Otaku no Musume-san

Otaku no Musume-san (おたくの娘さん) is a Japanese comedy manga series by Japanese author Stu-Hiro. It tells about a young 26 year old otaku, who is suddenly visited by a young girl claiming to be his daughter. It was first serialized in Fujimi Shobo's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Dragon Age in 2006.

Plot
At the start of the series, Kanau Yukimura, a nine year old girl, appeared on Kouta Morisaki's doorstep, and claims that she is his daughter. Kanau went to meet him after her mother, Nozomi Yukimura had to run away from debt collectors. Kanau soon found out that her father is an otaku. After dealing with some problems early in the series, the two of them started living together in the same apartment. The main story surrounds the life of the father, Kouta, his daughter, Kanau, and how they deal with various situations usually involving Kouta's otaku lifestyle, or the other residents in the apartment.

Main

 * Kanau Yukimura (幸村 叶): Kouta Morisaki and Nozomi Yukimura's daughter. She follows her mother's order to stay with her father while her mother pays off a huge debt. She was originally extremely embarrassed of her father's otaku ways, but has grown very attached to her father. Even though she's only in the elementary school, she is very mature and seems capable of handling difficult situations. After meeting up with her mother in chapter 31, she realizes that she might have to choose between her mother and her father. Not knowing which to choose, she begins to cry uncontrollably until Kouta comforts her by saying he'll find a way they can all live together. When she went to visit Mami and her baby, she was shocked by the fact that her grandparents, Kouta's parents, does not know she exists and acknowledged Mami's baby as their first grandchild, however after introducing her to his parents, they practically focused all their love to her (much to the annoyance of Mami who wanted that love focused on her child). She has shown a desire to gain the autographs of famous people.


 * Kouta Morisaki (守崎 耕太): An otaku that works as an assistant of a mangaka. He lives in room 202 and he only finds out about the presence of his daughter after his daughter comes to find him in his house. Despite his otaku ways and how his daughter usually finds them upsetting, he tries his best to be a good father to his daughter. He later sees that he can't see his life without being with his daughter, trying to figure out a way if there is a way that her mother and him could live together when she returns.

Apartment

 * Taeko Morita (森田 妙子): (Maiden Name: 麻生 妙子 Asou Taeko)
 * The manager of the Higansou apartment. She is a well-endowed, thick-headed, 19-year old high school student and very close friends with Haruka, ironically despite her mother looking younger for her age she looks older for her age, usually being mistaken for being in her late twenties. She is baffled by the ways of an otaku and studies their language in order to better understand her tenants. Kouta is attracted to her, though she appears to be completely oblivious to this fact. It is revealed in chapter 39 that shes the adopted daughter of Sousuke Morita but later fell in love and married him. Back when she was in middle school, she witnessed Kimiko, her mother, kiss Sousuke. As a result, she became violent and was a sukeban with her hair dyed blond. It is for this reason that Taeko resents her mother. Her role as the landlady of Higansou is similar to Otonashi Kyoko from Takahashi Rumiko's manga, Maison Ikkoku, and has became a running gag, shown when all the residents agreed to name a new dog to the apartment as Souichiro, Kyoko's late husband in Maison Ikkoku.


 * Haruka Arisaka (有坂 遥): Another otaku that also works as an assistant of the mangaka and lives in room 205. She goes to the same school as Taeko and is very close friends with her. She used to be extremely shy, having to hide behind someone to talk to people. Her sister is a famous mangaka and does not recognize her abilities as an artist. During her first Comiket, she only sold one copy of her manga while her sister sold more than 20,000 copies. Struggling to free herself from her sister's shadow, she quit high school in order to focus on her job as a mangaka. After realizing that her only fan has been searching for her for three years, she gains the confidence to stand up to her sister. Her pen name is Harurun (ハルルン). She initially hates Kouta because of his work ethics, but begins to develop feelings by the end of chapter 21. Though she denies it when confronted, she gets jealous when Taeko goes on a date with him. Her feelings for him have noticeably jumped when she saw him in a suit a glasses, that being her "ideal man". In chapter 46, he acknowledges that she is more talented than him as a mangaka and gives her a basic art lesson in hopes that she won't waste her talent. Afterwards, while they are walking back home together, she begins to realize she might be in love with Kouta.


 * Chihiro Nitta (新田 千尋): AKA "Nicchi-sempai", a sempai to Kouta Morisaki and lives in room 201. He has been friends with Kouta since high school. He only shows an interest towards loli's (under-aged girls) rather than mature women, clearly seen when he is terrified at Taeko becoming an adult. Because of this he often suggested that he be Kanau's father, but usually because of a perverted reason. Though these urges of his are calmed down when he consumes sweets. In the story it is revealed that he had made contact with Nozomi without Kouta or Kanau knowing. It is later revealed that Nozomi lived at the orphanage runned by his brother and was sort of a "slave" to her when she lived there. However, despite his goofy perverted ways, he has shown to have a good insight when the time calls for it. He is easily recognized by his messy blond hair, long nose, pointed ears and long, snake-like bifid tongue. He is unemployed, though usually gets part-time work focused being around lots of children, like dressing in a large teddy bear costume or a mall Santa.


 * Sousuke Morita (森田 宗助): An otaku and also a famous mangaka. His pen name is Clearasil☆Shinra (クレアラシル☆森羅). His two assistants are Kouta and Haruka. In chapter 39, it is revealed that he adopted Taeko, who he later married, and became popular as a mangaka based on a manga he drew for Taeko to give her back her smile. He lives in room 103 and uses room 101 as his workplace. Also despite being married he has confirmed he is a virgin. Overall he is a kind and carefree man, clearly shown when someone stole the first draft of his next manga and causally laughed about it.


 * Tohru Nagato (長門 透): Another tenant at the Higansou apartment. Her appearance was always mysterious because she was covered by a blanket. She actually lives with her family (father: Akira, mother: Shigeru and brother: Tsukasa) in room 203 and her first appearance is during chapter 29. She said that she and her family suffer from a disease that make people around them forget about their existence.


 * Souichiro-san (ソーイチローさん): Named after the dog from the classical manga series Maison Ikkoku by the otaku tenants. She is a samoyed that Kanau once found on the street and adopted. After returning from the onsen trip the dog has gotten much bigger to the point where Kanau can ride on top of her. It was also revealed that she is an "otaku dog", where many of the tenet's anime goods are usually hidden in its fur.

Kanau's School

 * Tomomi Tamura (田村 知美): Kanau's classmate. She is an otaku and fan of Clearasil☆Shinra. She was bullied at school for her otaku ways until Kanau stood up for her. She also seems to have an abundance of random knowledge, from how the inner workings of how a manga is made to different breeds of dogs. She later becomes jealous of Serio, as she believes she is taking her best friend position from Kanau.


 * Reiko Misono: Kanau's classmate and class president. Because her father is a politician and her mother an actress, she is spoiled and very sarcastic. However, her personality seems to soften after meeting Kanau. She has strong pride and denies being a fan of Clearasil☆Shinra and Teenage Witch trading cards even though it's obvious. In some cases she also helps Kanau, most of the time when Kanau is embarrassed by her father's antics, Reiko reveals despite the major difference in their father's lives, he is exactly the same. She is also jealous of Kanau's dog Shochiro because of its better class than her dog as well as its more talented skills at following orders, this along with Kanau able to ride on top of Shochiro.


 * Kakimura
 * One of Kanau's fellow male classmates that usually pick on the girls, often calling her "Eyebrow Girl". However, after Kanau went on a "date" with him due to her father forgetting theirs, he seems to have gotten a crush on her, but blew it after his friends caught them together and in desperation flipped her skirt and ran off to keep up his image. He is later shown crying by himself for what he did. He tries to compliment her but usually sounds more like an insult, causing him to run off crying.


 * Riko
 * Kanau's friend and a tomboy. She has a sister who has a crush on Nicchi.

Others

 * Nozomi Yukimura (幸村 望): Mother of Kanau Yukimura. She is a year older than Kouta and was the one that made a move on Kouta during high school. Because she acquired a huge debt, she told Kanau to live with Kouta. To pay off the debt, she always switches from one job to another and tries to avoid meeting with Kouta for reasons yet revealed. In chapter 31, she meets up with Kanau and says that her debt will be completely paid within the next six months. She seems to be in contact with Nicchi to get information on Kouta and Kanau. In the orphanage where she grew up she was greatly admired by the other children for her bravery and strength, stating she could defeat an army of bears single-handedly and snipe someone from over a mile. It is also revealed her parents died in a car accident.


 * Kimiko Asou (麻生 公子): Taeko's mother (even though she looks younger than Taeko) who demands to be called "Kimi-chan". She is a very cheerful woman who works as a hostess. She often appears after work, still wearing a Hostess fantasy costume. She becomes bored with any one thing easily, which seems to be the reason for her promiscuity. Even though she acknowledges that Taeko and her relationship will never improve, she, in her own way, tried to fulfill some of her duties as a parent, such as offering to pay for child support. Her past seems to be the cause for her personality. In chapter 42, it is revealed that Kimiko is the child of a woman her father impregnated. However, her mother was irresponsible and forced her onto her father. During her childhood, her father was never around and her relatives physically abused her whenever she did something wrong. As a result, she did not trust anyone. After Kimiko became pregnant with Taeko, she attempted to commit suicide. Her father, realizing his mistakes, tearfully apologized to her and accepted her request to raise Taeko in her place. It was originally believed that Taeko resents her because she neglected Taeko as a child. However, it is revealed that Taeko was jealous and afraid that Kimiko was going to take Sousuke from her.


 * Mami Kitamura (北村 真美): (Maiden Name: 守崎 真美 Morisaki Mami)
 * Kouta's sister and a model who is married to Kitamura Kenya. Even after becoming pregnant, she continues to do pregnant modeling. She and Misono's mother seems to be rivals in fashion. She later gives birth to a healthy baby girl named Saori. She is also very nosey and a good eye for detail, where she knew Kanau was her brother's daughter. She is also ecologically minded, knowing that the price tag doesn't determine an item's quality.


 * Rika
 * Older sister of Riko and friend/classmate of Taeko and Haruka. She has a strong crush on Nicchi and often tries to look more adult to get his attention due to his statement of not being attracted to "her generation", assuming that meant older women, ironically being the exact opposite to what he is attracted to. She is a fan of yaoi manga like Haruka.


 * Haruto Misono
 * Reiko's father who is a high level politician. He cares deeply about his daughter and is proud of her as well, even knowing when she is being stubborn and personally gets her the Teen Witch trading card she was too prideful to get herself out of embarrassment (stating it comes from her mother's side). Also, despite the difference in jobs he and Kouta has, they are very similar in how they like to spend time with their daughters.


 * Kyouka Misono
 * Mother of Reiko and rival of Mami. She is a famous fashion model, someone Kouta appears to be a fan of. However, she appears to believe that a price tag determines the quality of clothing, even stating that the jacket her husband just got was a reasonable price of 120,000 yen (about $1,200). It is believed she also comes from a wealthy family, as she was unaware one could buy clothing for only 2000 yen (about $20) until recently.


 * Serio
 * She is the daughter of an Otaku as well and later friends with Kanau. They met each other at Comiket and became quick friends due to their father's similarities. She is often portrayed with a sonic expression. She truly cares about her father, even though he is an Otaku, and reveals that Kanau feels the same about her father. She is also Haruka's only fan of her original manga work and has been looking for a sequel for years. It was because of her that inspired Haruka to become more confident in her work. Being an otaku, she is well aware that all men like risque comics, also is able to make cosplay outfits, being able to measure someone just by hugging them. Kanau hopes to see her again in the upcoming winter Comiket, but happily Kouta met them and she came over for a sleep over.


 * Kuonji Mitsune
 * Hakura's older sister and famous Dōjinshi mangaka, where she usually sells 20,000 copies a day, earning the title of Queen of Comiket. She can be very harsh when it comes to her sister's antics, practically trying to copy her since she only sold 1 copy at her first Comiket to the point of copying her hair style. She tried to force Hakura to return home and force her back to school. But after seeing Hakura stand up for herself without having to hide behind someone, and in her manga work, she allows her to stay at the apartment.

External links and references


おたくの娘さん 我的老爸是阿宅