Otaku is a Japanese term for people with obsessive interests in anime and manga. Its contemporary use originated with Akio Nakamori's 1983 essay in Manga Burikko. Otaku may be used as a pejorative. According to studies published in 2013, the term has become less negative, an increasing number of people now self-identify as otaku, both in Japan and elsewhere. Otaku subculture is a central theme of various anime and manga works and academic research; the subculture began in the 1980s as changing social mentalities and the nurturing of otaku traits by Japanese schools combined with the resignation of such individuals to become social outcasts. The subculture's birth coincided with the anime boom, after the release of works such as Mobile Suit Gundam before it branched into Comic Market; the otaku subculture continued to grow with the expansion of the internet and media, as more anime, video games and comics were created. The definition of otaku subsequently became more complex, numerous classifications of otaku emerged.

In 2005, the Nomura Research Institute divided otaku into twelve groups and estimated the size and market impact of each of these groups. Other institutions have focus on a single otaku interest; these publications classify distinct groups including anime, camera, automobile and electronics otaku. The economic impact of otaku has been estimated to be as high as ¥2 trillion. Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another person's family; this word is used metaphorically, as an honorific second-person pronoun. In this usage, its literal translation is "you". For example, early in the anime Macross, first aired in 1982, the characters Hikaru Ichijyo and Lynn Minmay use the term this way to address one another, until they get to know each other better; the modern slang form, distinguished from the older usage by being written only in hiragana, katakana or in rōmaji, first appeared in public discourse in the 1980s, through the work of humorist and essayist Akio Nakamori. His 1983 series Research for "Otaku", printed in the lolicon magazine Manga Burikko, applied the term to unpleasant fans in caricature.

Animators Haruhiko Mikimoto and Shōji Kawamori had used the term between themselves as an honorific second-person pronoun since the late 1970s. Some fans used it past the point in their relationships where others would have moved on to a less formal style; because this misuse indicated social awkwardness, Nakamori chose the word. Morikawa Kaichirō, an author and lecturer at Meiji University, identified this as the origin of its contemporary usage. Another claim for the origin of the term comes from the works of science fiction author Motoko Arai, who used the word in her novels as a second-person pronoun and the readers adopted the term for themselves. However, a different claim points to a 1981 Variety magazine essay. In 1989, the case of Tsutomu Miyazaki, "The Otaku Murderer", brought the fandom negatively, to national attention. Miyazaki, who randomly chose and murdered four girls, had a collection of 5,763 video tapes, some containing anime and slasher films that were found interspersed with videos and pictures of his victims.

That year, the contemporary knowledge magazine Bessatsu Takarajima dedicated its 104th issue to the topic of otaku. It was called Otaku no Hon and delved into the subculture of otaku with 19 articles by otaku insiders, among them Akio Nakamori; this publication has been claimed by scholar Rudyard Pesimo to have popularized the term. In modern Japanese slang, the term otaku is equivalent to "geek" or "nerd", but in a more derogatory manner than used in the West. However, it can relate to any fan of any particular theme, hobby or form of entertainment. "When these people are referred to as otaku, they are judged for their behaviors - and people see an “otaku” as a person unable to relate to reality". The word entered English as a loanword from the Japanese language, it is used to refer to a fan of anime/manga but can refer to Japanese video games or Japanese culture in general. The American magazine Otaku USA covers these aspects; the usage of the word is a source of contention among some fans, owing to its negative connotations and stereotyping of the fandom.

Widespread English exposure to the term came in 1988 with the release of Gunbuster, which refers to anime fans as otaku. Gunbuster was released in English in March 1990; the term's usage spread throughout rec.arts.anime with discussions about Otaku no Video's portrayal of otaku before its 1994 English release. Positive and negative aspects, including the pejorative usage, were intermixed; the term was popularized by William Gibson's 1996 novel Idoru, which references otaku. Morikawa Kaichirō identifies the subculture as distinctly Japanese, a product of the school system and society. Japanese schools have a class structure which functions as a caste system, but clubs are an exception to the social hierarchy. In these clubs, a student's interests will be recognized and nurtured, catering to the interests of otaku. Secondly, the vertical structure of Japanese society identifies the value of individuals by their success; until the late 1980s, unathletic and unattractive males focused on academics, hoping to secure a good job and marry to raise their social stand

Thomas Wilbur Cridler was United States Third Assistant Secretary of State from 1897 to 1901. Thomas Wilbut Cridler was born in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia on November 13, 1850, he was educated in West Virginia, Washington, D. C. where he studied law. On July 1, 1875, Cridler joined the United States Department of State as a clerk, he rose through the ranks of the State Department. He traveled to Europe several times on government business and served as the State Department's special disbursing officer at the International Monetary Conference held in Brussels on November 22, 1892. In 1897, President of the United States William McKinley named Cridler Third Assistant Secretary of State, with Cridler subsequently holding this office from April 8, 1897 until November 15, 1901. In that capacity, he was present in Paris for the signing of the Treaty of Paris, he was the U. S. Special Commissioner to the 1900 Paris Exhibition and wrote a special report to the United States Congress about the Exposition.

During this visit, the Government of France made Cridler an officer of the Legion of Honour. Upon his resignation from the State Department in 1901, Cridler became Commissioner for Europe for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. In 1911, he became vice president of the Collin Armstrong Advertising Company. Cridler died at his home in New York City on February 23, 1914. Lincoln: A Typical American - An Address by Thomas W. Cridler at the Union League Club of Brooklyn, February 12, 1901 "Thomas W. Cridler Dead. Secretary of State Cridler Writes of His Fury Over McKinley's Assassination Shapell Manuscript Foundation

Pauline Chemning Korikwiang is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running competitions. She rose in the youth ranks in 2005, taking a 3000 metres silver medal at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics and took the world junior cross country title at the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. After winning youth medals on the track at World and African junior level, she has represented Kenya at the senior level in both cross country and the 10,000 metres at the African Championships in Athletics, she won two bronze medals at the 2011 All-Africa Games and a gold medal at the 2015 Military World Games. Korikwiang was born in Kaptabuk and drew inspiration to become a runner from another local resident Tegla Loroupe, who broke world records in the half marathon, she began competed at the national junior level in 2003 and gained selection for the African Junior Athletics Championships that year, where she came fifth in the 5000 metres. A runner-up performance behind Veronica Nyaruai at the national junior cross country championships two years led to her first world appearance, where she was seventh in the junior race at the 2005 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.

At the 2005 World Youth Championships in Athletics she was again outdone by Nyaruai, but defeated the rest of the field to win the silver medal over 3000 metres. The 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships saw Korikwiang defeat her rival to claim her first world junior title. There was a reversal of the positions at that year's 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics, where Korikwiang was the 5000 metres silver medallist behind her rival, she was named as the most promising sportswoman at the end-of-year SOYA Awards. The following year she won the Kenyan junior cross title and assumed the lead in the global event at the 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa. However, an error with the final lap bell meant Korikwiang mistakenly treated the second to last lap as the ultimate one, her premature efforts destroyed her chance at the title as she let others pass in the belief the race had ended and, after realising her mistake, she dropped out having fainted mid-race in Mombasa's torrid conditions.

In her final international junior competition she won the 5000 m bronze medal at the 2007 African Junior Athletics Championships. In her first year as a senior, she won at the top-class Cinque Mulini cross country meeting in Italy. A fifth-place finish at the Kenyan trials earned her a spot for the senior world team, but she was dismissed from the team after coaches stated that she had not maintained her fitness in the buildup to the event, she failed to make the track team for the 2008 Summer Olympics that summer. In 2009, a strong run of form on the Athletics Kenya Cross Country Series led to her being given a wild card entry into the senior race for the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, she was only the sixth best Kenyan at the event. Korikwiang missed out on both the 2009 World Championships in Athletics and the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and decided to switch to a new event, the 10,000 metres, instead; the move paid off as she took second place to Meselech Melkamu in her debut at the Golden Spike Ostrava, setting a personal best of 31:06.29 minutes.

A runner-up performance behind reigning world champion Linet Masai at the Kenyan championships led to an appearance at the 2010 African Championships in Athletics. She was selected for the national team at the International Chiba Ekiden in November, but despite gaining the lead on the anchor leg, she relinquished her position and Japan's collegiate team beat the Kenyans to the title, her focus returned to cross country in 2011, as she won at the Cross Zornotza, came third at the Cross Internacional de Itálica, gained selection at the national championships. She came seventh at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and was part of the winning Kenyan women's team, she travelled to the United States the following month and was edged into second at the Carlsbad 5000 by Aheza Kiros. She competed on the 2011 IAAF Diamond League circuit and set a 5000 m best of 14:41.28 minutes in Shanghai. Having finished fourth at the national trials, she did not gain selection for the World Championships that year, but instead competed at the 2011 All-Africa Games in Maputo, where she won bronze medals over both 5000 m and 10,000 m.

She was third at the Elgoibar Cross Country, Trofeo Alasport and Carlsbad 5000 races at the start of 2012. She skipped the rest of the season after failing to make the Kenyan Olympic team and only returned in the 2015 season, she won gold at the Military World Games, taking the 5000 m gold medal with a time of 15:23.85 minutes. She was runner-up at the Nairobi Half Marathon that month but again competed infrequently, with the next highlight being a win at the Eldoret Half Marathon at the end of 2017. 3000 metres - 8:41.11 min 5000 metres - 14:41.28 10,000 metres - 31:06.29 Half Marathon – 1:12:03 Pauline Korikwiang at World Athletics G4S Sport profile