''Otaku Girl'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

novel written by Louis Bulaong and published on June 23, 2021. February 5, 2021 The story was first posted as a webnovel, becoming noted for its postmodern elements and pop culture references, before being published as a book four months later. It is the sequel to Bulaong's

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

Escapist Dream ''Escapist Dream'' is a science fiction novel written by Louis Bulaong and published on July 26, 2020. September 05, 2020 The novel is set in a near future where virtual reality has become a norm and where geeks can use it to gain superpowers and ...

''.

Plot

The story takes place in a virtual reality world called the Escapist Dream, a place that allows anyone who visits it to gain superhuman abilities derived from characters in films, comics,

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...

, and other fictional media. A year before the start of the novel, the virtual reality world suffered a malfunction which trapped its visitors inside. They are then forced to fight for survival against rogue

artificial intelligences Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

who have begun attacking them. The main character of the story is GI, a teenage Japanese

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in '' Manga Burikko''. may be used as a pejorat ...

, who is forced to fight for her life inside the Escapist Dream. The protagonist of the first novel, Charlie Anderson, also returns to assist the trapped geeks. Both GI and Charlie must fight against powerful AIs who have taken over the different areas of the Escapist Dream, such as Stan City, the place inspired by American comic book and superhero fiction; Otaku Academy, a place inspired by Japanese manga and anime; Gamer's Den, an area inspired by video games and gaming culture; and the Library, an area influenced by

classic literature A classic is a book accepted as being exemplary or particularly noteworthy. What makes a book "classic" is a concern that has occurred to various authors ranging from Italo Calvino to Mark Twain and the related questions of "Why Read the Cla ...

Publication history

Author Louis Bulaong published ''Otaku Girl'' in February 2021 in web format through various online publications. The story was written as a

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

geek culture The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In the past, it had a generall ...

combined with GameLit elements. Bulaong intentionally made the writing style and story to be as "wacky as possible" by including

informal writing In literature, writing style is the manner of expressing thought in language characteristic of an individual, period, school, or nation. As Bryan Ray notes, however, style is a broader concern, one that can describe "readers' relationships with, t ...

memes A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...

, and

trope Trope or tropes may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept * Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device * Trope (music), any of a variety of different things ...

s. He also wrote it as a commentary to cancel culture. According to journalist Janet Webby, this gave the book a more postmodern feel, saying, " ulaongmakes the writing even weirder by pseudo- breaking the fourth wall a few times in hilarious ways."

Reception

The novel was met with positive reception by various websites upon release, June 27, 2021 with ''Royal Road'' giving it 4.55/5, ''Webnovel'' giving it 5/5, and '' Scribblehub'' giving it 5/5. April 30, 2021 During its first week on

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

, it became the best-selling non- Kindle Unlimited indie book, selling over 1,000 copies in the first 24 hours. It gained significant praise in the author's native country of the Philippines, becoming one of the best books written by a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

in 2021. June 23, 2021 Janet Webby from ''Indie Brag'' stated, "I've never read anything like it. It's like a postmodern novel for geeks and nerds; a lot of the things that happen in it are things an average reader wouldn't get. But it's hilarious if you know your anime and comic books." Literary critic Carl Hannigan from ''

Geeks The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In the past, it had a generall ...

'' gave it a 5 out of 5 rating, praising its surrealism while saying, "Otaku Girl is one of the best reflections of modern society that I've read this year. It is relatable, humorous, and sends a message to how we exist in the modern culture. I know I've become a bit too deep with this book, but overall, the humor and the story are amazing. If you're a hardcore geek, then I suggest you buy this book and have a great time laughing and crying." July 1, 2021

References

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External links

Otaku Girl
in ''Bookois'' 2021 science fiction novels Action novels Novels about virtual reality Young adult novels Postmodern novels Nerd culture Otaku Self-published books Internet memes