Otakus and Wedding Invitation Ideas – Nerd Friendly Designs

Otaku is the Japanese term for people with what are considered to be obsessive interests and it’s predominantly used to describe anime and manga fans.

The term ‘otaku’ is also used to describe anyone with hobbies that they spend more time, money or both on than most people do, and the term extends to football fans, sumo wrestling fans and even train enthusiasts.

However, it’s important to bear in mind that in Japan the word ‘otaku’ is actually considered offensive by many, which is perhaps the reason that it has become associated with those who willing play the role of outcasts.

Many anime and manga fans have long cultivated that role, that of the outcast, and many of them do it really well – perhaps a little too much so.
  

Anime and manga – Prominent characters 

There are more anime and manga characters than any geek could possibly hope to memorise in a lifetime – the Anime Characters Database has over 65,000 anime characters – though it’s probably a safe bet to say that some otakus have quite a high percentage of them memorised and can probably also recite their stats, etc. on request.

When geeks get hitched they more often than not use characters and graphics from popular anime and manga films and television shows, quite often using their favourite characters to represent themselves in a ‘cosplay’ – cosplay is short for ‘costume play’ and it’s spread from Japan to the rest of the world in spectacular style – fashion.
Here are ten of the most popular anime characters that geeks often dress as and represent themselves as on their nerd-friendly wedding stationery.

1.  Vegeta: An unabashedly nasty character, is it surprising he’s so popular?
2.  Haruhi Suzumiya: Schoolgirl Haruhi features prominently in many geeks’ dreams
3.  Lelouch Lamperouge: Another evil genius, one who revels in his nastiness
4.  Motoko Kusanagi: The sci-fi heroine from the classic ‘Ghost in the Shell’
5.  Ichigo Kurosaki: Anime fans can’t get enough of Ichigo’s sword
6.  Rei Ayanami: She is one of the most influential female anime characters of all     time
7.  Astro Boy: A truly classic character, though one who’s been overshadowed in recent    years
8.  Sailor Moon: Geek girls and guys alike still count themselves as fans
9.  Light Yagami: What is it with anime and narcissistic mass murderers?
10.  Bulma: She’s still a cosplay favourite!

Chances are even non-otakus would be familiar with at least a few of these legendary characters, though how inclined they would be to represent themselves as one of them on their wedding stationery is another story altogether.

When geeks get hitched  

Despite the lack of social skills that many geeks and nerds possess, from time to time they pluck up the courage to make contact with the opposite sex and some even make it as far as getting engaged – isn’t that cute?

Geeky graphic design services are therefore a natural choice for wedding invitations, and in a world that is increasingly obsessed with cutting edge graphics, the wedding invitations of geeky couples – even those who tie the knot with video game characters – are making more conventional couples quite envious and may even provide some couples with the impetus to get geeky.

Perhaps the most popular otaku wedding invitations are those featuring the delightfully nerdy couple represented as their favourite anime characters, with some including photos of themselves resplendent in cosplay.

Game geeks – Nerd friendly designs 

Gaming geeks are spoiled for choice regarding wedding invitation graphic design services and among the most popular requests are, as you probably guessed, Mario Bros with their blockish graphics that have wowed generations of geeky gamers.

Pac-man designed wedding stationery has also proven popular and like Mario Bros, not only with Japanese otakus but also with geeks the world over, plus Pac-man designs look cool and there are a lot of possibilities to explore. 

The big day – Decked out in costumes 

On the big day, follow up the wedding invitation in true otaku style with a cosplay wedding – don’t forget those super-cute Dragon Ball Z cake toppers! – and although not many parents would agree, you’ll look fantastic!

About the Author: Sonia Allen has been writing freelance for a business in the UK and with an online presence at www.pureinvitation.co.uk. Pure Invitation Limited is one of the leading providers of card making and design services.