Degrees of Otaku


I've heard people described as ぬるオタ （ぬるいオタク） "mild otaku" as well as 超【ちょう】オタク
"super otaku". My question is whether there is a sort of "general set" of
these sorts of words (maybe similar to the prefixes like: _super-, ultra-,
mega-_ etc.), or whether what I have encountered is really just creative
language use.

Are there some useful terms to describe a kind of "spectrum" of enthusiasm?

E.g. Low to high: ぬるオタ, （普通【ふつう】の） オタク, 超【ちょう】オタク , etc.

It has been suggested that _gachi-_ "serious/diligent" may be on par or above
_chou-_.

Edit: Even phenomena like "Okatu-dom" are perhaps best not described as a
linear spectrum. We could theorize dimensions like ( _kakko ii_ > _kimoi_ ), (
_dedicated_ > _casual_ ), etc.

Thanks for any help!




There is no such thing as an established "general set" of classifying the
degrees of otaku, but both ガチオタ and ヌルオタ are commonly used.

ヌル- and ガチ- can be used as prefixes to modify other nouns. ガチゲーマー refers to a
hardcore gamer, and ヌルゲーマー refers to a casual gamer. Etymologically, ガチ comes
from
[ガチンコ](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AC%E3%83%81%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B3),
which is originally _sumo_ wrestling jargon. ヌル comes from ぬるい, an adjective
meaning "tepid."

Note that ヌル has a negative connotation (i.e., "He's not ガチ enough" used by
people in the ガチオタ tier). Something like ライトなオタク/ライトゲーマー would sound neutral
and safe ([if used in the situation where using オタク is
safe](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/25686/5010), of course)

超オタク is not something people commonly use. I can safely say someone who uses
超オタク is not a Japanese otaku :)




There is no such thing as an established "general set" of classifying the
degrees of otaku, but both ガチオタ and ヌルオタ are commonly used.

ヌル- and ガチ- can be used as prefixes to modify other nouns. ガチゲーマー refers to a
hardcore gamer, and ヌルゲーマー refers to a casual gamer. Etymologically, ガチ comes
from
[ガチンコ](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AC%E3%83%81%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B3),
which is originally _sumo_ wrestling jargon. ヌル comes from ぬるい, an adjective
meaning "tepid."

Note that ヌル has a negative connotation (i.e., "He's not ガチ enough" used by
people in the ガチオタ tier). Something like ライトなオタク/ライトゲーマー would sound neutral
and safe ([if used in the situation where using オタク is
safe](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/25686/5010), of course)

超オタク is not something people commonly use. I can safely say someone who uses
超オタク is not a Japanese otaku :)

