A Review of Research on the Emotional Tendencies of the Otaku Group
Main Article Content
Keywords
Otaku, subculture, emotional tendency, psychological mechanism
Abstract
As a youth subculture originating in Japan, otaku culture has formed a large erciyuan audience group in China along with the global spread of the animation, comics, and games industries, and the academic significance of research arising from it has become increasingly prominent. Existing studies still show insufficient systematic investigation of its internal psychological mechanisms, especially emotional tendencies. Taking emotional tendency as the core concept and adopting the literature review method, this study systematically sorts out the conceptual evolution of otaku culture and integrates research findings from psychology, communication studies, and sociology. It analyzes the emotional orientation of the otaku group from multiple levels and finds that otaku culture not only serves as a compensatory satisfaction system for the absence of real-life emotions, but may also aggravate otaku social avoidance and emotional closure through cyclical reinforcement.
References
- [1]He, W. (2018). From otaku to erciyuan: The academic landscape and knowledge archaeology of a youth subculture. Journalism & Communication Research, 25(10), 40-59, 127.
- [2]Nie, X. (2023). Otaku culture and an overview of Japanese animation. Hundred Schools in Arts, 39(2), 114-123.
- [3]Zhang, G. (2009). The three identities of “otaku.” China Youth Study, (3), 92-95. https://doi.org/10.19633/j.cnki.11-2579/d.2009.03.024
- [4]Wang, M. (2013). The etymological interpretation of “otaku” and the evolution of otaku culture. Journal of Wuhan University of Technology (Social Sciences Edition), 26(3), 401-404.
- [5]Shinmura, I. (2008). Kōjien (6th ed.). Iwanami Shoten.
- [6]Azuma, H. (2001). Dōbutsuka suru posutomodan: Otaku kara mita Nihon shakai. Kōdansha Shinsho.
- [7]Li, Z. (2011). The “otaku” of postmodern Japan. China Book Review, (2), 4-7.
- [8]Zhu, Y. (2008). The postmodern characteristics of moe otaku. Southeast Communication, (12), 154-155. https://doi.org/10.13556/j.cnki.dncb.cn35-1274/j.2008.12.001
- [9]Sun, P. (2018). Identity construction and cross-cultural identification of “otaku” in the Internet environment. Journalism Evolution, (1), 90-95.
- [10]Sun, J., & Fang, S. (2013). A study on the personality traits of college student otaku. The Science Education Article Collects, (31), 190, 192.
- [11]Huang, Y. (2014). An investigation of the life of college student “otaku”: Based on an interactive perspective of sociology and psychology. Heilongjiang Researches on Higher Education, (11), 17-20.
- [12]Liu, H., & Li, S. (2021). Analysis of otaku consumption behavior and its internal and external influencing factors. Business Economy Research, (1), 53-55.
- [13]Hang, Y., & Wang, T. (2014). Decoding the media worship psychology of young “otaku.” News World, (9), 103-104.
- [14]Yi, Q., & Wang, L. (2011). A study on media use motivation of young otaku: Taking the Nanjing area as an example. Journalism & Communication Research, 18(4), 68-77, 111.
- [15]Xu, J. (2011). A brief discussion of the social psychological needs reflected by otaku culture. Art and Literature for the Masses, (17), 94-95. https://doi.org/10.20112/j.cnki.issn1007-5828.2011.17.083
- [16]Zhou, Y. (2026). From “moe-ification” to “entering the heart”: An analysis of the shaping mechanism of the erciyuan animation aesthetic paradigm on adolescent values. Audio-Visual World, (3), 114-116.
- [17]Xu, Y., & Zheng, L. (2021). An analysis of youth subculture forms in Chinese virtual online communities. Hundred Schools in Arts Review, (1), 58-68. https://doi.org/10.14094/j.cnki.cn37-1482/i.2021.01.007
- [18]Lin, C. (2010). Active choice or passive escape: An interpretation of the college student “otaku” phenomenon under the network background. Journal of Hotan Teachers College, 29(5), 37-38.
- [19]Yi, Q. (2013). Heterotopia: Interaction and communication in otaku groups. Journal of Zhejiang University of Media and Communications, 20(2), 19-23, 134. https://doi.org/10.13628/j.cnki.zjcmxb.2013.02.009
- [20]Zhu, W. (2015). The enlightenment of Adler’s inferiority theory for cultivating college students’ sunny mentality. Academy, (25), 4-5.
- [21]Zhou, S., & Liu, L. (2024). Characteristics of Japanese otaku culture from the perspective of post-subculture and reflections on it. Western Journal, (9), 116-119. https://doi.org/10.16721/j.cnki.cn61-1487/c.2024.09.027
- [22]Wang, J., & Gu, X. (2008). The “otaku” phenomenon: A new generation of media dependency. Contemporary Communication, (5), 41-44.
- [23]Wang, Q. (2022). Research on online interaction among young “otaku” groups [Master’s thesis, University of Jinan]. https://doi.org/10.27166/d.cnki.gsdcc.2022.000631
Article Sidebar
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.