Japan, to modify slightly a title of a book by Bruno Latour (1993), has never been modern. The indigenous folk beliefs and practices of Shintoism, or kami no michi (way of spirits), continue to permeate the fabric of everyday life, and although most Japanese profess neither to personal religion nor to belief in the spiritual, this cultural legacy provides a rich creative resource fuelling the country's cultural industries. Indeed, Japanese animism is everywhere in the textual contents of anime (animation) and manga (comic books), so it perhaps comes as no surprise that Japan is also the country which gave the world the otaku. The definition of otaku varies but is typically understood as a hardcore fan of popular culture, especially anime and manga. He (and yes, the stereotypical otaku is male) is characterized by his passionate devotion to the objects of his fandom affection and proportionate absence of social grace. The otaku, in short, is a suspicious, socially awkward character who is more comfortable around two-dimensional cartoons than real, three-dimensional people.

But is that all he is? Simply by adjusting slightly one's perspective on this commonplace understanding of the word, it is quite easy to argue that the otaku is in fact an animist, investing a devotion of genuinely spiritual proportions to the objects of popular culture fandom. Thus, instead of revering the moon which waxes and wanes in the sky, he reveres Sailor Moon whom he watches in perpetual rerun. Instead of placing sacred totems around his home, he collects and displays his favourite action figures.