The Japanese word otaku is a slippery one to define, but it is mostly used to define an obsessive fan of a pop culture phenomenon, such as anime or manga. In the wider culture, otaku long had a negative image as unkempt, anti-social and even sexually deviant. Say, a pudgy, wild-haired guy who rarely leaves his room except to buy sketchy anime, on which he is a leading expert.
But ¡°Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku,¡± Yuichi Fukuda¡¯s bubbly, hyper-comic musical about two otaku who fall for each other, shows how that image has changed. Far from being grubby social outcasts, its central couple ¡ª a male gamer and a female fan of BL (¡°boys love¡± or gay romance) comics ¡ª work regular jobs and present as normal. That is, they indulge in their hobbies in their private time and try to hide their ¡°otaku-ness¡± from their co-workers.
But when the fangirl, Narumi Momose (Mitsuki Takahata), lands a job at the company where the gamer, Hirotaka Nifuji (Kento Yamazaki), works, her mask immediately slips. Narumi and Hirotaka, we learn, were childhood pals and know about each other¡¯s proclivities. But Narumi tells the handsome Hirotaka upfront that he¡¯s not her type since she doesn¡¯t date otaku. Looking as though he would be unimpressed by the apocalypse, Hirotaka coolly tells Narumi he can be her assistant at Comiket ¡ª Tokyo¡¯s semi-annual market for self-published manga, where she sells her BL comics.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.