For the past 400 years, the goddess Takamimi Hime no Mikoto has been worshiped at the Takamimi Shrine by all of the nearby residents. Rumor has it that the goddess herself actually lives within the shrine. What only a select few including the current miko, Koito Koganei, know, is that the "goddess" is actually an elf from another world named Eldali Lima Fanomenel (Elda for short) who's also a huge otaku shut-in with an intense fear of others. Even with this seemingly worthless "goddess" occupying the shrine, Koito can't help but try to bring her out in the wider world.
Otaku Elf (Edomae Elf) is a slice-of-life manga by Akihiko Higuchi that started serialization in Shonen Magazine Edge in 2019. The manga is licensed in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. It received an anime adaptation by C2C in the Spring 2023 season.
Otaku Elf contains examples of the following tropes:
- Afraid of Needles: The titular elf is terrified of needles and when she gets an elf cold and needs a shot, she tries to curse the doctor who gives her the shot, despite the fact that she has no magical abilities. Upon this being pointed out, she instead threatens to review bomb her clinic.
- Been There, Shaped History: Downplayed. Elda was summoned to Japan in 1619, aka the fifth year of the genna gannen, by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and she knew him well enough to use the "-kun" suffix for him, but she hasn't mentioned anything else about their past yet. She also met two men from a Rotterdam expedition... if that was troubling for her, one has to wonder how she felt during a certain period of the 20th century.
- Bland-Name Product: Zig-Zagged. While there are some actual brands such as Red Bull and Monster, we also have "Fonta", "Amazen", and of course the anime classic, WcDonald's. Other real brands such as "iPhone" and "PC Engine" are directly mentioned by their proper names, but censored with a Sound-Effect Bleep. SimCity is directly named with a parody of Dr. Wright from the SNES version, but doesn't seem to have any official sponsorship. Really the series runs the entire gamut of fake and real brand names.
- Chromosome Casting: Nearly every character of note is female. While Koito's grandfather Kikujirou (who runs Takamimi Shrine) is often mentioned and she and Elda interact with him off-screen, he never actually shows up in person until a portion of him is seen in the last episode.
- Day in the Life: An episode follows both Elda and Koito during their days, contrasting Elda lazying around during the day with Koito doing her duties as miko while also going to school.
- Exact Words: Elda relates that this is why kites changed from being called "squids" to "octopuses"; when the shogunate banned squids, kids kept playing with them and said they were octopuses instead. Koito points out that Elda tried the same logic, arguing that her limit of one Red Bull per day shouldn't affect whether she's allowed to have a Monster Energy.
- Eyes Always Shut: Hylaria "Haira" Aira Mirasta, the elf who acts as Uramimi Shrine's deity; her eyes are always closed, and she never opens them no matter how emotional she gets.
- The Gambling Addict: Haira is shown to be a gambling addict. When she and Isuzu was visiting Tokyo, she gambled away the souvenir and hotel money on scratch tickets, forcing her to give grass she picked up from the side of the road as a souvenir and to sleep at the Takamimi Shrine.
- God Guise:
- Elda is worshiped as a goddess at Takamimi Shrine, but she's really an elf who was summoned to Japan 400 years ago by Tokugawa Ieyasu and has since become an otaku shut-in. The only abilities she actually has are telepathy and being very long-lived. Despite this, she's still very well-regarded in the neighborhood since she gives people a sense of comforting stability due to her ageless, unchanging nature and the fact that she remembers everyone who ever lived in the area.
- It's later revealed that two other elves, Yolde and Haira, are also worshiped as goddesses at other shrines after being summoned to Japan centuries ago (by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Maeda Toshiie, respectively). Like Elda, they don't do anything to correct people's assumptions that they're deities, and few people aside from their respective Miko are aware of their true nature.
- Meaningful Name: The names of the shrines where elves are worshiped as gods all describe elf ear shapes (-mimi means "ears"): Takamimi ("tall ears"), Hiromimi ("long ears"), and Uramimi ("lovely ears").
- Medium Blending: The anime's ending credits blend the 2D characters with live-action backgrounds and objects.
- Miko: Several characters work as miko at various Shinto shrines, including main character Koito. As the "goddess" of the shrine Koito works at is really an elf who's become a reclusive otaku, Koito is often a Servile Snarker towards her.
- The Older Immortal:
- Zigzagged with Yoldeleela Leela Fenomenea, who's only one year older than Elda (at 622 years old), and despite this she looks and acts a lot more like a child.
- Played straighter with Haira, who's much older than the other two elves at the age of 726, and she demands that Elda address her as "Onee-sama"; that said, she's just as prone to obsessive behavior as Elda, namely with her gambling addiction.
- Otaku: It's right there in the title; Elda would rather spend her time indoors watching anime and playing video games than doing her duties as Takamimi Shrine's goddess. It turns out that she's always had addictive tendencies, and not just towards modern-day media; hundreds of years ago, she used to be obsessed with collecting woodblock paintings that used to come with medicine.
- Our Elves Are Different: Komu describes several traits associated with elves; Koito snarks that the only one that fits Elda is her aversion to human society.
- Yolde's difference is her being an idol fan and her childish nature.
- Haira's difference is her gambling habit contrasting with her upper-class style of dress and mannerisms.
- Product Placement: Red Bull and Monster energy drinks are not given Bland-Name Product clones, but are shown exactly as is, with just a Photoshop filter over actual cans.
- Running Gag: Koito's attempts to appear grown-up and trendy by dressing up in various outfits and accessories, leading to Koma dismissing them every time.
- Shrinking Violet: Elda, to the point that the "rule" about only allowing the miko to meet with her is just a way to avoid interacting with other people.
- Statuesque Stunner: During the rare moments when she's standing up straight and taking her "Goddess" duties seriously, Elda is both very tall and very pretty.
- Supreme Chef: Even though she's still a child, Koyuzu's cooking skills are highly regarded, even being asked to assist with creating local menus.
- Who Wants to Live Forever?: Koito begins to understand Elda better after realizing that part of the reason she's a recluse is to avoid the pain of outliving anyone she meets in the outside world.
