If you can step away from this exotic/erotic axis and consider your question again, I would suggest also thinking about other archetypes and stereotypes visible

If you can step away from this exotic/erotic axis and consider your question again, I would suggest also thinking about other archetypes and stereotypes visible in Japanese history and pop art accessible to westerners. Many of these seem to have obvious appeal to "nerds" and social outcasts. Among many things represented there are: intense stoicism, quiet suffering, sacrifice, and discipline; intense devotion and high craft; and individuals trying to contain and balance their personal issues within a high pressure society expecting obedience and conformity. In many exported stories, there is also a strong hint that in spite of all this, Japanese culture somehow allows for very eccentric (geeky?) characters to carve out a pocket world where their obsessions become almost respected in the same way as traditional disciplines. A sort of meta-discipline focused on the process of refinement itself...