OtakuBot

OtakuBot was a mascot for the OtakuBoards Community created in August 2002 by Generic NPC #3 and James. This was the first, and most noteworthy of a series of failed projects coinciding with a site-wide initiative then known only as “My Otaku,” (this My Otaku had no relation to the current myOtaku companion site.)

The idea was that site announcements, rules threads and “How to” guides could be more effective and more fun if they were posted by a cute, fictional mascot rather than an established member. OtakuBot was based on an original, Japanese Famicon disk, which served as a point of controversy and confusion for many.

From the beginning, many had problems with OtakuBot’s appearance, likening it to a bathroom scale or a razor blade. Ironically, it was its’ cutesy appearance which made it difficult for members to take OtakuBot, and the “My Otaku” initiative seriously.

This My Otaku was supposed to have featured an interactive guide to OtakuBoards, containing various tutorials and rules threads written by the site’s staff. In a dedicated forum, “The Otaku Information Center,” OtakuBot “posted” two rules threads, its’ only posts on the boards. That forum laid abandoned for nearly a year due to a lack of staff involvement before being removed entirely. It wasn’t until much later that OtakuBot’s member account was deleted unexpectedly.

OtakuBot lives on as an inside joke between elder board members, and was given a significant cameo in Solo Tremaine’s “Enter the Net” fan-fiction story.

Categories: History