Certified Geek

Otaku qualification. Japan Times

Interest now obsessive for first ‘otaku’ test

By YOSHINO MATSUI

Thousands of young Japanese men are expected to take a nationwide exam next month that would, if they pass, grant them recognition as experts in the field of “otaku,” or geeks.

Since word of the first-ever Otaku Certificate exam broke in late June, publisher Biblos has been flooded with inquiries, including one from the United States.

The Tokyo-based publisher has been busy making preparations to administer the exam, which is intended to give people who think they have extensive knowledge of comics, animated cartoons and video games “an opportunity to engage in a test of strength” with like-minded others. But the response has been overwhelming.

“We initially estimated that about 1,000 people would apply, but it seems the actual number will be much bigger,” said Ryota Ishizuka, the 26-year-old Biblos editor who came up with the otaku exam idea.

In fact, the company and its 70 employees expect the number of applicants to hit five digits.

A Web site ( www.otaken.jp), set up by the company on June 27 to publicize the event has received an estimated 400,000 to 500,000 hits in just two weeks, briefly causing its counter to malfunction.

The computer-scored test, which will be in a multiple-choice format, will be conducted by mail so anyone can apply, even from overseas. But the applicants must be able to get the question and answer forms and comprehend the “postgraduate”-level questions, which will be written in Japanese.

Applicants can obtain the question and answer sheets for free by buying the next issue of elfics on Aug. 5. Elfics is a bimonthly publication that specializes in information about the “dojin” (amateur club) subculture, which includes self-published comic books by avid fans.

Biblos plans to award the otaku certificate to the top 100 scorers. This means ordinary “anime” (animation) and “manga” (comic) fans — a category that encompasses most Japanese born in the ’60s and later — don’t stand a chance.

One of the mock exams produced by the company basically looks like a compilation of brainteasers.

o_O