オタク買い[otakugai]

February 21, 2009 at 2:55 pm (general, otaku word)

 As you may know, otaku people do not hesitate to purchase what they want, in other words, they love to collect. That is, they are collectors. Needless to say, they make a lot of money, which means it is good for the economy. By the way, here is another behavior to describe otaku’s character. Please look at this image.

 This is Hijikata Toshiro in Gintama, but what looks different from the usual him is that he is actually possessed by an otaku’s spirit. So that is why whatever he does and says sound like an otaku. Should I cosplay this Hijikata? There is a scene in which he asks Gintoki, Shimpachi, and Kagura to buy a brand-new figure. One figure per person, but he wants at least three, so that’s why he asks them to get one. The funny thing is the reason why he wants three. One is to watch[観賞用], one is to keep just in case[保存用], and one is to use[実用用]. Use for what?! 何に使うんだよ！Yes, to purchase the same stuff(doujinshi, figure, CD, DVD or whatsover) more than two for some reason shall be called オタク買い[otakugai] or otaku purchase. It could be also マニア買い[maniagai]. I know something like this really happens in real life.

 Why do they buy the same thing more than two? I have a friend who is a big fan of Negima!? Once he bought 7 copies of the seiyu’s CD. I asked him why, and he told that one was to listen in his room, one to listen in his car, one to keep just in case, one to lend someone[布教用], one to help the seiyu’s sale, and the limited version[限定版]. I have nothing to say about this.

 But the last reason was a bit interesting. He said it was to exchange[交換用]. If the item is really priceless, you can’t buy it no matter how much money you pay. But if you have something priceless too, you could negotiate and exchange it for the item. Otaku people do not seem to sell such a premium stuff no matter how expensive it could sell, so you need something equivalent to negotiate with an otaku.

 Come to think of it, I still remember Hare Hare Yukai(Suzumiya Haruhi ED theme song) came to no.5 on the weekly oricon rank. Behind the case, there was a rumor that the fans bought to push the song in to top 10. Since I am stingy, this is not something I can understand…

 Besides, there is a bit similar word to this, 大人買い[otonagai] or adult’s purchase. This is for an adult to buy such a cheap stuff(something kids want to buy). When you were a kid, you couldn’t buy it a lot. However, now that you have enough money, you can buy as you like. I have a friend who did 大人買い to get Kaworu’s can from the Evangelion can coffee vending machine. He kept buying until he collected all the cans. You can call this フルコンプ[furu compu] or full complete. 

 Otakus are dedicated to the economy. They really are.