Japanese word/adjective which roughly translates into "infatuated", "extreme fanatic", or "obsessed to the point of being borderline deranged."

mainly used to describe the Wapanese people who watch ridiculous amounts ofanime. they, in turn, will use the word to dsecribe themselves, as if they are actually proud of being otaku. they don't know that the word has a negative meaning to it.

fanatic; this Japanese word is used in the common language of anime fans to denote themselves.

Someone who watches alot of anime!

This word is often misused by white nerds. Apparently they think that it means "Anime Fan". They are so grossly wrong. In reality it is the Japanese equivalent to nerd. In Japan the Otaku is the lowest social rung.

The word 'Otaku' is first of all an insulting and degrading Japanese term; Something that most of otaku don't seem to comprehend and take as a compliment,

They are also annoyingly obsessive anime fans that base their lives entirely on the anime that they watch and have this wild notion that Japan is some kind of Anime Wonderland with giant Robots, pocket monsters, and mystical wells that lead to the past and they go there thinking that Japanese people look and act like the anime characters that they see on celuloid. They also seem to think that speaking "otaku-ese" is equivalent to speaking fluent Japanese and think that Japanese people are going to be impressed with their lacking progress.

They also stalk Japanese natives in their own country and if you have a Japanese boy/girlfriend ladies and gentleman, hold on to them tight because these freaks are determined to snag a Japanese love at all costs and they're not known to leave natives alone until they get a yes from them after they've heard a hundred noes.

the proper term for an anime addict is otaku (which means an extreme fan).. but most anime addicts are considered otaku

A term taken from Japanese and used in the United States amongst anime afficionados to show their obsessive love for their hobby, further changed by innocent mispronunciation to mean people who, subjectively, have no taste.