Kobayashi was not a figure collector, but the damage had already been done, as police began to profile otaku as potential sex offenders, and the eroticism of otaku media came under increased scrutiny. When elementary school girl Kaede Ariyama was found sexually assaulted and murdered by Kaoru Kobayashi in 2004, the simple suspicion from one journalist that Kobayashi was a figure collector sparked a media firestorm similar to that which erupted after Tsutomu Miyazaki’s arrest. The narrative is powerful, even in Japan. Both ends of the spectrum can find reasons to vilify them, whether it’s for their refusal to “man up” and give up their hobbies to settle down with a family or for their perceived outlook on women, informed by their entertainment media choices and their refusal to date. Politically, otaku have no immediate allies.
Reinforced by critical otaku media like Welcome to the NHK and Ressentiment, and by ignorance or dismissal of celebratory otaku media like Genshiken and Comic Party, this is the prevailing Western perspective on otaku. To them, “otaku” are creepy, lonely, antisocial men who love anime, manga, and games, especially those that involve young female characters, too much. As a result, Western fans pick up on a very narrow, negative outlook on Japan’s otaku.
While this portrayal is often lampooned or outright averted in anime, manga, and other otaku media that depict otaku, the perspective is seen as realistic by those on the outside looking in. They’re portrayed as creepy, lonely, antisocial, often overweight, and always male. When we see coverage of otaku from Western fan-media, and especially from Western mainstream media, it almost always has a particular slant to it.