The Otaku - Explaining with examples essay

Prompt was to write about a specific person characteristic. (for example: loyal friend, an ineffective teacher) Giving examples as to why they are like that.

The Otaku

My friend, the otaku

I have known my best friend since elementary school. We were inseparable; our parents would say that we were twins. We had mirror personalities except our anime obsessions were not on the same level. He became obsessed with anime as if it were a disease, where as I was a casual fan. My best friend is the most dedicated otaku -person with obsessive interest in manga and anime or Japanese culture in general-that I had ever seen.

A chain of events led me to label him as "the otaku." He is not just an otaku but "the Otaku" whom every other insignificant otaku would look up to and worship at his pure dedication towards the art and collection of manga and anime. At eight years old, his introduction to the Japanese world would prove that their culture had created a monster. He started slowly, showing an eerie interest in the Sailor Moon and Samurai Pizza Cats. By now, he had amassed multiple editions of Pokemon trading cards. He even went through a phase of imitating Pikachu, which was frowned upon by his parents. He slowly began to collect anime movies and memorabilia using meager allowances. I feared that this is the beginning of his ascent toward the title of otaku king.

At the age of fourteen, he begged for a trip to Japan; his parents surprisingly granted his wish. Of course, he screamed excitedly at me leading up to the departure day. His expression could only been described as pure bliss, as if he had died and went to heaven. During his stay in Japan, he visited the famous Otome Road, a nickname given to a street in Ikebukuro, which is home to jam-packed shops specializing in anime merchandises. When he arrived back, he gave me a little Gundam RX-78 model and exclaimed that he was not too selfish. He also told me that he spent all of his money in around ten minutes and had even asked for a loan from his furious parents to buy more.

Fast-forward to the present, he had converted his parents' attic into his anime domain. Plastered over the attic's walls were many, many posters and wall-scrolls of various anime and Japanese idols. He built shelves that were lined with figurines, models. Eventually running out of space, he resulted to placing his models on top of the television and computer monitor. On the other side of the room, he had his trillions of anime and manga lined alphabetically. A corner of the room was dedicated to his reading where the section of the floor was littered with manga. His floor was a sea of crap that he had not organized yet; it was difficult to step anywhere without being yelled at. He regularly attended anime convention and cosplay, shamelessly showing off his elaborate costumes of anime characters. He continued to purchase merchandise with an endless supply of money. "The Otaku" name was born.

He achieved a form of enlightenment that I had never seen before. The sheer magnitude of anime paraphernalia that he had acquired is on a cosmic scale. My best friend took the word, Otaku, and transformed it into an eerily beautiful thing. I admire him and only hope that I could achieve the greatness that he has.

Greetings!

You've written a great essay! I just have some editing tips:

My best friend is the most dedicated otaku--a person with obsessive interest in manga and anime or Japanese culture in general-that I had ever seen.

At eight years old, his introduction to the Japanese world would prove that their culture had created a monster. - When you start a sentence with a phrase that describes the subject ("At eight years old," the word that comes after the comma has to be that subject. Therefore, you need to say, "At eight years old, he ..." You could say "At eight years old, he was introduced to Japanese culture, which created a monster."

I feared that this was the beginning of his ascent toward the title of otaku king.

His expression could only have been described as pure bliss, as if he had died and gone to heaven. [the "had" is implied in "had gone"]

Fast-forward to the present: he had converted his parents' attic into his anime domain.

cosplay - ? This is not a recognized word; you need to explain it.

only hope that I can achieve the greatness that he has. - It is difficult to tell whether this is meant ironically. You have described someone with what sounds like an unhealthy obsession, yet call it "greatness," which is a little confusing.

Overall, a really good essay.

Thanks,

Sarah, EssayForum.com

I did try to explain it by adding the "shamelessly showing off his elaborate costumes of anime characters."

cosplay is pretty much people dressing up as their favorite anime characters and meeting up at convention to take pictures of themselves and stuff.

Yes, I meant it ironically. How can I make it a little more clear?

Greetings!

I would guess that "cosplay" is short for "costume play"? If so, you could say: He regularly attended anime convention and "cosplay," or costume play, shamelessly showing off his elaborate costumes of anime characters.

It's going to be difficult to express the last bit ironically, if you keep in the description of what he did as "an eerily beautiful thing." I like that phrase, but if you mean it, then it seems that the admiration is real and the irony isn't. Perhaps you could find a middle ground with something like: I admire his dedication, and only hope that I can achieve similar greatness--perhaps in something with a little more real-world application.

I hope this helps!

Thanks,

Sarah, EssayForum.com