Otaku no Musume-san

Kouta was your average otaku, living alone in his apartment, surrounded by his figurines and anime body pillows; until Kanau came long. All of a sudden, Kouta has a daughter he never knew existed. Not only that, she is going to live with him, with no support from the mother who suddenly left her in his care. Now Kouta has to learn to be a father, all the while dealing with the rest of the crazy otaku of the Higansou.

Otaku no Musume-san (AKA The Otaku's Daughter) is a Shounen, comedy manga that centers primarily around the life of Kouta and Kanau, father and daughter.

"Kouta: A story about the landlady from 10 years ago... Sousuke: It's a bit long, but I want you to listen. Kouta: Uh, just how long is it? Sousuke: Hmm. If I only had about 32 pages a month... I'd say four to five months' worth. Kouta: I-I see. That is long... Sousuke: ...yeah. If it was my own work, I'd worry about getting tired of it."
 * Abusive Parents:.
 * Alpha Bitch: Reika Misono. Her father is a politician and her mother is an actress. However, Reika isn't all that bad and her parents are fairly decent people, even if her mother is a bit snooty.
 * Anime Hair: Averted, as most of the characters sport normal hairstyles. Played straight with a flashback arc involving Taeko's grandfather, who sports a Heihachi haircut (he says it's James Dean).
 * Badass:
 * Big Breasts, Big Deal: Taeko is mostly a Type 5 though sometimes she shows signs of Type 3
 * Big Ol' Eyebrows: Runs in Kouta's family, starting with his mother. Even baby Saori has them.
 * Bishie Sparkle: Nicchi, when given enough sweets
 * Bishonen: Nicchi apparently is one when he has enough sweets. He even sparkles.
 * Broken Bird:
 * Brutal Honesty: Kouta's parents(especially his mother) are rather frank about what they think of his lifestyle.
 * Also done by Nozomi Yukimura,
 * But Not Too Foreign: Niichi has an English mother.
 * Cannot Spit It Out: Kouta, in his feelings for Taeko. At least when addressing Taeko directly.
 * Also with a male classmate of Kanau, who always comes close but is either too nervous or his friends come in at the wrong time.
 * Chekhov's Gun: In chapter 13, Kouta gets . Forty-nine chapters later, he uses it to
 * Chekhov's Gunman:
 * Children Raise You
 * Cool Big Sis: Inverted. Mami is much cooler than Kouta, and more down-to-earth, but she is his younger sister (imouto), not older.
 * Date Peepers: Kanau, Mami, and Kimiko spy on Kouta and Taeko's date.
 * Distant Finale:
 * The Ditz: Taeko's mother.
 * Dysfunction Junction: While a comedy, a few characters have decidedly dysfunctional pasts.
 * Enemy Mine: For Kouta and Niichi, as is said here.
 * Everything Is Worse With Bears: Subverted as Kanau's friend Riko loves bears. Probably played straight here.
 * and don't forget this
 * Fan Disservice: Sousuke cosplaying Lum at Comiket. CANNOT UNSEE!
 * Festival Episode: Kanau and Kouta go to a festival together, much ado is made about kimonos yukatas.
 * Fish Out of Water: Kanau being thrust into a group she knows nothing about and Kouta being thrust into a role he knows nothing about.
 * Five-Man Band:
 * Kouta: The Hero, as the main character
 * Nicchi: The Lancer, as his best friend, and ready to step up in take Kouta's place as 'father'
 * Sousuke: Mentor Archetype or The Chick, depending on how you look at it.
 * Taeko: Team Mom, more or less literally, as she seems to do most of the cooking for the Higansou
 * Haruka: The Smart Guy, Smart and snarky, though a bit bullheaded.
 * Gag Nose: Nicchi's nose, although it wasn't so when he was younger. It grows longer when the worst of his lolicon tendencies begin to show.
 * Genki Girl: Kanau's best friend in school, on top of being an otaku, is constantly energetic.
 * Genre Savvy: Being an Otaku and all, Kouta (and no doubt the other otakus in the apartment) knows a thing or two about the terminology and such, like how he pointed out Haruka looked like a Tsundere with her Girlish Pigtails after her Important Haircut. Unfortunately, he's blind to the fact that her Tsundere-ness is aimed towards him.
 * The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry
 * Headphones Equal Isolation: Along with her Meaningful Name, Haruka often wears headphones, if for no other reason to emphasize her distant nature.
 * Heroic BSOD: Kouta falls into one after learning . Nicchi reveals Kouta fell into one for about six months after Kanau's mother up and disappeared almost ten years ago, and came out of it the otaku he is now. Kanau pulls him out after only a few days, this time.
 * Runs into an even worse one after the Wham! Episode (you know, the whole deal with ). To the point where he's represented by a skeleton for the better part of an entire chapter.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Nicchi and Kouta
 * Horrible Judge of Character: Riko's older sister Rika believes Nicchi is a cool hunk who's interested in mature looking women.
 * Hot Springs Episode: There isn't a lot of fanservice here.
 * I Have Boobs - You Must Obey!: Lampshaded at the end of Chapter 49 when Taeko breaks up a fight. Taeko's intentions seem pure enough, but that doesn't stop Kanau from analyzing the situation as such.
 * Important Haircut: Haruka cuts off her Peek-a-Bangs to emphasise to her elder sister how serious she is about following her own path.
 * Kissing Discretion Shot:
 * Lame Comeback: When Kouta is yelling at Mami for taking Kanau to spy on his date with Taeko, she responds "What would you do if I suddenly had to give birth!?", which Kouta immediately lampshades.
 * Leaning on the Fourth Wall:
 * When Sousuke begins telling Kouta (both of them are manga artists, mind) about Taeko's history.
 * Leaning on the Fourth Wall:
 * When Sousuke begins telling Kouta (both of them are manga artists, mind) about Taeko's history.


 * Also employed when . It isn't as subtle since it makes a pot shot at a particular group of his readers.
 * It could also be a reference to how certain Kannagi fans reacted when they learned that one of the characters had an ex-boyfriend, implying she might not be a virgin.
 * Lolicon: Nicchi is an open and unrepentant lolicon. Played for laughs and Squick value. However,
 * Locked Out of the Loop: Almost everybody at some point, but Kouta all the time. Hilariously though Niichi also seems to be in the know for everything that is going on but just can't be assed to tell anybody.
 * Landlady: Taeko.
 * Love Makes You Evil: What Kouta felt, after his first experience. He couldn't forgive himself for taking the purity of Kanau's mother, even though she was the one that jumped him.
 * May-December Romance:.
 * Meganekko: A few characters, but Haruka springs to mind.
 * The Messiah: Kanau. Her mere presence seems to have affected nearly everyone's lives for the better.
 * Lampshaded in chapter 50, when two of Kanau's friends manage to trace back almost every event they've been through to Kanau herself.
 * Missing Mom: The launching point for the manga.
 * Mistaken for Servant: Taeko gets mistaken for a waitress in an Akihabara Maid Cafe, because on the one hand all waitresses on that day were dressed up in school uniforms (and Taeko was wearing one) and, on the other hand, she looks older than her actual age. A completely reverse case (mistaken for a schoolgirl) happens once to her mother who looks younger than her actual age, and is actually a waitress in a Cosplay Cafe.
 * Mood Whiplash: Sometimes the transitions are smooth, other times you're jerked from farce to drama.
 * This is especially true during the Wham! Episode. Revealing that and then trying to play it off as comedy is a big reason why some fans dislike it.
 * Nakama: Arguably, the tenants of the Higansou apartments
 * Nosebleed: Haruka gets a small one at the end of chapter 44, when Kouta comes out of his room in the morning in a suit and glasses.
 * Not Good with People: Kimiko is a rather extreme case, She does, however, have an excuse for this.
 * Oblivious to Love:
 * Taeko to Kouta's crush.
 * Kouta to Haruka's crush (and to Nozomi's returned interest in him ten years ago, which led ultimately to the events that kicked off the manga when she finally got sick of his obliviousness).
 * Older Than They Look: Taeko's mother
 * Only Sane Man: Considering the residents of the apartment complex, her friends, her own father, and her mother, Kanau comes across as this, at least to herself.
 * Operation: Jealousy: By Nozomi Yukimura. Gone horribly wrong and
 * Parental Abandonment:
 * Kanau herself counts, since her mother just sent her off to the father she'd never met to concentrate on work.
 * Parental Favoritism:
 * Grandparental favoritism also plays a prominent role here, as.
 * Peek-a-Bangs: Haruka's original hairstyle, which imitated her older sister's.
 * Pettanko: Haruka. Explicitly discussed in the Pool Episode.
 * Porn Stash: To the occasional disgust of Kanau and mortification of Kouta.
 * Proud to Be a Geek: As expected of the main otaku cast, but  really came as a surprise.
 * Replacement Love Interest:
 * Running Gag: Several. Nicchi's loli tendencies, and his pacification when fed sweets. Kouta's total inability to be badass, even when doing something badass. Kimiko always showing up in cosplay outfits. Also, Nozomi's jobs get increasingly ridiculous.
 * Scenery Porn: Plenty of detailed backgrounds.
 * Secret Relationship:
 * Selective Obliviousness: One of the side characters displays this towards Nicchi.
 * Or everybody failing to notice the Nagato family.
 * Serious Business: Mami's quest to keep the "first grandchild fever" focused on Saori.
 * Ship Tease: Haruka and Kouta. In spades.
 * Shout-Out: To plenty of anime and manga series, but the Maison Ikkoku-referencing gags are the best.
 * The closing statement by Kouta in chapter 58 might be shout-out to Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human.
 * They even manage to have a blatant Touhou (technically IOSYS) Shout-Out in an otherwise serious scene
 * Haruko's Old Shame may be one to Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito.
 * Chapter 61 has Kouta breaking down Kaiji-style (his nose even turns knife point sharp!)
 * Another chapter has Nicchi transform into Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star when talking to Kouta about letting Kanau stay with him.
 * In the penultimate chapter, Kanau remembers watching Puella Magi Madoka Magica with Kouta.
 * Show Within a Show: Given that one of the main characters is an otaku, this does play some role in the story.
 * Sink-or-Swim Fatherhood
 * Slasher Smile: in the heartrending antepenultimate panel of chapter 61.
 * Slice of Life: One of the genres the manga falls under.
 * Sliding Scale: Kanau hilariously uses one of these to judge Kouta's actions. The scale ranges from pervert to otaku to father to papa.
 * Social Services Does Not Exist: Averted and played straight. They exist and are referred to in the manga, but they never take an active role in the story.
 * Take That: You can't help but think that Serio's dialogue in the second panel was a deliberate shot at those who were upset about the Wham! Episode.
 * Title Drop: At the second Comiket of the series, one of Kouta's friends came by with a game of this name. It was translated... somewhat differently.
 * Tsundere: Haruka towards Kouta.
 * Tyke Bomb: Nicchi's uncle likes to train the children at his orphanage in various forms of combat. Mostly for his amusement.
 * Villainous Breakdown:
 * Visible Sigh
 * Wham! Episode:
 * The  definitely qualifies for one of these. Also has elements of the Shocking Swerve, since it was completely unexpected, though subtle hints were dropped, and
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl and White-Haired Pretty Boy: The true form of the Nagato family.
 * Wife Husbandry: Used to prevent an attempt to seize property from.
 * And to make a landlady like the female lead of Maison Ikkoku.
 * Wise Beyond Their Years: Kanae tries to be, needing her dad to tell her she's 9 and gets to be a little selfish sometimes.
 * Yaoi Fangirl: Haruka and her friend Rika, who Squee when viewing Kouta and Nicchi as something more.
 * Younger Than They Look: Taeko. Taken together with Taeko's mother being older than she looks, it makes most people think when they're together that they're friends or siblings.
 * Or, in one extreme stretch early on, that the roles were reversed and Taeko was the mother of a teenager.
 * And if you want to stretch it, Kanae. She was born on Feb 29 so she is technically the age of 2.
 * Wife Husbandry: Used to prevent an attempt to seize property from.
 * And to make a landlady like the female lead of Maison Ikkoku.
 * Wise Beyond Their Years: Kanae tries to be, needing her dad to tell her she's 9 and gets to be a little selfish sometimes.
 * Yaoi Fangirl: Haruka and her friend Rika, who Squee when viewing Kouta and Nicchi as something more.
 * Younger Than They Look: Taeko. Taken together with Taeko's mother being older than she looks, it makes most people think when they're together that they're friends or siblings.
 * Or, in one extreme stretch early on, that the roles were reversed and Taeko was the mother of a teenager.
 * And if you want to stretch it, Kanae. She was born on Feb 29 so she is technically the age of 2.