I hate to admit this...

Yes. I hate to admit that I'm a closet アニメ オタク (Anime Otaku). But wait, please allow me to defend myself...

Being branded as an オタク is not something bad (as compared to NEET, フリーター, ひきこもり or ) but I guess nobody likes to be highlighted from common society and gets slapped with some label. In fact, I do not think the term, オタク, carries as much a negative connotation as compared to the ones mentioned above. In fact, I think the term is some what similar to the label, サラリーマン. It's just that there's always something negative about any certain stereotype, especially the ones standing on the extreme end of the spectrum.

So, I don't think being an アニメ オタク is a bad thing. It simply means I like to watch anime. In any case, I'm not one of those crazy/passionate fans (whatever you choose to call 'em) who buy anime spinoff stuff or go crazy after some 声優 (seiyu or voice actor/actress). I just really enjoy anime because I find manga reading too slow for some of the fast action scenes and watching cartoons/animations has always been a part of me since I was a kid. :) With that, I rest my case.

Moving on, I was just checking the preview for the 2009 spring anime airings and I realized that I'd short listed like 9 anime series to watch. 9! That's insane. The redeeming factor is that out of the 9, 2 of which are OVAs so that's not so bad right? Anyway, I seriously doubt I'd follow all religiously cause the semester will only get busier and it's unlikely that all 9 will turn out to be as nice. I'm not going to list what I've shortlisted but instead, if you're ever interested, you can checkout the previews on Hashihime's Blog.