海外オタクの脱オタ行動

...and feel free to send me all your stuff... :)

Aw, man this sucks if it turns out to be true. I really like his dakimakura adventures too.

If you decide to comeback
just tell us

Wow, really? That just seems so... strange. I'm amazed, I wonder why.

what? nooooo! why would he do such a thing? sure he's not just moving hosts or something? ^^;

and in case anyone didn't read my name closely, remember i'm the meronpan with an r ^^;

Whaaat?? Why??? Naze???

Wow. That's unexpected. Hope he's just pulling our leg...otherwise I can only say that he'll be sorely missed....

Fair well Melonpan. Your adventures with your dakimakura will be know too all user otakus.

Bummer. At least he has one hell of a anime collection/showroom though.

I feel sorry for his Rin swimsuit - He actually used a drill to destroy her! And used a hammer to smash Nanoha figma into pieces...

He should sell us his stuff at 50% discount.

Anyone know the reason why? Sorta strange he suddenly went cold turkey.

job issue? (boss don't really like dakimakura trip)
or just bored?

well, i guess he have his period for being super otaku...
a story to tell as a granpa...
"i was...."

he destroyed his collections?

some people just got too many money at their disposal...

i want melon....

Does he know that it's not April 1st anymore? ^^;

His blog's accessible, again...

i don't believe this Bul~~~t ^__^

I just tried clicking on the link to his blog and it's still accessible...

A pity...but a decision he has made...you are missed...

NO way he's retire from the Otaku world, his collections enough to full up a museum!

I really salute him for his courage when I first read about his adventure with Nia ^_^

It is a great lost for such a great proud otaku...

*Salute*

It seems like nobody here on dannychoo.com is aware of the fact that Melonpan already admitted that this announcement was just a huge, late, trolling joke of him. I hope this message will soon spread over this site, so that many Otakus will be relieved.

Those photos were... traumatising... How.. Why... he could have made some money and sold some of the figures.. but bagging them like that... And the poor dakimakura... He couldda saved the pillows and just thrown the cases... still... WHYYY?

Never embarrassed of my hobbies. Damn proud.

Wow, talk about revival of old news item. I thought it was weird when I saw I'd already commented on it... Guess it's a shame really. The translation was a bit weird to read at times, but the message came across. I guess he really just wants to throw it all away, even if it means all of that money spent going down the tube.

I, for one, would probably end up trying to sell off my collection if I ever lose interest. Either that or give it away to someone who could make good use of it.

he destroyed swimsuit Rin like that??? OMG!! @_@

I never embarrassed about my hobies... I'm really proud of them.

Here's a thought of what might happen, he finally got a girlfriend and with all that pent up 'passion' with only 2d girls.. He can't help himself does too much and impregnates her.

Happened to someone I know, first girlfriend and bam.. Pregnancy.

"datsu-ota" not going to happen neither in this or next life time. I don't even know that word, i had to copy and paste since i'll forget it in the next second...out ^-^.
totally agree with Danny, is your life so follow what you want not what others want! ^0^

Aw man I loved his stuff, and his pictures.

i went through this myself recently.

it was called.... marriage.

Aw, he should have at least sold the stuff off. He could have recoup a decent percentage of his original costs while leaving the hobby ^^;

Melonpan, you were awesome. Uhm. I hope you live a very happy life. If you read this.

what a waste of goodies! :/
I would be more then happy to take them from him...

Amen Danny. Why would someone be ashamed of their hobbies..its an outlet for stress..just makes me happy!:)

why would you destory all your things like that! you could at least sell them to us otaku who still love this wonderful hobby!

I almost feel like crying after this seeing how he treat his figures, etc..
Giving up your hobbies is one thing...but just destroying them..even without selling it..is rather unexpected for me. All that money..all the love..just goes away..like that :'<
I can't bare to watch this anymore..

I've always wondered how one exits otaku-ism...I hope I don't exit and if I do, I hope I spare my figures T_T

what a waste of MONEY!
damn after all he dont sell it? how a guy can be real stupid!
You can have a life otakuless and still have a room full of Anime! Dum

First off, I wish I had that Lum poster that's in your old room, Danny. :P

Second, I am actually pretty embarrassed that I enjoy Anime, Figure Collecting, and, to a lesser extent, Gaming. There's not really many of my friends that share my hobby, a lot of them tend to poke fun at the games I tend to play and animes that I watch. I'm starting to come out of my shell a bit by buying a couple Figmas and a Yoko Nendoroid from the Classified section on this site, all of which are proudly sitting on my desk as I type this. :3

I know there's nothing wrong with it, but I guess I just care about other people's opinion of me too much. :/

This has got to be a joke...why would he all of a sudden throw out all of his stuff? It must have cost him a few thousand dollars to get all of it.

Not sure why he left being an otaku, but its his life and he is free to do what he wants ^^; Wish him all the best in whatever he does in the future.
Don't think I'll leave being an otaku. Have many friends telling me that 2D girls are just a dream and I can't touch them physically or what, and that I should leave it and start to go for 3D girls... Don't listen to them and continue my otaku life cause it's what I want to do ^u^ Going to Japan is tough too and many tell me its impossible. Don't listen to them and work hard for it cause it's what I want to do ^^
じぶんをしんじて！

i don't know if this is a joke on their parts or not since that rin does tend to lean and so what else could he do really, but honestly i doubt i'll ever grow tired of my collection and when i do become tired of certain figures i sell them off and not destroy them or throw them away... such a waste honestly

Such grossly destructive behavior suggests serious psychological problems.... and not from being an otaku.

Somehow, Datsu-ota isn't that far off an idea, but I wouldn't go anywhere near what melonpan did. Probably just put some of my stuff away in to storage or sell them off, or maybe just stop buying.

But even so, I don't think I'd be able to part with my collection that easily since you can say that it's a part of my history and my memories.

Noooooooo~! Not the head... and the arms... and the legs~~~!

You're so cruel Melonpan, eventho I once respected you... *_*

sorry if I sound bad but, this guy never was an otaku he was just an attention whore since I saw his blog and photos, and proof for that is what he is doing, drilling figures and stuff just to get more attention, as for me people who says that will do Datsu-ota, never was a real otaku, otaku is not something that you can quit like if nothing happends, real otaku cant stop being otaku, is like if someday you would want to do a sex change.

this must be some big joke from melonpan. that guy could never give up on otakuness.

Personally, datsu-ota is unthinkable, but if he chooses to go through with it then who am I to argue? Though I'd probably tell him to think it through first to make sure he isn't acting on pure impulse (a lot of time and money clearly went into his otaku life up till now). Still, I wish him well all the same.

If this is serious and because of a child, then he is being more childish than i can believe. He's basically smashing his "toys", with the idea that if he can't have them no one can, and not selling them to help care for his child. Unbelievable. So now he's going to be miserable with a woman he probably has nothing in common with and throwing away money he could use to feed a child. Any admiration he may have had should be lost now. Danny has the right idea with doing what you love, life is too short.

he could have sold everything...what an idiot.

I get leaving behind the otaku life. But destroying your once beloved stuff, not selling them to others who would die for some of it.
And calling the rest of us retarded sissies who play with dolls? Uncalled for. Why even bother taking pictures? Just leave the life, don't make a scene and cause drama. We'll forget about you eventually anyways.

After seen all the pictures i feel a bit sad and i almost cry ...
I don't know is this real or not but if this real for a ex-otaku is not necessary to attack other otaku's for there choice for hobby. Yes i do feel a bit embarrased of this hobby but that was also for playing video games. But that has been change because is has more be accepted but only the superior peoples think is still nerdies.When i read the last sentence of Danny post its easy to say that but for doing that is not easy because the things I do will not only effect my own life i will also effect the family,parents or in the futur like girlfriend/wife dislike it.

Sick!!!!!!

I wonder why he decided to do just quit. I doubt I'll ever graduate from anime and manga.

I'm hoping for a very belated April Fools Day, but seems unlikely.

I do feel embarrassed sometime when I had to explain what anime and manga are to regular folks. Not because it's hard to explain what it is, but it's the passion and devotion for anime and manga that are hard to describe in words. If I were to be described as an otaku, I might as well become a cool and chill otaku like Hitch.

So it's really real, eh? Oh well... it's up to him what he wants to do. Right now I'm thinking of graduating from American comic books altogether. There used to be value in them, but I can't follow them anymore. The anime stuff though... I wouldn't want to get rid of them just yet. What'll most likely to happen is the stuff being buried with me ^^;

It doesn't surprise me if a person has to leave the otaku world to move onto more other important factors in their life, but I do agree that destroying his collection is a little excessive. Considering how much money was spent on such items, you can easily regain a substantial percentage if he sold his collection.

Do that many people really care about this guy? I never really liked him. Then again, there are few otaku that I've ever liked.

What a waste of all that perfectly good stuff!

As others have commented, he could have sold his stuff for some pretty good coin. Tossing it out is just a waste, regardless of the cause.
I can't see myself giving up my otaku lifestyle for anything. My co-workers may think I'm weird, but so what? They will never understand the emotional high found in anime like the end sequence of Gunbuster, the bittersweet ending that was Chrono-Crusade. The final episodes of Angelic Layer had tears in my eyes. They will never know the sweet joy of Kami-Chu! or the emotional roller-coaster of Fushigi Yugi. I could go on all night....
I sort of feel sorry for them...But *I* like my "toys". I even wrote a fan-fic (Oh My Devil Hunter) thats still somewhere on the web 14 years after I wrote it.

I could have put the money I've spent over the years toward a car, or paid down my condo faster, but it would not have been as fun or diverting.

It's terrible seeing all of those lovely figures go to waste! If someone's graduating from otakuism, why not at least sell the stuff? ^^;;

It's doubtful that I could ever go through a Datsu-Ota. Maybe as I get older I'll put my things away but I'll still be an otaku at heart. If someone can't accept you for who you are, in your entirety, then I think that they aren't worth your time. If you really love a person, but not their hobby, you'll grin and bear with it because that's what makes them happy. Live your life the way you want. Don't live the life someone else wants you to live.

Moving on from a hobby is understandable. Destroying it for public display is deplorable.

The destruction of figures is not only disgusting, but is like burning money. It would have been a better idea to sell off what you do not need anymore.

Wow he actually tries to insult you on his site too Danny. From the translation it looks like he is trying to give reasons why Otakus are bad and insult them. Perhaps a way to justify to himself why he quit? Oh well to each their own. ^^ I'll choose to continue my passion and goals ^^

This Melonpan ought to be careful. Being internet otaku is a bit like being boryokudan. He's in too deep! He knows too much!! His actions are HERESY and TREASON!!! HE'S GUILTY I SAY!1!`

He just better hope nanashi doesn't find him.

Oh no! Precious figurines! Melonpan should sell them off instead of making such a statement! Sell em to me!

It so sad.....

A joke? Hmmm... Anyway.... Why Rin? Such a waste

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

melonpan!!! our otaku senpai!!!!

Why would you leave us & the world of otaku!!!!!!!!

I look up to your courage & your mass collections of otaku goodies.

At least let the figures survive, some body else will adopt them rather then "killing" them........

Comrade melonpan, we will never forget you~~~~~ *salute in tears*

You are a brave man, Melonpan. From running around in public with your dakimakura to destroying your figures and giving up otakuism. You are a man who is not afraid of what others think of you based on your decisions; and for that I salute you, mate. Please, do what you think is best for you. Nobody knows yourself better than you.

Danny why did you show this to us?? WHY???

I'm hoping that I don't have to go through with this. It's probably why I keep telling myself that I don't want to grow up.

I've had people make fun of my hobbies, and at times I was quite upset. But when I calmed down and actually thought about it, I never cared about those people anyway.

I guess there is a point in one's life when one must realize that the current state is not conducive to one's growth. He has reached a fork in the path of life and has chosen his way....who knows, maybe that path will cross the Otaku path somewhere in the future. Ganbatte kudasai ne melonpan....GANBATTE NE!!

may the force be with you, Melonpan, T^T

ummm... have been left speechless...

It's easier to get than to rid (rather than destroy), but those writeups do indicate that he is to sell off the goods. Still, what the brave man who's aware of his life's path.

I've thought about the graduating episode but it's just not the time. I've always been and will be a geek, but material proof is rather new. It's never been a strong addiction (^^; I hope); it doesn't restrict my life or adversely affect it. I am rather inspired by this incident because it serves as a valid reality check.

oh the humanity!...at least put them up for adoption...rest in peace poor souls...

I'm a 'sissy' who plays with dolls and doesn't give a damn about what other people think.

If I ever gave up my hobbies I would just sell my stuff though, not destroy it in a rage. That makes no sense, why not cut back on your losses and use the money for whatever the future holds? In fact I have considered selling a lot of my figures and just focusing on video games and dolls, but looking around... I really like my collection. Guess I still need to think it over. =P

Allow me to step into my Piccolo shoes a moment:

KONO BAKA YARO!!!

Nanoha getting the hammer, the horror.

Is this for real? Couldn't believe it even after trying so hard....
Well, if he's doing NOT because of others, then so be it ^^;

As for embarrased being an otaku, HELL NO!
When I first got here in Japan, my saichou introduced me as an otaku,
after the introduction ended, some of my japanese colleagues came rushing at me and asked.
"Wow, saichou said that you're an otaku, aren't u embarassed ? Being called an otaku in front of people ?"
I answered, "Why should I ? If I can't be proud of myself. how could I make others proud of me ?"

Whatever the world says guys, you SHOULD be living your own life, your own way, and your own dream !!

Whatever the reason, he did what he did. He's making a lifestyle change, and I hope it goes well for him.

However, he also mentioned "Otaku are Retarded Sissies who Love to Play with Dolls". Lost quite a bit of respect/admiration for him on that part.

I loled at the fact that the way he did it was too extreme, one of the attributes ppl typically see in otaku, or was it just a show for attention. Anyway, I do hope he's not going to regret it if he's ever coming back.

As for me, I only read a little manga, play a little game reading light novels and VNs and watching a ridiculous amount of anime. Supposedly, I might drop it then it's not because of other ppl but because I find myself having more important and/or fun things need to do. After all it's a hobby and that can change as ppl change over time.

A positive message for the days ahead. Thank you Danny.

Ignoring the fact that all that stuff he destroyed probably had some meaning to it, think of the money losses!! he could have sold most of that stuff (not sure about the body pillows) and not only made a buck or two back but allowed the items to live on for someone else.
I like my hobbies, they allow me to express myself and as a writer and artist if I can't express who I am I might as well not be alive.

Even in my young life my interests have already changed multiple times, so I might go through "Datsu-ota" someday. I'd sell my stuff or keep it for memories though. :P

What a way to go........

Been browsing for a couple months, but registered to comment a bit on this touchy subject.

Everyone must change to adapt to different situations, and he made a decision.
We should all respect his wishes, everyone does not make the greatest of decisions.
It is a possibility he was making an example of the seriousness of his situation.

Of his thousands of dollars in merchandise, one figure barely makes a dent.

Disgusting, destroying perfectly good figures like that. You could give each reader here a figure, thats a MUCH better solution. Seriously, I actually feel a bit ill. Such a waste...

One of my boyfriend's friends went through datsu-ota. He gave us and some other friends all his figures (how nice!). But one week later, he bought another figure. And now he has a bunch of figures in his room again. He doesn't seem to regret giving the figures away though.

I'm personally very disappointed in how some of this community's members are taking this news.
Back when he was enjoying his otaku hobbies, everybody was ecstatic about his ventures. Many respected his bravery of a self proclaimed otaku but as soon as he decides to discontinue his hobbies, several members are raising pitches and forks at him and forming of an angry mob. This reminds me of the oh-so-common scenario in anime/manga where one's classmates are 'friends' until some incident happens. Then they all turn their back on the person while the insults ensue.

As Danny has mentioned, people's lives are their own and they can live it the way they choose. We should respect his life decision instead of bashing him. I'm sure we don't like being misunderstood for our own hobbies and actions, so why the hate? How can you lose respect for a person because they quit their hobby? All of a sudden, they aren't 'truly otaku' because they quit? I feel that this way of thinking is very cynical and does not try to understand the other person's situation, decision, and way of life. Why do we have to hate others just because their choices do not seem ideal in our eyes? We're all hated by someone or some people out there for doing something we love. That doesn't mean that you have to pass on that hate to others.

Many, including myself, believe that he should have sold his collection instead of trashing or destroying them. However, this is another decision that is up to him. Perhaps he can afford to not sell of his collection. Perhaps he doesn't need the money back on what he spent on his figures. While it is painful for some to see a figure of your favorite character being destroyed, it's not like that figure is the only one in the world. He purchased his collection with his own money; he has the right to do what he wants with it. Many of us, also including myself, do things that certain people see as wasteful. Bashing him as an 'idiot' for his actions is being hypocritical because we're all wasteful to a certain degree in this modern world.

P.S.
If this is indeed a troll, then all the more reason to not hate. This is the internet. Hate just makes trolls stronger. If you hate on trolls, you're the one that loses, and they get the satisfaction of angering you.

TL,DR[Too Long, Didn't Read]
Lets all respect his decision to quit being an otaku and not hate on him for doing things that may seem unacceptable to you. It's his life, it's his money, it's his choice.

speechless.. but I respect his decision, there are maybe other factors that made him do that...

but destroying the figures... makes me sad

Ok, so they quit collecting anime/figures just because they saw other otaku collecting dolfies or figma backgrounds sets?

It's like saying you have no right to collect Jet Fighter Models because you're a 30 year old mother of 3 kids.

Oh well, Stereotyping at it's finest~~

And the way he dispatched the some of the figures... well to be frank..
......really pisses me off~~~~~
Those figures are freakin expensive~ that if i get one i become so happy~~

Oh well i'll just think of it as rich spoiled kids dissing out the turkey dinner whilst the street kids eating rice & salt |~|

Maybe at some point, i too might leave this fandom.. but not in a disheartening exit like that..
I'd rather put some of my Figures in time capsule... together with some other stuff i enjoyed~ :)

I think someone got under his skin and fed him some BS that he was a little girl for playing with dolls. Although it didn't seem like he was giving up on anime, just the doll/moe aspect.

To be honest, I'm somewhat embarrassed about all my figures, but I'll get over it. What annoys me is that he didn't sell them, but rather, decided to destroy them.

this is madness O_O

he must be beheaded;

cut off his dolphin;

burned with fire

poor things... =(

Is this true how is it possible to do that once you enter you can never go back.

This is what Maseeru said:

"It seems like nobody here on dannychoo.com is aware of the fact that Melonpan already admitted that this announcement was just a huge, late, trolling joke of him. I hope this message will soon spread over this site, so that many Otakus will be relieved."

Uhh... so is this a joke, or for real??? @____@

Anyway, if it's real.... then I can only question his reason for raving about it and doing it in such a disorderly fashion....

if it's not real, he would still need a harisen smack right on his head, drilling Rin is NOT a funny joke!!!!

Anyway, I don't think we need to be so repulsive toward the possibility progressing toward Datsu-ota... It is perhaps a phase in life that some of us may need to go through....

Not everyone can get where Danny is right now, To get to where He is right now, it took a lot more than just following your passion and being an otaku... Danny's real skill is in programming, internet, marketing and writing, something that has nothing to do with being an otaku... well, even if it is, it's barely.... It took hardwork, attitude, and patience with a little addition of talent and luck....

I'm not saying that, it's the reason you should one day quit being an otaku... It's just that you got to admit, more often than not, being an otaku does more damage than good... or at least that's the impression I got from people who suckered in too much into otakuism (me included)

Again, that's not a reason why someone needs to quit doing what he likes, but maybe, just maybe... it is the best path for that particular someone to take...

Me?? I can't see myself quitting being an otaku anytime soon... figure? maybe... merchandises? maybe... watching anime?? there's probably a very remote chance for that.... but quitting eroge and manga... definitely can't see myself doing it anytime soon... XD

Hmm... this for real? I seem to recall a similar attempt to "shut down" his otaku world a few months back. He came back tho...

Ok if this is all real... Holy crap dude! You spent an X amount of your cash buying all that stuff, and in the end, you just go and destroy it? Not only was that wasteful of good money, that cash could have gone to, say, charities, or maybe just daily living expenses. Heck, could have even sold that stuff and gotten that money back, even if it's just a fraction of the sum you paid.

Whatever reason you had for leaving behind your life as a fanboy, no problem, you probably had a good reason for it. But man, I'm just appalled at the "carnage".

He sure could have boxed every thing back up that was possible and put the posters in the cardboard roller tubes for storage. Later if the part about having a kid was true, given the kid those items at various times for rewards like when getting A's on the report card. I'm looking back in time and I think it was about the age of 23 or 24 that all posters came down in my room. Still have them in cardboard poster holders.

As far as destroying the figurines, I sure hope U niceff doesn't see the torture the female figurines when through or find any evidence. /snicker

On the side note of life changing after something such as marriage or time. The same holds true for like my old dirt bike collection, car parts collection - do you think after all those years of getting the parts and items I'll just leave them and move? . . .. not a chance would rather die first :D.

"When a Spark goes online, there is great joy. When one is extinguished, the universe weeps."
- Rhinox Beast Wars:Transformers(“The Spark”)

A moment of silence,please.

If I ever graduate from being an otaku, I'd still leave the usual room layout but less or quit spending stuffs anymore. That's it. If ever fellow otaku wants to buy my stuff then the better since they can take care of them properly. I don't want to destroy things that I buy.

Wow... that felt like a big waste. I'm pretty sure he could've gotten something back with ebay. I don't really feel embarrassed about my hobbies. I wouldn't say I'm exactly proud of being an otaku as it wouldn't be the right way of describing it for me. I just enjoy anime and manga. Some of what I watch is entertaining. Some of what I encounter is inspiring. Within the anime universe are endless possibilities that creative people may express themselves. Sometimes they may be questionable but sometimes, they are brilliant. I don't see myself giving up on anime and manga. I may see myself loosening up on my addictions for the sake of concentrating on other matters such as work or relationships but I don't think I will ever forfeit it.

Otasku = sissies who play with dolls? Excuse me, but you just drilled and beheaded a doll. I think that's more than enough to have his point contradicted.

My datsu ota process might be suttle... I'll probably keep majority of the stuff I made, since you know, that counts for art rather than something store bought. Manga I'll keep for my future generations -if I have any (since reading how to murder people is always cool, as well as learning about the bacterial world, to name a few).

=P -are there any more DC shoes in the making? Too bad you don't make sneakers

Well,
I understand that change can be a good thing(in his case),
but way too much of anything can be bad in the first place.
As much as I want all the figures I can have, I control my spending....that and I don't have that much money to spend anyway.

I'm not ashamed of my hobbies though because I put so effort into stuff like plasmo so its an accomplishment building stuff you like doing for pure fun and not for somebody else.
I don't see myself going Datsu-Ota because I'm enjoying my hobby.
Maybe I'll slow down in the future but I'll still appreciate such unique hobby.

I truly don't understand why a lot of people spread hate and destruction around.
This trend of being negative about anything for no legitimate reason is disgusting and pointless.

You know, the church and goodwill will except large donations of figures and collections from those who quit collecting. The Marines have a Toys for Tots program as well. Can be a tax write off as well...

Maybe in Germany, they have charitable organizations were Melonpan's figures could have gone to happy homes. Sigh...

I wish you luck Melonpan in your new "normal" life. Hope you find new hobbies as well. Best of luck to you.

I'll get back to collecting my moe figures and dolls that only "sissy men" collect. I'm not embarrassed at all about my collection and my entire division knows what I'm about. They say its a bit creepy but are happy that I have a hobby that I enjoy. Even if they did not approve, I would still do what I enjoy and am passionate about.

Hope you find a new passion Melonpan...

I am surprised that he didn't sell his stuff off on Yahoo Auctions or where ever as he'd probably been able raise some cash for whatever he is going to do now.

Will I "graduate" .... no idea at the moment. Most people know about my hobby and I am not extreme about it so even though they don't like that sort of things themselves it's not embarrassing. Will I get rid of stiff if the time comes ... some yes, probably via eBay but some things I don't see I'll get rid of as they are just so good.

The destroying pictures are kind of scary.
I fell out of one fandom recently and I still have a lot of the stuff from it. I would never dream of destroying it. >>;

I would have just sold the stuff...more money for me to pay for my new life. Heh.

Love the motivational talk as usual.

I would never grow tired of collecting figures and anime merchanise... But IF I ever did I would simply stop buying, and probably take em off display, pack em all up nicely and store it somewhere...
Maybe some other day I happen to discover them again, and out they come again.

Yeah... I'm one of those people who get over some hobbies, but get into them again after accidentally finding the stash. But as for anime... I've never grown tired of it once yet.

Sad to see a true otaku graduate, and everything going to waste. I would at least make a few bucks off the collection

Damn, he could of sold some of that to get a little money back at least...

Otaku is not just a hobby, you can never "get rid of it". I know a few people did this "Datsu-ota" thing for certain reason, be it employment, marriage, or finance problem, they all went back to their otaku life to some degree.

Why did he kill all those pity girl? He must have been influence by Emo or something.

ahhhh...looking at this...i couldn't stand watching it :(

^_^ i did this with my MMO games a few years ago, gave up all my gear and items and dropped all the worthless stuff, i just felt like i wanted to cut off from being addicted to MMO, hopefully he finds what he wants by doing this.

>>日本語で書いたのだが、伝えたなのかな？^^;
十分伝わってますよん(*^^)v

Anyway, its hard to watch these pictures. Do they have any shop like Book Off or Hard Off in Switzerland? (T_T)

He's doing this for attention. :/

You can find shame in any hobby, except for the one you're most passionate about.

What a waste - he could at least sell the stuff after he probably paid a lot of money for it all.

I doubt I'm going to 'graduate' from my hobbies - I like them and I'm not at all ashamed of them. Even if I did get bored, there's no way I'd make such a spectacle out of myself doing something like that - I'd just quietly leave it behind and get on with my life. I guess if that's what he needs to put it behind him then it's his choice, but it's still a waste as far as I'm concerned.

THOSE BEAUTIFUL FIGURES! Nooooo I can't believe they've been drilled and hammered!
aaahhh what a waste =(

melonpan's a crazy dude anyway. NBD.

You could have sold it off and made a but-load of cash. Killed two birds with one stone. (Get rid of it and make some money.)

By I do not know if I would want to buy stuff with the Sher abuse that you gave you stuff.

You can donate your stuff to us ^_________^

Hm, I don't see this happening to me. At least not so violently.... It would take something extreme for me to actually destroy my stuff rather than selling it away. Even when i quit playing MMO's a few years ago I actually gave my stuff away rather than destroying it. I never really saw much about this melonpan dude except him walking around with hugging pillows and stuff... that's a bit too extreme to me so maybe he needed to lay it off? Still the insult was uncalled for even though it was kind of funny considering his background. ^^

I actually had a friend who "Graduated" and although he was quite scornful towards the culture for a while he did sell me most of his collection for a bargain price. 1 USD for a revoltech? :D There was a girl involved... But I can see how he wanted to at least tone it down a bit. Atleast he kept his DVD's.

Personally I'm way to passionate about everything I do. There will always be haters. Even at the gym when working out there will be haters cause you're more fit than them, people who bash you cause you're not good enough at whatever... even though they don't do it themselves... Just need to ignore them and live your own life just like Danny says. :) If one was only to do what other people approved of you would end up sitting inside and never going out just waiting for your end to arrive. O_o

I never actually knew that there was a term for someone who ceremoniously graduates from being an otaku. I would have sold those figurines on eBay or something from cash instead of destroying them (which is also fun as well)... XD

I think people just gradually decrease in otaku fandom during the course of their lives from just maturing and such. Or they can also grow in fascination and never really grow out of it... ^___^

OMG! Poor girls. My room always have space fr them. JKJK.
Then, really, a waste.

I don't see myself going throught Datsu-ota anytime as well.
I am very proud of my otaku-ness. Everytime there is self introduction, i will tell people i am an otaku and share with them my collection.

Went to his blog and kind of translated the stuff he wrote, was surprised that he bashed Danny.. And his grandmother also thought that Shana was Barbie.. o_0

Actually, it is a good thing.
We're living in a known evil.
Congratulations to him who graduated~^_^

I'm not ashamed of my hobbies and interests at all. It's my life and I like what I like. Nothing else matters.

Man the otaku graduation really looks sad in a way. Doesn't he feel the pain breaking all the "assets"? He really should sell them all off at a second hand value and recover some cash to live a "proper" life.

I think is not the only one who feel like that, i'm pretty sure some other members here are like me .... when i speak about ly hobbies it's like everyone around think i'm a freaking retarded because i like some creepy stuff ....
You even post an article about it some time ago danny, people who was sending you mail to stop showing creepy stuff on your website ...
I don't know what to think about it anymore ...

D;
I really hope Melonpan will come back...

It's always so sad to see people leave their otaku title behind.

so sad to see what Melonpan did with his stuff ;_;

This must be a joke... right? =<
I do think there will be a monent in life I will slow down on buying figures, but never will my love for Japan decrease, it was there even before I learned about anime and figures.

People should never be scared of what people think about there hobbies/lifestyle etc if people ever look down on your or think your weird then its they who are the ones that are really missing out and generally they will be the ones who are like sheep and copy everything what other people says is cool or should be doing, when it actuality they are the most closed minded ignorant people you could ever meet.

I could easily do the same with other people hobbies/likings e.g. I personally cant stand football but know millions do when all that happens is somebody kicks a ball around a field and people think its the best thing on earth, and even though I cannot see the slightest reason why people think its great, I would never put somebody down for it if its something they love and what they love to do then its there choice.

So anybody who is worried what people might think about there hobby you really shouldn't be as literally any hobby from Anime to football can be seen as weird/strange to somebody who is ignorant, close minded or just doesn't having a liking for it.

Ive been going off anime and otaku culture for a while now (i blame too much moe and the decline of anime quality) but i have still kept 4 or 5 of my absolute favourite figures. Destroying them, then insulting otaku seems a bit silly. I made a small fortune selling my figures on here and ebay.

I'm not embarrassed being an otaku since it's my hobby and passion. My peers and friends know about it and they aren't really bothered by it. We should all live the lives that we want to live, not live a life that is the same as others. That would be boring.

However, over-obsession is not a good thing so there should be a limit :X Anyway, I'm not gonna quit being an otaku, not anytime now.

人形たちは可愛そう。。。T_T;

From what i saw he only wrote that he droped the "moe" part of the otaku-dom and goes for more serious things, like the Mushishi posters. ;)

I didnt read it completly since i though it's just a big laugh and one of his funny things again and thats what i still think even without reading it 100%. :)

He is just a funny guy like that, i agree that i would never put my stuff in the garbage tons either but guess he has soooo much that he doesnt mind one or he will just wash it very good? Who knows, it's his stuff and he sacrificed it for some pictures that would have never been created in any other normal way! ;)

Loved the Tsuksa feed-me pic btw, awesome - i feel a bit sorry for her and want to feed her. :)

Idk but it looks like he switched from moe posters and all that over to some new ones lol i think it was more of a change idk but i just looked at his blog looks like he messing around with allot, and takeing lots of pictures b4 and after and in between of changing lol...

~Cool down folks he is still among us~ Don't believe stuff on the internwebs until it's confirmed.
You will know why I said that when the time comes lol

was shocked at his decision to destroy his girls... should've just send the mt ome >.<

I would never be embarrassed about my hobby. I can't call myself a hardcore Otaku, but still. I love my figures, anime and manga, and never in hell that i will let it go ^^

I am shocked just like others (instead of shock and outraged), instead of auctioning it off evil-bay. Since it is his stuffs he has the right to do as he please :D
Happy Graduation !!

How...How could he... YOU DESTROYED UR FSN FIGURINES ARGH!!! utterly mutilated em -_-" Should have given em to me =P

Nyaaa...those pictures made me sad :( I'd tend to think it's a joke anyway because of the over the top extent he went to. Plus some people are saying it is now. Still, those drilling and destruction pictures upset me a bit. Or maybe I'm just weird and personify my figures. I wouldn't ever be able to damage my figures on purpose. I'd just feel sad for them is all. They brought you joy at some point, supposedly, so to treat them so badly almost makes me cry. I'd have to find them a good home so they can still bring others joy. But hey, I cry a lot, so maybe it's just me.

But as for growing out of otakuism, it happens to some. No reason to think bad of the person because of it. Personally, I don't think one should let themselves be pushed out of it due to feelings of shame or someone else, as they might regret it later, but everyone is different. I doubt I'll ever want to "move on" from being an otaku. I've never been ashamed of it and I never will. Plus no one will be able to change that part of me. The only thing that's left is my own feelings changing on their own, which I still doubt will happen, although one can never be sure.

I wonder if melonoan is giving away his stuff. I would love to own some thing from the legendary Melonpan.

please danny, you must understand how many of us feels, I really hope melonpan is just joking, because if not we all feel offended by what he is doing, drilling figures or trashing stuff, is very offensive, if he didnt wanted to be bashed, then he shouldnt take that kind of photos

Let him do what he wants Although, its a waste of resources, and worth a lot of money, it's still his money and his figures. He can blow up all his figures for all I care, 1 less super otaku is not going to end this community, but merely supplanted by another one. Just let the man be, he may be going thru a life changing experience right now, and it is not easy.

may all the otaku items rest in pieces(peace) T_T

it pains me to see such awesome figures go to waste...
why don't you just send them all to me instead? :D

Uuugghh, my brain can't comprehend why he would break all those figure and just throw them away, atleast make a pretty penny from them. Or even donate them.

Oh my.
Why did one move from one extreme to the other...

Now, I found Cotton on the tv screen. I love it !
Have you eaten the willow which is a sweet of Nagoya ?

After Melonpan linked to it... reading the comments here is hilarious.

It was one of his more obvious trollposts, though I suppose this isn't as obvious when you can't speak German. And no, google translations do not count.

Have you even looked at the original post? He was carting dakimakuras around on a children's play tractor. While sitting on it. While being photographed by his girlfriend.

I'd consider him 'incurable'.

I had my Datsu-ota like one year ago, it was when I moved to my new place. I threw many of my figures and posters, I only kept some figures, also my mangas, but I also gave away some manga titles, for example my japanese Bleach mangas to a lucky guy. :)

The reason for this is zettai-most-def because of a girl i bet, damn 3d pigs -_-; (no offence to 3d ota-girls out there hehe -_-;).

HOLY SHI- Melonpan ! O.O An awesome otaku is gone :'(

I nearly screamed when I saw that Rin was tron apart by a saw and a drill , THE HORROR

Something dramatic must have changed him from giving up his Otaku life .

This also reminded me of the hit Drama TV show " Densha Otoko " as densha wanted to graduate from being an Otaku just so that he could date a beautiful girl but then he realised he cannot live without being an Otaku because being an Otaku is what he is . He showed his girlfreing his Otaku room and he was brave enough to tell her that he is proud to be an Otaku . Great Show indeed ^^ .

Ah, politeness everyone, be polite and respect the man. Please do rethink the good comments left by some of our members about Melonpan. We're not here to call him a sob or whatever evil name we can think of because we cannot claim superiority by calling him names or branding him as an "idiot". We don't know him in real life and what he posted here in the internet is only half the story of what really happened.

I honestly felt a slight twinge of jealousy seeing figures I may never set my hands upon but the ugre of trolling him for it did not occur to me. Trolling upon other people's decisions puts us in a much disadvantageous position because we're gnawing off society and reinforcing a behavior that stigmatizes us from the rest of the world.

I hope people stop blaming everyone...even blaming everybody for mistakes and offenses taken. Let us just hope Melonpan took the RIGHT DECISION for HIS OWN LIFE and that he does not regret it later on. As for us in the community, we may or may not leave being an otaku and this is an important lesson for us to remember.

And if its all part of a great joke, let it be and let's relish the event :)

I find disapproval of my hobbies an impetus for improving other parts of my life--like doing better in school--to take away from that criticism. This works against some people. While I am not as deeply engrossed in otakudom as some others, I know that the more time and energy you devote to something, the more likely that desire will crash (unless it's something that's not mutually exclusive like hugging kittens or getting licked by puppies).

I was thinking to put a post on how I feel about being an otaku, and now I feel a little dizzy @___@, I was planning to put how great meronpan and danny are as otakus... sob

Well, I have been somewhat of a collector in many ways since I was young. Started off with Transformers and the like. Now, my interests range from Anime to Comics to Transformers. So, collecting and a like of American and Japanese pop culture is already part of me and actually defines me. So, if I ever lose interest in my hobbies, it would be safe to say that I would lose myself as well.

Having a kid is one of the main reasons why many people get out of their hobbies, that and getting married. This also happens very often in the Transformers fandom.

I have an easy solution to that. Don't get married and don't have kids. You'll be so much freer and have more money and space to yourself. :)

);

poor figs T_T

that.. was the saddest thing i've read in recent history.

*sadface*

I'm not afraid to show my otaku side, I wear my shirts and proudly show my figures and posters to my mother's friends when they come over to visit, who seem rather surprised and interested :3

*cries* We'll miss him.

日本でOTAKUである事は、とても息苦しい事なんだよー

Why would you mutilate your figures when you can make money off of them? Especially Rin since she could sell for a lot! Serial killer in the making. lol that was harsh but I can't help but feel offended by what this ex-otaku is doing.

Dear Danny, if you are going to 'throw in the towel', just give me all of your Gunpla collection.

I haven't cared what people thought about me for years, though it probably (very questionably) helps that I have an extremely low opinion of myself anyways. Though, I do get annoyed when people who have no idea what they're talking about when it comes to anime/manga and gaming start talking as though they're some kind of authority on matters since they read an article in the paper or whatever or start talking down to me.

If I was ever going to dump a bunch of stuff, I'd at least give away what I didn't want to keep or try to sell it off instead of actually destroying it all.

I don't know his reasons, but I'm straight sure that I wouldn't do that :/

At least for me, otakuness is not only a hobbie, but a way of living and even thinking: a passion; something that surpasses a simple hobbie. Even if I didn't have my otaku stuff with me I would still consider myself an otaku, and I would still conserve my otaku-ish habits :S

When I see "big otakus" "falling down" it just gets on my nerves. I can understand that your otaku spirit may have been losing its bright more and more... but was that all? Were all these awesome years, moments, experiences and even all that money spent... for nothing? Was it only a part-time hobbie for you, just like reading a newspaper or watching a match on TV? I dunno, you'd better have a really good reason to let it all go waste :/

Besides, I don't see the sense in getting rid of all your otaku stuff by throwing it away, ripping it and hammering O_o
In the worst of the cases, if you had to get rid of all that why didn't he sell it on eBay or maybe give it to a friend?

I could understand that he wants some change in his life and all that, I think that in this case this would be a very drastic measure for me if it did happen to me, more so with stuff that points at a particular time in my life. I have been in this spot before, and have come back from it in a more serious way, not just buying everything and anything.

I do agree with Dany in the sense that I really like my hobbies, and would never be ashamed of them, be it anime, video games or any other Otaku stuff. It has never got in the way of my studies back then, my job right now, or my personal life with friends, family or love interests. It's a hobby, plain and simple, but if at some point you feel it get's in your way, then by all means, drop it.

I am not sad for him, au contraire, I am happy kinda, cause he is doing what he thinks it's right for him. So, GO! GO! Meronpan, your figures won't miss you, but some of your readers will. Best of luck.

I find his recent action weird. Sure he can decide to stop his hobby but why this? I mean I will not throw anything out if it's worth selling and it looks like he broke stuff worth a fortune. Sure it's his financial loss, but I still find it odd.

Also he isn't nice. He claim otaku to act like little girls. He then uses Danny as a... well.. I guess I would freely translate it as "an example of how bad it can be". He is 40 years old and famous for playing with dolls and not famous for his wife?

Let's look at the last sentense again. He is famous for what he writes online (which we could consider his job as we all know it generates an income), but he isn't famous for his wife. So people should be famous for their wifes and not their jobs. This would make Einstein quite bad since I will presume that quite a lot of you knows what he did, but don't even know if he was married or what the name of his wife was. (looked this up right now and discovered he was divorced and married his cousin the same year... I never knew before now that he ended up being married to a member of his own family)

Somehow I think Danny is doing the right thing. I mean I would find it odd if he started to talk a whole lot about his wife. Then it would just be one of those common typically boring blogs. Your own family life is interesting but it's boring to hear about a stranger's family life (too much of it anyway). Besides I think it's a mental illness not to have any private life, like putting up webcams in the entire house and leave them on 24 hours a day.

I saw in some comments here that this is fake and that it's actually just a (cruel and painful LOL) joke? I dunno. I can't confirm it myself because I don't speak German~ orz

Anyways I don't see myself "graduating" from being an otaku. I have not "graduated" from my past hobbies. Back when I was a kid, I like building Legos and drawing. Now, although I don't buy Lego anymore, I still build stuff (building Zoids and Gundam kits, etc). I still draw too, although not as much back then. So I probably won't stop being an otaku. I feel that i wouldn't be myself if I threw it away, or any of my hobbies for that matter.

Destroying those dolls seems like a lot of fun actually!^^

He went crazy. That's sad. I feel sorry for all the figures and posters etc. that got torn apart. I think that melonpan's way of throwing away and destroying everything at once is wrong. Even if he wanted to stop being an otaku, he shouldn't have done it so quickly. It's like with quitting smoking. Many experts say that it's better to smoke less and less and gradually quit completely. This must apply also to "datsu-ota" process.
I don't see myself graduating. I can't even imagine it. It would have a very big effect on my lifestyle.

Oh no!! a great lost in the Otaku community!!
Ok, I think I understand he wants to do other things and persue other dreams, but destroy all your otaku and anime collection?!? and the worst part (I think its the worst) its destroying your figurines?? (No figure deserves an ending like that)

I hope he return back to the otaku path..

lol guys, calm down.
That's just hardcore blogger Melonpan in Action.

Sorry for double posting but I just remembered something interesting regarding this issue (or sort of this issue).

I was once in a doll shop. I never bought anything for myself but I was dragged along with my sister because she wanted a doll house and not just something regular, but a good one which would hopefully last a lifetime. I was there to look at building material and to figure out if any of it was worth buying. It should be easy to build and durable for years. Also she wanted electric light in every room and I had to figure out how to do that as well.

Anyway the owner of the shop was an old woman who really wanted to talk. She said one thing I remembered now. "why is it that playing with dolls is childish while it's ok for men to spend years building a model railroad?"

I have been thinking about this once in a while. If somebody havea doll house "in an too old age", then it will be with a whole different level of detail just like a model railroad can't really be compared to a toy train for kids. An hobby with an object isn't about the object itself but what you put into it. I mean why is collecting dolls for display wrong if collecting stamps for display is ok?

Having said this I will still say that personally I wouldn't collect dolls. I will stick with my model railroad ^^

All of his effort is go "Wasted"...Why? being a Otaku is not embarrasment to a person (Especially play w/a doll) for true is i play a doll but to clean it...For 15 years of being a otaku,i don't throw all my stuff...Just put in the box!!!

COTTON 懐かしい。MEGA DRIVE だ。

Melonpan さんが、figure を壊したり、抱き枕をゴミ箱に入れておくところを写真に納めてるのはパフォーマンスだよね。そうでなかったら、ちょっと極端から極端に走っている気がするなー。

> 他の人の考えで、自分の好きなこと、やりたい事を追いかける事をやめたら、それは自分の人生ではなく、他の人の人生のために生きて行くと決めると同じ事だ。
> なので、他の人の考え方はどうでもいい。自分のやりたい事をやれば良い。さもないと、死ぬ直前に頭の中では後悔のことばっかりが見える。
このあたりのダニーさんの考え方は好きです。共感します。このブログを読み始めたきっかけはこの記事だ(http://www.dannychoo.com/adp/jpn/1691/%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E3%83%95%E3%82%A9%E3%83%88%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A9%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AF+4.html)

好きなことがある人生、やりたいことをやれる人生は素晴らしい。
好きなことが見つからない人や、好きだったことが嫌になった人は早く次の好きなことが見つかるといいね。

GAHHHH We have lost a valuable soldier!! T___T
sayonara Melonpan
aww Tohsaka!! T___T
WHY DID HE DESTROY THEM!!! All that money >___<!!!!!!!!!!!!
at least he could've gave them away ^^ >__<

Reminds me of the bit in the Densha Otoko ("Train Man") TV series where he decides to stop being an otaku and sets all his figures adrift in a box on the river - then comes home to find the box on the table, as someone has found it and posted it back to him. Maybe this won't happen in this case... I can understand someone losing interest in any hobby - I stopped building figure kits because they were just too damn hard and my perfectionism was driving me up the wall - but the viciousness of this suggests the man is depressed, or wasn't really into it in the first place. I would have taken that Rin off him...

Oh my gosh look how controversial this became!

hehe this comments its only eng comments i found on melonpan blog

Danny Choo: I have faith, Melonpan shall return to the Moe side. The Moe is strong with you. Search your feelings.

Melonpan: Oh please dear god! Send me a dollfie so can ruin her for marriage and find back to the bright side of moe life!

love from russia

MP

Looks like he's just getting rid of figures and posters. Is he still going to zealously follow the anime community? I don't have that many figures and posters plastered around my room. I'm actually thinking of getting rid of some of them. However, I think I watch enough anime to make up for it. Does that mean I've also graduated?

I wish melonpan luck on his future endeavours, whatever they might be, and to tell him that his time as a fan of anime and its related cultures has been well spent, whatever others might say.

Datsu-ota...It must be a painful process to go through...

Perhaps a 2D girl dumped him, and he couldn't live with the shame?

Calm down, guys. He said that it was all just a joke.
http://www.meidocafe.jp/2009/05/27/benehmen-sich-otakus-wie-kleine-madchen-aka-out-of-moe-20/#comment-33155

I still have to hit him for damaging the lovely Rin!

He probably could have made a lot of money selling his figures and whatnot instead of just destroying them.

Please...sending it over would be a much better option...

Why anyone wants to leave the world Otaku? is incredible, I feel good about my hobbies anyone can tell me what to do

Looks like the kinda thing that happened to me with Star Wars, one day mental about the next just a normal salary man.
Of course now ive gotten into anime and crazy about that but without all the got to own every figure complex.

THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!! THIS IS A DOLLICIDE (like a genocide, but dollz aren't ppl...) !!!!!
WHY?? WHYYYYYYYYYY??? (drops on his knees crying)

While I can understand and fathom any fans out there may loose interest over time and/or at one point give up on their otaku hobby and lifestyle (be it any for of otakuness) I would expect them to gradually loose interest and dispose or sell the goods they no longer need in a more normal fashion.

If a former otaku really reacts in the way depicted in his post, disposing of it all with a great deal of pent up emotions, then I can only ponder what the sudden reversal of passion into disappointment and even hate is all about and how it was brought on.
Did the otaku expect something from his or her hobby that was perhaps misplaced to begin with, who knows?

I'm not ashamed of my hobbies and interests, everyone has his or her own passions that all make us unique, whether it's watching football, collecting stamps, anime, building scale models,...
To each is own you know?

If it's one of melonpan's hoax/troll posts, then I can fathom it, he's made similar ones before. But if his formerly overflowing passion now suddenly has changed into near hate that he even smashes figures, then I can only ponder what brought on this change and what his passion was made of to begin with.

The horror!

Destroying his collection just reminds me of how some otaku boycott products.

quote : " If I can work at Amazon on the management team, Microsoft as a Product Manager, get job offers from Apple and Google even though they know I run my own company, appear on CNN and a Nikon commercial with the BBC coming round to film me next week, buy a house on affiliate earnings selling otaku goodies and travel za warudo talking about otaku culture then I must be doing something right"

Something you do very well is self praise and auto compliment lol :)
by the way how many weeks will that Nikon add stay on first page lol
Come on...
i like your website and the trendemous amount of information there is on it on various japanese subject (even i live myself in Tokyo and will be buying house this month), but laterly your self confidence is going maybe a little too much up lol

For some weird reason those pictures made me rofl

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!

I'm not embarassed. For me it's better to have a anime poster than posters of sweaty men's playing soccer

=_="

To quit is one thing, to destroy things is another :(

Could have just sell everything instead (I believe he is selling some)

yeah just sell it over..
u can get some money on thats...
how cruel..
drill them..

I like how this turned into a warzone in no time and now after 17-18 hours it has more than 300 comments. Looks like such an event really activate a whole lot of people. Melonpan sure got famous for this one and people will remember it for ages :D

You know, I've been thinking that if I ever leave this otaku-world behind I'm going to entrust my possesions to someone who cares about them because if I don't do this my relatives would never give to them the importance of people who shares this marvellous hobby.

I have just one life, I'm very much older than many of you but I still collect figures, Idol's dvd, music, play videogames, etc. and I'm happy so much with this kind of life and I'm not going to give everything up because others don't seems to like it.
I have my own family and my job, I attend people hurted who needs help and sometimes mine saves lives, so, I'm proud to be who I am.

He made his mind and that's fair wether we like it or not.

Sorry, I'm one Haibane who's not going beyond the walls anytime soon.

Danny's Litany in this post about.. this being our lives.. is very true.

I'm not ashamed of my hobbies, I just don't share them with people who I know will be critical of them.. Cause lets face who needs more stress then life already throws there way.

But, even when I have.. I listened to their jeers and took their stares.. but never did I stop doing what I want.

Being yourself , and following your dreams are extremely important. Sad part is, I really have hit a point where I have no motivation to come up with new things to strive for.. And I notice that I've found myself in a huge rut do to that fact. Need to find some new goals to push forward too.

Sad...
Anime is a hobby that should be enjoyed as all other hobbies are.
Pressure by society to conform is harming this wonderful thing...

I agree with others - it's too bad he feels the need to "graduate" because of society pressure.

My husband (yeah, I'm a woman) and I are both otaku. I have the feeling we always will be. Our house is full of anime, manga, video games, figures, and so on. Sometimes when we have adults over they're surprised and some may think it's childish. But this is what we like. Why should we give it up? Heck, we're going to Anime Expo together again this year.

That's a little extreme.

Why would he do that???
The horror

he never was otaku

Well, everybody has the freedom of do what they want to do anytime, but I think a real otaku never, ever throw his goodies at this manner.

I was shocked by the photos of destruction.

I think this guy must sell the items, or exchange them, or even give as gift to any people who can apreciate them.

I think quite alot of people here take this all too seriously..lol.

its one thing to look down on certain subcultures of life that have nothing to do with you. Its another to bash a subculture and look down on it, especially with that quote, that you yourself was once apart of. so yes this melonpan person is a sissy and a hypocrite so begone and good riddance cause i love my hobbies as do many others and if you yourself wanna leave it all behind, so be it. but there's this thing called "grace" that melonpan somewhat never learned

I think that that's horrible, maybe he was being flamed and couldn't take it? It must be bad if he doesn't even sell or give away his stuff...

I think some members are almost taking Melonpan's actions as a personal offense. I guess that's not the point here. His actions are directed to himself and himself only, if it's his decision, well, we may be sad but we cannot do a thing about it.

And I wholeheartly agree with Danny. One should never live worried about what others (may) think about one's life. I mean, I do have some problems being an otaku, but most of them are related to people that does not know the meaning of the word "respect". And others are just some hypocrites that say that I spend too much money on "toys" while they spend tons of money with drinks, parties and expensive stuff such as clothes and perfumes. My answer to this people is simple: I respect their opinions but I ignore them since they have nothing to do with the way I live. That's all. ^^

I never thought someone could change so quickly,
starting to hate what we liked the day before.

That's the first time I see something like this.

wow. this post sure has a lot of comments. heheh! I'm thinking this is all a joke though. The way he took a pic at those posters being torn down but was still kept intact didn't really register to me as true.

But in any case he did quit or anyone thinking of quitting the otaku life, the least they could do is at least sell your collection to us ^^

That is just--i think im gonna be sick.

I wonder how long it will be before he realizes the mistake he has made.

Hahaha I love it

Ah common!!! I don't even have any figma nor a hug pillow, I cried at the site of this, don't destroy it, give it away to someone who wants it.

Common! >_>

This is the saddest thing I have ever seen. T_____T Okay, so I exaggerate, but still. First off, he really did not have to stop being an Otaku. He should have been courageous enough to be proud of this things that he loved, like our lovely Danny is. :3

Secondly, GOOD GOD WHY DID HE HAVE TO DESTROY THEM?! There are so many people that would love to have those for free. And if he sold them, he could have made alot of money, that could have gone towards a new suit or a laptop, or whatever.

So sad.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THAT'S DARK MAGIC!!!
Much more worse if it's in the Caribbean, Christianity is being PRACTISED!
Sounds like unleashin' hell!
We might get knocked down by PARANORMAL INVESTIGATORS!!!

Don't bother if this freaked ya out, but it's a nightmare if that same procedure was repeated to humans of 100% flesh 'n' bone

A lot of otakus are f**ked up, but being an otaku does not mean you are f**ked up. The figures and moe posters and ... weren't the problem. Him, his low self-esteem and lack of social skill were.

I really feel bad for Melonpan.
Why?

Well, he's acting in an immature and impulsive way, and his motivation is based on a series of fallacies.
He's noticed that (in his opinion) many otaku don't have a successful life in the "real" world, and (also in his opinion) he doesn't have a successful life.

Well, first of all, the definition of "success" is pretty subjective, and I know of of people who have stable relationships, who have stable carreers and who are doing well economically and are otaku or hobbyists of one sort or another. Perhaps it's true that many people *become* otaku because they are dissatisfied with their lives in the "real" world, but very often these people finally make it without leaving their hobbies behind. And, although Melonpan somehow wishes it to be otherwise, abandoning your hobbies isn't a magic formula that leads to success.

Second of all, I sense that a major issue for Melonpan is that he feels that Moe-kei otaku are somehow not conforming to some model of masculinity. I don't know why he's so insecure about his masculinity, but he could deal with it in therapy as opposed to lashing out against the very things that have brought him happiness in the past. Perhaps he's internalized the destructive cricism of relatives, coworkers or acquaintaces who deep down were *jealous* of his passion. (Not everybody has a hobby, but people who don't usually wish they had one but can't find something they like)

In the end, even if something is bad, leaving it cold-turkey is always counterproductive, and destroying his stuff is just plain wrong.

OMG.......................*speechless*

Why is he doing all this? Why give up when you love it so much than anything in the world? He shouldn't be influence or care about what people think the most important thing is what you think and not others. I had follow this rule until now and it's going quite well for me.

Come back if you feel like it Melonpan we will always welcome you.

Danny,your Japanese is enough to understand.
I'm learning Slovak to make my dream sure.
I like my hobby,too.
I'm afraid my English is too poor to understand. :)

A little late on this topic since my mobo failure has somewhat restricted my online activities, but I consider my otaku life style the my ultimate form, it's impossible to graduate from my ultimate form now is it not?

gah what a waste.. i felt like my heart got ripped in two. That will never EVER happen to me....hoepfully.

Heh, late April Fools joke?? (good thing I read the comments) LOL, srsly, I was about to post an essay, though I'd still kick him for this. D:

Well, I am an otaku who stick to anime and games, basically more towards a collector. Seriously, just by seeing someone destroying his own collection is really heart pain. Well, at least sell or give it to someone so that his memories and love towards his previous hobbies can be passed on to the others. Whatever it is, people who wish to leave their hobbies should choose a better way :P

This is the moe horrible thing I've ever seen!

Is this one of his jokes? Well its his money, I doubt he would really say/do that though. I also doubt anyone would throw stuff away like that knowing they could at least profit a bit back by selling it. Very suspicious indeed.

I noticed several people had mentioned this was a joke on the part of melonpan, but they didn't provide a link or quote of where he says it... Well here it is, straight from melonpan's blog:

> Melonpan sagt:
> 28. Mai 2009 um 10:55

> Liebe alle! Kommt mal wieder runter. w

> Wer zwischen den Zeilen lesen und Ironie vor der bitteren Realität unterscheiden kann, der dürfte unschwer
> bemerkt haben, dass wie immer keine Dakimakuras (welche sich übrigens ausgezeichnet waschen lassen) etc. zu
> Schaden kamen. Ich beschwere mich darüber, dass Otakus zu kleinen Mädchen verkommen und mit Puppen spielen,
> während ich im gleichen Post selbst mit Puppen spiele. Na, alles klar? Wunderbar.

> Hochachtungsvoll

> MP

Basically: "this is all a joke and a bit of irony, and notice that the Dakimakuras weren't damaged and were well washed and I actually was playing with the dolls in the pictures too. Is it all clear? Wunderbar!"

atleast sell the stuff you have =O

Well said~ Its too bad that he'll be gone and those lovely figures and Dakimakura will go to waste. This "graduation" seems like a giant waste of money to me :p Unless he sells everything. NOT TO THE TRASH MAN!

Danny those final words hit me hard lol, thank you for putting things in perspective and i appreciate all you do. you are definitely a model for success and your outlook on life.

"this is *your* life - your short life, your arms, your legs, your will. Do what you can - do it now"
That hit me, thank you. i am gonna take chances i spent the night looking at colleges and was thinking nahh im fine wit community college, but after that short seemingly unimportant sentence was read i made my mind up. thanks im taking a shot in the dark and applying to a CSU

will take care of stuff!?

If he's having a kid I would understand why it might not be that great to have dakimakura and stuff like that lying around but you can't really lie to who you are. I think he should have sold them or something but I guess he's trying to show his wifey he's serious ^^;

I don't mind if he wants to stop but did he HAVE to destroy all his stuff?

Seriously

I dont mind taking care of them for Myself...you could send over some of the "normal" ones over here....^^;
you seriously wasted alot of money.(slowly casts Javelin on melonpan)

Ahh, let him do what he will. There's no stopping it now.

What a colossal waste of money! I'm sure there are others this person knows to adopt out his collection to!!! All to go join the rat-race and be "normal"!

If anyone read Melonpan's comments (even with the Google translator), they'd realize it was a gigantic troll.

What a terrible prank, but it looks like he got the attention he wanted. He does have an impressive collection though and I'm glad it really is just a bad joke (although most people here don't seem to know it).

Hmm... before this whole fiasco, I never even noticed that Melonpan and Meronpan were two separate people. Enlightening. =^_^=

NOOOoO!! can i have your stuff!? LOL ^^

didn't really know about melonpan until 20 minutes ago but that seems like such a waste, i mean he had such an awesome collection why destroy all of it =(

Some otaku just comes and goes. Here in Singapore is the same for some of the people I know. People are just not into collecting figures at all. All they do is watch anime video online (Subbed)

I do not think that I would go to the extreme he did when (IF) I ever quit Otaku but I do not plan on giving it up any time soon. I am 33 and have been at it since the original Robotech (macross) aired in Canada in the mid 80s

I don't understand. Doing this does that mean he's lost interest in it all. Otaku? Is that the name of someone who gets rid of things like this? Otaku is a person who plays with dolls? I always think of dolls as little girls who play and dress and undress dolls. The figures that got destroyed in my opinion are not dolls, they're action figures. In my opinion, the figures (action figures) are extremely extremely detailed. They could not possibly be called dolls in my opinion. Dolls that little girls play with have removable clothes for a girl to dress and undress. These action figures should not be allowed for little girls to play with because of the very intricate detailing. I wouldn't even think of playing with them. They're just extremely gorgeous to look at. That's my opinion. I am constantly amazed at the talents those who create these figures. I'd love to have the gift for creating these superb and extremely gorgeous action figures. Thank You.

D: after reading this and looking at all the grotesque images of defacing all of those innocent anime goodies and made me sick to my stomach. why would you do such a thing D: its like making us feel bad that we don't have the chance to get all of the amazing goodies you had and putting salt on the wound by defacing it =[ i have a hole in my heart and it hurts. save me somebody!!!

This might be possible if an otaku "perishes from life" and has no one to take it's place. So in case of your defunction, i will have to perfrom that datsu-ota, by simply cremating all of your otaku stuff, after you've been buried back in London. But the worst thing is, after your death, your house might be sold to someone else and this site, might be plugged off for good

im about to cry....T_T

crying....T_T

still crying...T_T

wont stop crying...T_T

hope someone will take care of them or ill take car of them
huhuhuh
those kinds of figures cause a lot in our place...

Why destroy the figures?! Why not try to sell them to some other otakus/people who want them?
I could never have done what he did to Rin and Nanoha = *shakes head*

I never enjoyed watching horror movies, but these gives me even more than just horrors -.-"
When you bought something and when the time comes that you don't need them anymore, you can always sell them back.
Surely this won't be happening to me, those things are my materials of inspiration!
My treasure that I got it all by myself.
Well, even though I have to start over again from the beginning, I still got the enjoyment out of it, like when you play games, when your level is high, you'll get pretty frustrated if you don't leveled up anymore. But when you played it again from the beginning, the enjoyment of the 'newbie' feel is coming back at you~

"Enjoy everything" is written on Revoltech's Yotsuba Summer Vacation DX stand, and that always become my light XD

huh i think it pathatic that if you let others influence you in what you do and think

that is a crime against humanity!

If I was ever going to encounter that phase I would atleast sell my figures, so that I could have money to buy new ones later.

lol wad we are sissies who play with doll, u are the sissy one... i don't see why been a otaku suck even though i get embarrassed of it sometime lol melonpan GLHF maybe one day u will be back lol

(;ﾟдﾟ)！！！なに？！
There's no point of doing so！！！ If Mr.Melonpan sell all his things, he still can get some money, and have a better starting of what he plan to do......

I'm way too far from graduating being an otaku. I'm still getting in... so... my graduation might come with my death, I think. ^o^

Wow, that's just unbelievable.

There's no shame in being an Otaku, and that's a fact.

the guy could easily sold off those stuff on ebay and make some money from it unless he has bootleg items. there be moments where i would take apart a gunpla or blow up a fig, but only when i could afford to

but yeah, the saying goes. enjoy what you love, love what you enjoy

How odd. After nearly 30 years of trying to be "cool" with all the right clothes and the right way of speaking and never quite getting it right, I've finally come to terms with my emerging "otaku-hood." Now that I've decided to enter the lifestyle at 45 I hear of people leaving.