"Otaku" culture is spreading over the globe. Perhaps we are all otaku now? My wife tells me I'm an otaku — should I be worried? If you haven't encountered the word, here is Wikipedia's definition: "a derisive Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly 'anime' and 'manga' (comics)."
That seems accurate enough, other than the "derisive" bit. There's not much shame in being an otaku these days. Once, the name was a term of abuse directed at the geekiest kind of obsessive. In Japan now, it is a catch-all for any kind of keen hobbyist: not just manga and anime otaku, but jazz otaku, knitting otaku and more.
Japanese otaku are said to number in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. The otaku economy of comics, DVDs, figure, games, etc. is said to be valued in the trillions of yen. Abroad, the word has come to mean any fan of Japan's numerous pop culture exports.