May 25, 2010 11:00 AM | by 
Sure, having a huge collection of manga, anime and figures can give you the title of “extreme” otaku but could you also be a “hardcore” otaku? Find out if you are below.
If you apply to any one of these characteristics (only one!) then yes, I have to say you’re a hardcore otaku.
You know if you’re a hardcore otaku if…
….You recreate lunches and/or other items from an anime or manga.
This K-ON! fanatic was able to recreate Tsugumi’s bento to every last detail.
Another person replicated, as best as he/she could, K-ON!’s Mio’s fan club card.
…You celebrate a character’s birthday.
Recently otaku celebrated the birthdays of twins Ami and Mami from IdolMaster on May 22.
This person created a shrine with a cake…
This person even went out on a date with “them.”
This otaku stuck with the simple birthday cakes.
…You get obsessed with the voice actors (and not in the good way).
Hardcore otakus are worrying that K-ON’s Mio’s voice actress, Yōko Hikasa, is ruining Mio’s image by wearing a ring on her engagement finger. I guess it somehow destroys the “innocent” vision of the character she’s voice acting for. Weird logic in my opinion.
These are just recent cases of otaku fever. They go from being awesome to being creepy. Of course we also have the otaku who marry video game characters or prefer anime body pillows over real people.
So, are you a hardcore otaku? Me? I think I’m in between a regular otaku and an extreme one. I like to collect a few anime/manga related items (especially manga!) but I don’t spend my life savings on items costing more than $30 each (unless it’s a box set but I usually wait until there’s a DVD sale). I like my items $20 or less.