An otaku, for anyone who doesn't know, is basically a comic geek, and manga comics and anime are treated very seriously in Japan. Otakus are freaks and misfits of course, but they are young people too, despite this unfortunate affliction. Their problems with sociability however make it rather more difficult for them to fulfil basic adult functions such as finding a job, earning a living and interacting meaningfully with the opposite sex. This is particularly a problem for Aoki Mon, a young 'manga artisan' whose medium is rather unconventional, the young man working with rocks instead of pen and paper.
Incredibly, despite his complete lack of social skills, a young woman called Akashi Koino is attracted to this loser, meaning that Mon might even lose his virginity. Koino clearly isn't a "normal" girl then, and in fact, she might even be more of an freak than Mon, indulging in cosplay (dressing up as your favourite manga character) and drawing and publishing her own fan manga. There's inevitably some exaggeration of the characteristics of otaku, but not much. (Sadly, I have to confess I got a kick out of seeing Koino's mum dressed up as Maetel out of GALAXY EXPRESS 999). There's not a great deal of realistic social observation of this phenomenon in OTAKUS IN LOVE, but it might be an eye-opener for an outsider to this world and it is at least very funny.
