Being a Christian and an Otaku
Date: July 24, 2025

It has been in mind for a few days about how we Christians deal with pop-culture; more specifically with anime, manga, Japanese games, and visual novels. I have tried searching this topic up on the internet, though I was not satisfied with the small search I was doing, so why not make a blog post about it, and talk about being an otaku as a Christian. (NOTE: Whenever I use the word “otaku”, I mean it in terms of anime, manga, Japanese games and visual novels. There are a lot of interests that are part of the otaku realm, but I am simplifying it just to make things easier.)

Christians have an interesting relationship with otaku stuff; there are some that love them so much to the point of obsession, some that are a fan of it but never going too far, some that feel concerned about the stuff in them (whether spiritual or sexual), and some who will be more than glad to destroy it when they have a chance to do so. I would like to say that I am at the border between the obsession part and not going way too far about it (lol). But this brings me to this question, what’s the reason with Christians having different views of otaku culture and its materials? Well, I think of it as how people react to pop-culture. It’s really popular among young people, and you see them everywhere on the World Wide Web. So ideally, we can be optimistic about otaku culture and use it to connect with others, and possibly use it to connect more easily with non-believers so we can relate to them on a more personal level. But then, boom, there’s a barrier: it has content that goes against Christian worldviews, whether it has religious/spiritual beliefs that are seen as demonic/heretical toward Christians, or has something sexual that can easily make us uncomfortable. When that barrier is there, it can cause a mixed reaction towards the culture and content. So, to some Christians, they see it as something irredeemable or that it came to the Devil. And while not all Christians reacted the same way, there are Christians who think that way and treat our brethrens harshly just because they love otaku stuff. It can really suck for the person who’s being targeted and it can bring them down because it comes from the people who should’ve been supportive to us since we believe in the same God. I believe a mature talk about otaku materials and how can a Christian could navigate the culture will be an enriching experience for all of us, and we can try to understand it and pop-culture in general so we can relate more with non-believers and not to be seen as “stuck-up people who hate fun”.

So, what’s my view on this? Well, I can understand why some Christians think it’s demonic, violent, or perverted; it’s literally shown to our faces for crying out loud XD. But this kind of mentality of seeing everything that’s pop-culture as “demonic” will not help you as a person, and especially as a Christian. While we can have our own convictions about the entertainment we consume (Romans 14 talks about this), it’s wrong to see our brothers and sisters as morons who are very “worldly” and that they could probably lose their salvation just because they liked watching Higurashi or something else. That’s what I hate seeing. So mix that with some of the stuff I enjoy being more on the “controversial” side, and now I have a recipe for some Christians to call me a retard.

As a Christian, there are some aspects of otaku culture and entertainment that make me raise an eyebrow (especially with some dubious and erotic content out there… bleh!), I still identify myself as an otaku. Why? Because I identify with something that brings me entertainment and community with other people, and it is probably the reason why I want to be a creative person in the first place. It sucks to see some Christians (and some who are called “Christians” but are actually not) to not only see it as inherently bad, but they also bully people like me just for liking them. It’s annoying and it really pisses me off when it happens. I hope one day we have a mature talk about otaku culture and entertainment so we can have an understanding and not insult each other, though I know it’s just idealistic and not realistic (since you cannot stop crazy people with what they think and act). But I hope that day comes and treat each other as brethrens in Christ

Thanks for reading, and God bless.