Broadly speaking, the meaning of otaku refers to people who are keen on various subcultures and have a deep understanding of the culture; In a narrow sense, it refers to people who are addicted, enthusiastic or proficient in animation, comics and video games.

The word otaku has been widely used by people from all walks of life in Japan and tends to be neutral, and some of them are proud to be otaku. For otaku in countries or regions outside Japan, the meaning of this word varies from person to person.