Let’s face it, life as an otaku comes with its own set of struggles. Whether you’re into anime, video games, or what have you, whether you’re more introverted, or your interests can feel isolating, or you feel like there are just certain challenges that come with the otaku life, don’t worry — these anime characters understand. In fact, even if some of their antics can be relatable at times, viewers may find the exaggerated comedic, cringy, or obliviously tryhard fictional struggles as oddly relieving compared to any real-life stressors.
Videos by ComicBook.com
So, as an otaku, what better anime series to watch than ones about otaku? Whether you’re into anime, video games, manga, cosplay, or whatever piece of media you just can’t get enough of, one of these series is sure to scratch that itch for a genuine otaku main character! While some characters may be on the comedically cringy dark side of the culture, others depict more endearing qualities and the positives of the fanbase, subverting the expectations of the extreme hikikomori stereotypes to conquer endeavors like making friends, starting clubs, or even finding love. Whatever flavor of otaku you’re craving (ew), you’re sure to find a new favorite relatable otaku series with these picks!
1) Watamote
Tomoko Kuroki may feel like she’s prepared to tackle high school life, but she quickly learns that playing high school dating sim video games isn’t exactly a 1-to-1 experience. While she dreams of living out her high school life as a pretty, popular girl, Tomoko is actually pretty introverted and awkward, though she herself doesn’t realize it. Even though Tomoko is generally a socially awkward, relatively friendless, and actually pretty inwardly critical otaku, with the support of her brother Tomoki and the help of her new best friend Yuu Naruse, Tomoko gains the courage to overcome her own personal struggles and tackle her new high school life head-on.
WataMote: No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!, or simply WataMote, is, to put it bluntly, cringy. But in a really comedic and somewhat relatable way (which can either be in an oddly relieving or self-deprecating depending on Tomoko’s shenanigans).
WataMote can be streamed on HIDIVE where available.
2) Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku
Narumi Momose, a new employee, has a secret she’d rather not let her coworkers know – she’s an otaku and fujoshi. Upon going out for drinks with one of her new coworkers and old middle school friend, Hirotaka Nifuji, she ends up complaining that her last relationship failed because her boyfriend didn’t want to date a fujoshi. So, being an otaku himself, Hirotaka suggests she try dating him. Thus, the two otakus begin dating. Unfortunately, Hirotaka accidentally spills the beans to two other coworkers that she’s an otaku. But that’s okay — they all are! The new couple and their coworkers, Hanako Koyanagi and Tarou Kabakura (also an adorable romantic pair) become fast friends, sharing in the joys of their otaku obsessions.
Otakus of any and all lovey-dovey media unite — Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku, or simply Wotakoi, is a relatable tale of the struggle of finding a soul mate who shares similar interests. After all, love is hard for otaku.
Wotakoi can be streamed on Prime.
3) My Dress-Up Darling
Wakana Gojou, as an aspiring hina doll maker, spends his time perfecting the art down to the last stitch in secret to avoid any ridicule for his niche hobby. Marin Kitagawa on the other hand, is a gyaru who has her own hobby: cosplay. Although Gojou’s meek and shy demeanor contrasts Kitagawa’s confidence and popularity, when Kitagawa discovers Gojou’s talent for sewing, she admires it as the perfect skill and enlists his help in creating cosplay. As they work together on multiple projects as a cosplayer and outfit designer, the two soon become close friends — maybe even closer.
While many otaku can find it difficult to find a soul mate who shares a passion for the same hobby, apparently, sometimes you just have to think outside the box. Love video games? find someone who’ll gladly help you farm items and XP like in Wotakoi. Cosplayer? Find someone who loves creating clothing like Gojou.
My Dress-Up Darling can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
4) Himouto! Umaru-chan
Pretty, graceful, flawless, and overachieving, Umaru Doma is the perfect high school student. Or at least until she gets home. Leaving all the housework to her older brother Taihei, once Umaru returns home from school and dons her hamster hoodie, all bets are off, save for her laziness. When she’s not hanging out with her friends Nana Ebina and Kirie Motoba or competing with her self-proclaimed rival Sylphinford Tachibana, Umaru can inevitably be found lazing her otaku self about eating junk food and playing video games.
Relaxing and relatable, Himouto! Umaru-chan was one of the best slice-of-life comedies 2015 had to offer. Although taking it a bit further into becoming a bit two-faced in Umaru’s case, who among us otakus don’t enjoy becoming an indulgent gremlin and letting it all hang out after all the day’s demands are said and done?
Himouto! Umaru-chan can be streamed on HIDIVE where available.
5) Uncle from Another World
After a near-fatal accident with being hit by a truck, Takafumi Takaoka’s uncle, Yousuke Shibazaki, suddenly awakens after being in a coma for seventeen years. Spouting gibberish in an unknown language, Takafumi at first dismisses his uncle, asserting that he’d been transported to a magical world called Gran Bahamal. But upon witnessing his uncle effortlessly recite an incantation that makes a cup of water hover in the air, Takafumi immediately reverses his opinion and invites his uncle to live with him. The two then team up and create a YouTube channel to showcase Yousuke’s magical abilities. As Takafumi acquaints his uncle with updated society and technology, Yousuke recounts his adventures in the other world to his nephew, who realizes just how many opportunities his uncle had ignorantly squandered in the magical world.
While many isekais are notorious for having a mildly appealing protagonist who becomes renowned for their overpowered abilities and probably obtaining a harem, Yousuke is definitely not one of those protagonists as he regales his time spent in another world as though it were no big deal. As a SEGA-obsessed “elder” otaku, Takafumi’s uncle, as silly and airheaded as he is, can be oddly relatable.
Uncle from Another World can be streamed on Netflix.
6) Lucky Star
With lazy otaku Konata Izumi, twins Tsukasa and Kagami Hiiragi, and smart Miyuki Takara, the daily lives of these high school girls turn the mundane into fundane. Whether it’s musing on Japanese tradition, the intricacies of otaku culture, academics, or the correct way of preparing and eating various foods, the friends, through each of their own eccentricities, never have a dull moment. Or at least, when the moment is dull, they are sure to turn it into something memorable instead.
As a classic “cute girls doing cute things” slice-of-life with bright colors and mundane amusing musings, Lucky Star gives one a bit of a light-hearted breather to think more thoughtfully about the small things in life from the perspective of cute girl otaku, Konata.
Lucky Star can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
7) Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
Midori Asakusa is inspired by both anime and the world around her to fervently sketch fantastical landscapes, backgrounds, and concept art, letting her imagination run wild. Although her best friend Sayaka Kanamori isn’t exactly an anime fan herself, when the two have a chance encounter with the young model Tsubame Misuzaki who also loves to draw and aspires to become an animator despite her parents’ disapproval, Asakusa and Misuzaki really hit it off as they share their passion for creating; Asakusa creating concept art for backgrounds and settings while Misuzaki enjoys sketching characters. Having more calculated, pragmatic ambitions, Kanamori senses an opportunity to cash in on and has the idea of the trio starting an animation club under the guise of a motion picture club.
While otaku typically have an emphasis on consuming media, some gain a passion for creating it. Anime can have a certain hold on some fans to the point of inspiring them to want to create such magical worlds and characters for themselves, like Asakusa and Misuzaki.
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
8) Otaku Elf
Within Tokyo stands the Takamimi Shrine, where Elda, a magical immortal elf from another world, has resided as local goddess for over four hundred years, being served by the family who summoned her in the Edo period. Now that responsibility falls to 16-year-old Koito Koganei to serve as Elda’s attending fifteenth-generation shrine maiden miko. And it’s no easy task, as Elda, who has somehow captured the hearts of all the locals, is viewed as a divine deity despite being a total social recluse who’d rather play video games, collect toys, and eat snacks. In an effort to get the goddess to interact more with the locals, Koito struggles to get Elda to experience more of the outside world as she learns about the locals’ longstanding attachment to such a lazy shut-in.
Elda in Otaku Elf is sort of like Umaru in Himouto! Umaru-chan if Umaru were a completely hikikomori elf goddess instead of a homebody high school girl, but similarly spending her days lazing about playing video games, consuming junk food, and overall just being a complete otaku goblin shut-in.
Otaku Elf can be streamed on HIDIVE where available.
9) Genshiken
Although introverted college freshman Kanji Sasahara is a bit self-conscious of his hobbies, when he discovers the Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture club, aka Genshiken, where the members celebrate all things otaku, he leaves in denial of his otaku interests at first, but eventually finally feels like he’s found somewhere he can fit in. As Sasahara warms up to the group and becomes more involved with club activities through befriending club member Makoto Kousaka, Kousaka’s anti-otaku girlfriend Saki Kasukabe struggles to understand her boyfriend’s passion for otaku culture, often even feeling as though she’s second to his love for it.
As much as otaku can be known for more introverted or even anti-social behaviors, the subculture can actually be a great opportunity to meet others with shared interests, perhaps even making friends or celebrating hobbies with a group of like-minded individuals!
Genshiken can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
10) I Can’t Understand What My Husband Is Saying
They say that opposites attract, and with Hajime Tsunashi and his new wife Kaoru, the statement couldn’t be more accurate. Despite Hajime being a hardcore otaku who blogs for a living and Kaoru a hard-working office lady who her husband lovingly labels as a “normal person” (derogatory), the two also couldn’t be more made for each other. As their time as a newlywed couple goes by, their marriage journey is one of comedic antics. Whether spurred on by odd characters around them or their own quirky, opposite personalities, the pair face the challenges of married life head-on together. Despite the struggles they may face, like Kaoru’s bewilderment over her husband’s strange otaku lingo and eccentricity, the love they have motivates them more than anything to make each other happy.
Clocking in at about three minutes per episode, this series is the perfect otaku tidbit anime to squeeze in between watching any of the other picks on this list. And as a cute rom-com, this short series proves even love can conquer the divide between “normal people” and all the quirks and obsessions that come with being an otaku.
I Can’t Understand What My Husband Is Saying can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
What’s your favorite anime about the otaku subculture? Let us know down in the comments if there’s any series any anime fan should definitely see!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios -
Image courtesy of Ufotable -
20th Television Animation
