>Tellingly, the Japanese have a slang term for people like this: otaku. Literally meaning “one’s home,” the word emerged in the early eighties as slang for young adults who eschewed normal relationships in favor of the virtual worlds of manga, anime, and early video games.
It's hard taking an article seriously when it's wrong on such a basic fact like this. It comes off as someone who has no idea what they're talking about trying to make connections between things to sound informed and enlightening on a subject. Especially when all you need to do is read the wiki article [0]. The word is closer to "geek". How would 銃オタク (gun otaku) fit under the media umbrella of manga, anime, or video games?
The author of the article is a professional translator that has lived in Japan for 15 years. It's hard taking this criticism seriously when your authority here is Wikipedia as opposed to living in-country for a decade and a half.
His statement was in reference to the origin of the term, whose meaning has evolved over the years. Wiki isn't wrong, but neither is the author.
I'm not sure what point you're trying to make, but the very page you link to contradicts what you're saying. The author of this piece has made no error, you're just misunderstanding.
As your linked page explains, "otaku" was an old honorific that became slang for anime/manga/sci-fi geeks in the 1980s.
>The word is closer to "geek". How would 銃オタク (gun otaku) fit under the media umbrella of manga, anime, or video games?
Because, again as your link notes, over time the term expanded beyond its original association with media to mean intense fans of anything. Hence, "gun otaku".
You may want to reread your link, as you seem confused on the subject.
It's hard taking an article seriously when it's wrong on such a basic fact like this. It comes off as someone who has no idea what they're talking about trying to make connections between things to sound informed and enlightening on a subject. Especially when all you need to do is read the wiki article [0]. The word is closer to "geek". How would 銃オタク (gun otaku) fit under the media umbrella of manga, anime, or video games?
[0] https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%8A%E3%81%9F%E3%81%8F