videogames. But I'll be damned if I end up like this. That's just nuts. I wonder if Tom Cruise is behind it?
Anyway, it's interesting that so many of these 'otakin' bond with the most emo characters in otaku-type fandoms. Want examples? Cloud and Sephiroth are popular. So is Vincent. Kenshin. Integra. Alucard. Kikyou. Sesshoumaru. All of these characters are pretty screwed up some way or another. Why would anyone want to be like that?
I do give major kudos to the people who claim to be Pokemon though. I've often thought if there was such a thing as reincarnation, I'd like to come back as some stupid animal. They think outside the box. Or ball, I suppose in this case.
I wouldn't be so baffled if this were just kids playing around. Hell, half the time my son pretends to be Ichigo Kurosaki. He even has a black wooden sword and a sliver one that Yuuko and her son Jiei sent him from Japan. But at the end of the day, he comes in and says, "It would be cool to be a shinigami," and that's the end of it.
But my kid is 11. Quite a few of these people are in their late teens and 20s. Ummm...this isn't healthy. I'm damn near 30 and I see no problem liking cartoons, comics, videogames, but you've got to draw a line somewhere.
This isn't RPGing. These people actually believe they're characters. Sort of like the some furries actually believe they're some sort of humanoid animal thing (wolves and tigers are popular).
Seek help.
Posted by Zoso at April 28, 2006 09:34 AM"My name is Rei, I'm an otakin, and in a past life I was a pokemon...
LMAO!!! There is something wrong with a person if they think that they are a reincarnated pokemon. It is normal for children to pretend that they are someone or something else. But an adult?! O.k. I admit, sometimes I wish that I were this character or that one. And I even play "pokemon" or "horsey" (guess who's the horse) with my little brother, but I don't actually believe that I am a reincarnated horse or some crap like that. Thats going way too far. Huh. I guess "Psychologist" is another career with great job security.
Posted by: Mia_Hoshifaia at April 28, 2006 12:29 PMAlso!
Many believe that tin foil will block reception from the netherealm.
THE MORE YOU KNOW!
Posted by: J00kst3r at April 28, 2006 09:02 PMI have a roll of it under my bed for this EXACT reason.
Posted by: Zoso at April 28, 2006 09:16 PMOh gosh,that Jen/Hojo story is horrible,I'm glad the person got out of that situation.
I've met one of these people a couple years ago at camp.A girl who thought she was Princess Mononoke.She kept telling everyone that she was raised by these wolves,and about the giant mother wolf,and that the night god tried to smite the forest or wtf ever,or how one of the wolves got poison so she had to suck it out of the bloody wound and spit it out.
She kept claiming to see/talk to these forest spirit thingies sitting in tree branches,and got so pissed off and upset when I tried to tell her that stuff wasn't true...
Once,she had a one way conversation with a tree about how -something big- was coming,and she kept staring off in the distance pointing at whatever it was.Then she grabbed me,took me into the bathroom,turned off the lights and locked the door,murmuring about how something was coming and it was her duty to save everyone.
Finally she let me out and proceeded to herd all the little kids into a shed,freaking out and telling everyone to hurry up because "it's coming!!"
Turned out to be nothing,and she made up the excuse that 'oh,the forest gods decided to choose another day to smite us.'
Don't even bother with these people.They're beyond saving.Once their mind's made up that they're Princess Mononoke, thats it.They're Princess Mononoke.
I always run into real loonys at summer camp...
People believing their reincarnated game or anime characters? Thats sad. Online I pretend i'm Nightmare from Soul Caliber 3, but i dont go as far as 2 believe i'm actually his reincarnated form. Nothing wrong with pretending, but one should not go further than that. *sighs* i guess some people are like that.
Posted by: ShadowTerror at May 24, 2006 09:17 PM