I'm not quite sure, but I don't think being otaku, gaijin or Japanese, is that bad in Japan. It's probably got more of a stigma here in the states (and/or the Western world in general), for example. Have you heard of doujinshi? These are manga created by regular fans, such as in the anime series "Comic Party." I think that's fairly popular.

Did you know Akira, a late-1980s full-length cyberpunk anime movie, was one of the highest-grossing in Japan (or at least that year)? Anime movie producers, from what I hear, make a killing over there, so you've nothing to worry about. You've heard of Spirited Away, right?