The new book Otaku Spaces sets out to explain the complicated subculture of otaku through the stories of otaku themselves. The Japanese word usually describes people (usually men) who are obsessed with certain forms of pop culture such as manga, anime and videogames. Like any subculture, however, otakus often feel misunderstood. They are often dismissed as geeks by outsiders, where those in the know might use the term more as a synonym for “expert.”
