I think it means pervert. but im not sure

Nah, hentai means pervert. Or Perverted. Regardless. :P

Translated from japanese, it actually means "fanatic"

This, but I always view it as a fan of the Japanese culture since it is a Japanese word.

Otaku is a term alot of anime fanatic/followers call themselves. The ones that love the shows so much they collect merchandise and sometimes cosplay. That stuff.

It just means any person obsessed with any particular thing. Manga otaku is a person obsessed with manga, furry otaku would be a person obsessed with furries o.o.

Simple.

My brother -.-

fanatic 8P i iz otakuuuu *shot*

i say it's someone who strives to watch many animes x3 i do that instead of watching tv, it's a lot better to me XD

I am going to go wiiiith lonely nerd who thinks his waifus are actually in love with him.

setter på brillene*

Det er bare brukt for folk som for eksempel er veldig entusiastiske ovenfor for eksempel: anime. Det er oftest brukt som et kompliment i Japan. En slags hedersbetegnelse.

Utenfor Japan er det for det meste brukt som det også, men i noen tilfeller er det ment negativt og må tolkes i kontekst med resten av setningen ordet dukker opp i.

Sikkert bare ment hyggelig i de fleste sirkler du er i.
^.^

Otaku GENERALLY refers to a 'fanatic' of japanese culture/anime. I know this is the general use because I've hung out with many. lol.
Otaku's usually know alloooot about anime, or like anime alloooot. lol. :3

When in doubt, google: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otaku

I just follow the hacker philosophy. Otaku by itself is neither a good or a bad term.
It just means some has a special interest in something (just like "nerd").
Simpler said, it's not the interest itself but how you use it that will define your personal interest as good or bad.

That philosophy is the same reason I actually use the word "computer nerd" as a personal trait in my CV.
The only thing it says about me is that I'm a computer expert (with the education and work experience to back it up).
However employers with a negative view on computers wouldn't bother to contact me, and that's perfect for me

Someone who's main hobby is to collect anime/manga related merchandise is the general meaning.

There are two meanings:

1. Outside japan:

A person who is very interested in anime and japanese culture. They watch anime, read manga, but they usually watch a lot. In the west it doesn't carry the negative meaning like it does in japan. Many of them belive that japan is heaven when it comes to talking openly about anime. It isn't. This brings me to the second meaning:

2. In japan

In japan you can compare it to being called a nerd or even a furfag in the west. It carries a lot of negative impact and you should avoid being called an otaku in japan. The reason for the negative view is that many people in japan belive that being an otaku means that you are fat, anti social, perverted and in many cases, dangerous. The reason for this is that a couple of years ago Tsutomu Miyazaki killed 4 underaged girls. After searching his apartment they found around 7 000 tapes containing hentai and slasher films. He was hanged.

After that "incident" (which took place in 1988 - 1989) the public in japan started to look at otakus as potenially dangerous. In japan they don't look at the individual, like we do in the west, but rather the group. So if one otaku goes nuts (like Tsutomu Miyazaki did) then suddenly all otaku are bad.

So thats basicly what it means

THANK YOUUuUuuuUuu

it all makes sence now.