In January, Akadot ran our "World's Greatest Otaku" contest, a contest for which Ron Ferrara of Massachusetts turned in this winning entry. We sent staff writer Anthony Cupo to visit Ron at his home for the purposes of documenting the life of the World's Greatest Otaku and learned that the image of the otaku need not be the unkempt, social reject that the mainstream community seems to have imposed on anime fans.

I grew white with fear. The fine folks at Akadot sent me to New England to interview the winner of their World's Greatest Otaku contest. However the person sitting across from me currently instills a feeling of dread within. I've only met him a few minutes ago and already he brandishes a wooden sword. And I could tell by his eyes he might strike at any moment.

I thought, quickly, run! Flee! But instead my journalist instincts got the best of me. Better to ride this one out and see what this character is all about. Who is this person and what did I do to provoke this response? Besides, Akadot can pay those hospital bills if something foul should befall me.

At first I thought things were proceeding rather smoothly. I had just completed the trek by car from New York to Revere, MA. Revere is a quiet suburb in the shadow of nearby Boston. The home was right out of a Norman Rockwell painting, a modest one-family, surrounded by similar homes in a neighborhood perfect for raising kids - the kind of Americana that appears to be receded throughout the country. Little did I know the creature that lives up stairs is cut from a different cloth.

I had arrived for a little Q & A with Ron Ferrara, the aforementioned World's Greatest Otaku. Ron's parents, two very nice people, greeted me at the door and proceeded to give me a quick tour of their home on the way to Ron's room. The walls are covered with various photos chronicling the family history. Finally we head up stairs where Ron, aged 19 at the time, greets me. He is currently a student and, although so young, has already been in and out of the military, the Marines no less.

The first thing that strikes me about Ron is his appearance. Recalling the typical dossier of the average Otaku, I expected a short, over-weight, bespectacled hermit with a bad case of bedsores. Ron, on the other hand, is a tall, lean, well-groomed young man. I could very well have thought I walked into the wrong room entirely had it not been for the obvious clue - Ron's choice of attire. His red silk shirt is emblazoned with a fierce, sword wielding Kenshin. His hairstyle is also interesting. It is clearly that of one of the Samurai anime characters he loves so much. Suddenly I felt as if I was looking at a warrior, a warrior for anime. And as we sit down to begin our talk, Ron surprises me by unsheathing a wooden sword. I nervously ask him what it's for. "It's called a Bokken. It is made for practicing Kendo." Of course it is.

Obviously intelligent, Ron speaks quickly and with an expansive vocabulary, punctuating remarks with frenetic gesticulation, a residue of his Italian ancestry. He speaks emphatically, drawing aural attention to important points, and, true to form for someone so passionate about his hobby, tangents spin off of just about every topic.

As I look around Ron's room I'm surprised to see it's not coated wall-to-wall in anime visages. A few "Gundam" posters adorn the walls, an "Evangelion" wall scroll hangs tastefully over the Venetian blinds diffusing sunlight, and on the desk lie some models of various robot warriors, but Ron's room is hardly the over saturation one would expect for a person worthy of the title "otaku." But as I would soon find out it's not the outward signs that determines the otaku. It's what's inside. The only other noticeable decoration is a huge red banner hanging above his desk imprinted with the U.S. Marines emblem. Ron's passion for anime is grounded in the same philosophy that drove him to the Marines - that of loyalty, honor, friendship and banding together to fight the good fight.