A typical Otaku room — Naver Matome
In Japan, being an ‘otaku‘ is not regarded as the best social standing, for man, particularly when it comes to their social life. However, in recent years, the negativity has lightened, in part due to the cultural visibility of otaku through the popularization of dramas and novels like Densha Otoko [Train Man].
But with surveys revealing that Japanese men are dating less, what else can make a man unpopular with women? My Navi News interviewed some of their female readers to answer that exact question. However the response to the survey seems to have angered a few netizens…
From My Navi News:
“A Day Off in the Life of A Guy Who Doesn’t Look Like He’ll Get A Girl- [Online Gaming At Home], [Nothing But Anime], [Drinking From Midday]
Those guys at work who spend their days off just playing games at home all day. They say “I want a girlfriend”, but unless you go out — at least on your days off — you’ll never have any friends or lovers～! This time My Navi News asked 200 of their single, female workers what they thought a guy who doesn’t look like he can get a girl would do on his day off.
Q: Have you ever thought, “he doesn’t look like he can get a girlfriend” in regards to the way men spend their day off?
Yes 33.5%
No 66.5%
Q: Those who answered yes, in what way do they spend the day? In what way does it make them seem like a loser?
Gaming
-“Playing games all day in their pyjamas” (25yo/ Medical Welfare specialist)
-“Not leaving the house all day because they are gaming” (19yo/ Other)- “TV gaming all day regardless of the time because of the fear of being alone” (34yo/ Public servant)
-“You might think because they have no friends, they end up playing online games all day” (28yo/ Insurance agent)
-“Because they have no interest in the outside world, they end up shutting themselves in and surf the internet or play games” (24yo/ Finance and Securities related)
-“Because they play games all day, they don’t have much contact with the outside world so they don’t have a chance to become popular” (25yo/ Secretary)
Holed up at Home
“A homebody so they don’t leave the house” (36yo/ Headhunting/ Service)
“All they do is watch TV at home” (25yo/ Finance and Securities)
“Laying about all day at home” (26yo/ Education)
“Surfing the net all day” (26yo/ Metals Technician)
“When I hear that they have been watching porno movies all day” (30yo/ Medical Welfare specialist)
Pachinko
“Only goes to Pachinko parlours” (21yo/ Student)
“Going to the pachinko and just imagining their withered up lives” (34yo/ Secretary)
“If he likes gambling, he wouldn’t be popular with the ladies” (26yo/ Metals Technician)
Watching Anime
“Watching anime” (35yo/ Other)
“Just watching anime all day” (29yo/ Medical Welfare specialist)
“Can’t help thinking ‘you’ve got to leave the house’ when I hear that they have watched anime all day” (24yo/ Apparel Agency)
Being an Idol Groupie
“Surely they can’t be popular if they are an idol otaku” (22yo/ Other)
“When the men at work rave on about their favourite members and concert halls” (23yo/ Medical Welfare specialist)
“I’d think they would be unpopular if they don’t have the time to get a girlfriend because they are flying around the country to attend idol concerts regularly” (30yo/ IT Specialist)
Drinking from Midday
“Drinking from midday” (31yo/ Medical Welfare OL)
“Spending the day drinking” (50yo/ Architect/ Woodwork)
“Spend the weekend drinking. Go for a walk and renting a DVD and buying alcohol. Saying it’s ok because they had done some ‘exercise’. I think that’s surely not healthy at all, so no wonder they are single” (27yo/ Metals Technician)
Other
“Wearing the same suits as they would during the week and eat at the nearest school refectory. I don’t know how I feel about suits on the weekends as well.” (31yo/ Education)
“Going to arcades. I feel it’s very childish” (30yo/ Software Agency)
Conclusion
The most popular answer for what makes a man unpopular was “playing games at home.” The idea is that men who game all day are “ dark” and “don’t have many friends”. Even if they have interests outside of gaming but they don’t leave the house then that’s a strike against the men. “Staying indoors= introvert” is the image that comes to mind.
It seems like an unpopular trait if they laze about all day. They argue that “isn’t it great? It’s like a father on a day off” but it’s difficult for men who want to have a lazy day every now and then.
Another common answer was men who watch anime or are obsessed with idols and frequently go to Akihabara. It wonderful to have a hobby but if you get too obsessed then that might push the women away. For those who answered “drinking from midday” might change their answer if the men were drinking champagne at a classy restaurant for lunch.
For those men who say, “just let us be on our days off” it might be beneficial if they take into a woman’s perspective if they want to be popular.
Survey period: 8 Nov 2013- 9 Nov 2013
Survey target: My Navi News members
Target range: 200 females
Survey method: Online login survey.
Comments from 2ch.net:
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“Being popular isn’t everything”
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“When I hear drinking from midday, I just think those people have succeed in life.”
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“My wife has gone back to her hometown to have our child; I’m actually living this exact lifestyle.”
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“What should I do? This describes me to a T.”
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“If an ugly man says he likes traveling or wine, they would surely say, “travelling alone is creepy”. If you read >>1 then whatever we do will be criticized”
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“Online gaming at home”, “Nothing but anime”, “Drinking from midday” still sounds better than dating”
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“You get tired if you go out. Surely there are some people who want to relax because they have work the next day.”
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“I don’t want to be lectured by single women over 30. （・ω・”）
名無しさん＠１３周年
“They’d be popular whatever they do if they were hot and rich”
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“Well it costs money when you date. It’d be hard if your interests don’t match. Also isn’t someone who is slightly flawed more popular than someone who is perfect? The young people now chase perfection too much”
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“If you think about it, watching anime at 30 years old isn’t great. Objectively that’s quite childish. How scary.”
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“This year I don’t have any friends or a girlfriend. Anyway, it’s our day off just let us be.“
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“I don’t care about being popular. Sleeping till noon is a single man’s privilege (´・ω・`)”
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“If you think of it this way, being unpopular probably has the best lifestyle.”
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“Having friends and a girlfriend will just get in the way of my online gaming”
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“Don’t people who are popular go on dates in their free time? So if you don’t have friends or a girlfriend then what do you do when you’re alone in public? Sleeping is a much better rest and recovery. It’s a luxury you won’t have if you get married and have kids.“
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“Thank god I read this! It’s been 6 months since I’ve left the house. I’ll go out tomorrow.”
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“In the old days, there used be nothing to do at home, so we had to go out, but now even if we don’t leave the house the society will continue to function.”
名無しさん＠１３周年：
“There still seems to be a lot of people who think being popular is a status symbol”
名無しさん＠１３周年：
Who really cares about how other people spend their day off, regardless of if they are popular or not?
