Actually, there's another word for that. I, er... can't remember what it is, though. Otaku translates rougly as geek, but "geeks" are regarded with less respect in Japan. (I do remember, though, a story of a Japanese person going to an anime convention and saying that the con-goers were only as "otaku" as the average Japanese person ).
Still, I challenge you to watch or read Death Note, which is a murder mystery with mild supernatural elements featuring characters with savant-level intelligence, and definitely not "Hey, let's all jump around on the ceiling and dress like twats" (despite being published in Shonen Jump).
Actually, the literal translation for "otaku" is your home, house, or yourself. It is an allusion to the fact what a lot of people call otaku in Japan literally never leave their homes. However, when used as a derogatory term, it is meant to note people who are incredibly obsessed with something (which may or may not be anime/manga). There are, believe it or not, people who are otaku for people (think fanatic fans), for music, modeling or even burusera (underwear/schoolgirl uniform collectors mostly).
It saddens me that lots of people nowadays only know Death Note as an example of good anime (although it IS awesome). I for one am practically an old man when it comes to my tastes for it (think Lupin III or Ranma, or Evangelion for something
slightly more recent). Has any of you guys watched Basilisk or Claymore? Or perhaps Soukyuu no Fafner (which despite being somewhat of an Evangelion clone has even MORE heartache)? Elfen Lied?
Heck, in terms of mindless entertainment and quality animation, there's even Devil May Cry or Persona Trinity Soul about nowadays (though Trinity Soul moves slower than a hillbilly's hygienical cycle).
I don't personally believe the Japanese do
everything better. There are some things about the Japanese I'd rather not know. Do note, however, that they STILL do a hell of a better job at a lot more stuff than us. Their soccer teams suck (in fact, they suck at pretty much every sport that's not martial arts-related). Some of the things they do for porn are downright sick (guro, anyone? Mayhaps with a splash of tentacled dickgirls?). But overall, they're doing better than a lot of nations out there, including but not limited to the USA (though in recent years, that's not particularly difficult. Heck, Brazil is slowly approaching their industrial capacity, and China is growing leaps and bounds ahead of them).