Matt Schley
December 4, 2023 
A recent Japanese survey pitted otaku vs. otaku to see which type of fans spend the most time and money on their hobbies. The report, put together by Yano Research Institute, surveyed men and women who either consider themselves otaku or have been labeled as otaku by multiple people.
In terms of pure numbers, manga fans came out on top, followed by anime, idol, video games, light novels, figures, doujinshi, and model kits.
In terms of pure consumption, PC tinkerers spent the most per year (about 105,000 yen). Next came idol fans with an average of 81,000 yen a year, then fans of maid/cosplay services (about 63,000 a year).
How about time spent? The number one in that category went to fans of Vtubers, who spent an average of 15.7 hours a week watching their oshis.
So idol fans didn’t “win” the number one slot for either money or time, but when you add them together, they come out on top: 25.3% of idol otaku spend over 10 hours a week and over 50,000 yen on fan activities.
Turns out a large segment of these idol fans are women from their teens to 30s, and around 25% are students, giving them more time to pursue their idol fandom.
“The average household income of idol otaku is not significantly different from that of other otaku, but they tend to spend more of their disposable income on activities,” said a rep from Yano.
There you have it. What type of otaku are you, and how much money and time do you spend on your fandom?
Source: Otakomu
