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The legendary Studio Ghibli co-founder and two-time Academy Award-winning anime director, Hayao Miyazaki is really known for speaking his mind on a lot of topics, such as his scathing remarks about Apple’s iPad and his criticism of the anime industry for being too full of otakus.
Miyazaki is certainly not a fan of otakus, but there are many types of otakus in Japan, ranging from your usual anime otakus, to idol otakus and even train otakus, so which one does he hate the most? During a recent magazine interview, the 73-year old anime legend and the interviewer were discussing them, which prompted his interviewer to ask him the question on whether he was a bit of one himself. To this, he replied
“Otaku? The people I hate most are those gun otaku. Speaking honestly, I think they’re really low level, and out of firearm fans, the pistol nuts are the worst. They’re the ones that have the most immature character traits left over. Ha ha, don’t you agree?”
Ouch! So Hayao Miyazaki really hates Gun Otakus huh? So that explains why he gave the much-hated Castle in the Sky villain, Col. Muska, a pistol.
Gun Otakus are really fans of firearms and seem to have extended knowledge of the history and the types of guns which are available now. One good example would be High School of the Dead’s Kohta Hirano who really knows about guns and has even traveled to the United States just to train in the use of firearms.
This revelation that he does not like Gun Otakus the most has indeed sparked some comments in the internet
“Looks like anime otaku are OK.”
“What about if you love tanks?”
“Every time I hear him talk, it just reminds me that no matter how successful some people become, they never stop being grumpy.”
“Isn’t [Space Battleship Yamato and Galaxy Express 999 creator] Leiji Matsumoto a gun otaku?”
“I don’t know if I’d call them childish, but I seriously think some firearm fans have gunpowder for brains.
Miyazaki has been criticized for some of his comments about otakus, with his critics mostly pointing out that he himself has inspired some of the very otakus he hates so much. However, for all it’s worth, this won’t be the last we’ll hear from this opinionated anime legend.
