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Society’s Receptiveness to Anime and Japanese Subculture

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Asphiee
1,452 posts
Joined January 2020
Topic Starter
Asphiee
Seeing this photoreminds me how anime was still so alien in our country that it’s something (passively) frowned upon. That crappy highschool life just because of my hobby and now the society’s progressed to this point.

Survey:
1.How is it in your country?

2.Are you closet or open otaku?

3.Why do you chose to be the latter or former?

4.If you’ve experienced the way things before, how do you feel with society’s receptiveness to anime and anything Japanese?
Last edited by Asphiee , edited 3 times in total.
Stomiks
9,043 posts
Joined March 2021
Stomiks
1. The same as your country

2. I won't mention it but if I will tell if asked. So probably closet.

3. idk, still kinda anxious that people will judge you based on what kind of media you consume.

4. Anime is definitely more accepted in society, sometimes becoming mainstream. But it's still the norm to make fun of weebs.
Ymir
1,755 posts
Joined June 2020
Ymir
1. Its not great, its not bad

2. Pretty Open

3. You get made fun of for it, you don't lose friends over it. At a certain age a lot of these things are trivial.

4. It has become much more mainstream and accepted. As long as you aren't a weirdo, you'll be fine.

I'll just say, in Australia you will meet all kinds of people, but one thing is to note is that, acting the way you usually do isn't always the best idea. It's good to have different personalities.
Also, even in the state of Victoria, racist jokes and mocking is very common (at least in my generation). Racist banter is something you would have to get used to and embrace, I participate in it as well.

If you like things from other cultures to an extent, you'll be associated with it, and it'll be considered a strange part of your personality.

Though the funny thing is that, if you're female and a weeb, it's considered normal;
If you're male and you're a weeb, thats something to poke fun of.

So it really depends on how you take things, I don't view all of this as very negative, its something I've grown up with and will continue to live with.


I am not fully aware of your situation, but to everyone reading this, don't be a dumbass; think for yourself. Know when to stop yourself from engaging in strange things, but don't sway easily to the expectations of other people.

It's generic, but being yourself (in this case a weeb), is less weird than coming off as 'trying to fit in' :P
Last edited by Ymir , edited 8 times in total.
Asphiee
1,452 posts
Joined January 2020
Topic Starter
Asphiee

-Remi wrote:

1. Its not great, its not bad

2. Pretty Open

3. You get made fun of for it, you don't lose friends over it. At a certain age a lot of these things are trivial.

4. It has become much more mainstream and accepted. As long as you aren't a weirdo, you'll be fine.

I'll just say, in Australia you will meet all kinds of people, but one thing is to note is that, acting the way you usually do isn't always the best idea. It's good to have different personalities.
Also, even in the state of Victoria, racist jokes and mocking is very common (at least in my generation). Racist banter is something you would have to get used to and embrace, I participate in it as well.

If you like things from other cultures to an extent, you'll be associated with it, and it'll be considered a strange part of your personality.

Though the funny thing is that, if you're female and a weeb, it's considered normal;
If you're male and you're a weeb, thats something to poke fun of.

So it really depends on how you take things, I don't view all of this as very negative, its something I've grown up with and will continue to live with.


I am not fully aware of your situation, but to everyone reading this, don't be a dumbass; think for yourself. Know when to stop yourself from engaging in strange things, but don't sway easily to the expectations of other people.

It's generic, but being yourself (in this case a weeb), is less weird than coming off as 'trying to fit in' :P
Yes, I’m pretty amazed with other people who’s pretty open with their interests since there’s a standard of normal in society. I can relate to how you said it’s all gonna be trivial at a certain age, I’m laughing at my foolish teenage years now.

What sucks is that my generation was pretty alien to anime that time, now teens are more engaged in anime stuffs right now and they’re able to make a circle of friends just by having that hobby. In my case before, you’ll have to deny such interests to not be ostracized.

It’s amazing how in a short time society became more open to other stuffs, it’s scary when you think about it. Like everything’s gonna be accepted at this point as long it is convenient to everyone. When you take it to extreme, heck, maybe cannibalism would be a social norm in the next decades (remembered Dawkin’s tweet about it).
Ymir
1,755 posts
Joined June 2020
Ymir

Asphiee wrote:

-Remi wrote:

1. Its not great, its not bad

2. Pretty Open

3. You get made fun of for it, you don't lose friends over it. At a certain age a lot of these things are trivial.

4. It has become much more mainstream and accepted. As long as you aren't a weirdo, you'll be fine.

I'll just say, in Australia you will meet all kinds of people, but one thing is to note is that, acting the way you usually do isn't always the best idea. It's good to have different personalities.
Also, even in the state of Victoria, racist jokes and mocking is very common (at least in my generation). Racist banter is something you would have to get used to and embrace, I participate in it as well.

If you like things from other cultures to an extent, you'll be associated with it, and it'll be considered a strange part of your personality.

Though the funny thing is that, if you're female and a weeb, it's considered normal;
If you're male and you're a weeb, thats something to poke fun of.

So it really depends on how you take things, I don't view all of this as very negative, its something I've grown up with and will continue to live with.


I am not fully aware of your situation, but to everyone reading this, don't be a dumbass; think for yourself. Know when to stop yourself from engaging in strange things, but don't sway easily to the expectations of other people.

It's generic, but being yourself (in this case a weeb), is less weird than coming off as 'trying to fit in' :P
Yes, I’m pretty amazed with other people who’s pretty open with their interests since there’s a standard of normal in society. I can relate to how you said it’s all gonna be trivial at a certain age, I’m laughing at my foolish teenage years now.

What sucks is that my generation was pretty alien to anime that time, now teens are more engaged in anime stuffs right now and they’re able to make a circle of friends just by having that hobby. In my case before, you’ll have to deny such interests to not be ostracized.

It’s amazing how in a short time society became more open to other stuffs, it’s scary when you think about it. Like everything’s gonna be accepted at this point as long it is convenient to everyone. When you take it to extreme, heck, maybe cannibalism would be a social norm in the next decades (remembered Dawkin’s tweet about it).
I think the same way too.
Right now I am a teenager (16 years old), but even for a zoomer like me, so much is getting accepted and even praised, it sometimes does scare me.

Though it is important to remember that, at the moment, the internet is different to the real world. That is the main downside of social media; especially in the west. It portrays and praises people and behaviours that will not usually get accepted in the real world, even with all the activism bullshit that goes on daily.

I know this thread is getting very sidetracked, but I'll continue anyway;
There will be other factors which determine what will get accepted and what won't. Such is the case for cannibalism; overpopulation could play a factor in this.

back on topic...

Society's fast rate of acceptance is something we could only enjoy for a little while, with it slowly getting out of hand. But 'society' is very different around the world. What is socially acceptable in the Phillipines won't always be acceptable in the west, and vice versa.

I don't believe anime will last very long in our society anyway, at least, it will change in the next few decades, into something we won't recognize; simply because of the things in anime that are now being called out and changed to fit a sensitive world.

TLDR: The acceptance of anime may cause it to divert from its original style in the near future
Asphiee
1,452 posts
Joined January 2020
Topic Starter
Asphiee

-Remi wrote:

I don't believe anime will last very long in our society anyway, at least, it will change in the next few decades, into something we won't recognize; simply because of the things in anime that are now being called out and changed to fit a sensitive world.

TLDR: The acceptance of anime may cause it to divert from its original style in the near future
Haha you got a point with that. Oversensitivity is a scary thing and, what’s the word? Complacency, was it? Anyways, both are terrifying and we’re doomed to fall because of these reasons.

History can explain the details.
Not too sidetracked, since the other motive for this post was to illuminate how society transitions in a dramatic pace.
Ymir
1,755 posts
Joined June 2020
Ymir

Asphiee wrote:

-Remi wrote:

I don't believe anime will last very long in our society anyway, at least, it will change in the next few decades, into something we won't recognize; simply because of the things in anime that are now being called out and changed to fit a sensitive world.

TLDR: The acceptance of anime may cause it to divert from its original style in the near future
Haha you got a point with that. Oversensitivity is a scary thing and, what’s the word? Complacency, was it? Anyways, both are terrifying and we’re doomed to fall because of these reasons.

History can explain the details.
Not too sidetracked, since the other motive for this post was to illuminate how society transitions in a dramatic pace.
Yeah I guess so
was a great discussion mate ;)
179bpm
561 posts
Joined October 2021
179bpm
1.How is it in your country?
i think if you ask someone what they think of otaku stuff it’ll be:
10%: ok
20%: eh
70%: ew
to quote daniel thrasher:
“When did it suddenly become cool to like anime?
I think a lot of you out there owe some people an apology.”

2.Are you closet or open otaku?

im not into otaku-y stuff but whenever i read the splatoon manga in a public area with other people i try to hide it

and whenever someone notices i panic

so yeah i guess closet

3.Why do you chose to be the latter or former?

because of le epic shyness

4.If you’ve experienced the way things before, how do you feel with society’s receptiveness to anime and anything Japanese?

definitely can feel how people might think it’s cringe (im an empath so maybe people don’t hate it idk)

but i feel like it’s mainly about the stereotypes of the material and the people who watch it which i find to be kinda strange cause some otaku stuff can be on par with modern stuff put out today and not be cringy
Last edited by 179bpm , edited 3 times in total.
anaxii
15,000 posts
Joined December 2022
anaxii
1. Most young people think it's great but not necessarily the old ones.

2. Sometimes I feel like an Otaku when I talk to normal people but I also feel like a normie when I talk to real Otakus. So I guess I'm in between.

3. ✨ J U D G E M E N T ✨

4. Otakus are much more accepted in our society now. A lot of kids or young adults start to be interested in this kind of thing but I have the feeling that it's still a bad idea to talk about it in public. Like you can talk about it with a small circle of friends but not with people you don't know. And on the internet, even if Otakus are much more recognized, there are always people to vent their frustrations on them because they are "weird" or "not normal".

Personally, I only talk about this kind of thing with people I trust, whether they know about it or not.
Neigdoig
650 posts
Joined May 2021
Neigdoig
1. In the US, anime is quite an industry, with quite a few sales. People will capitulate at the degenerative stuff, of course.

2. I'm more of a closed otaku than I am an open one, although I watch vtubers primarily now.

3. I got into it in August of 2017 when I was 14 years of age. Nowadays, I don't watch much, as stated before.

4. Here in the US, being an otaku is considered to be normal within reason. Sure, I'm into stuff that others aren't, but I'm not into quite a bit (since I watch Vtubers now, I haven't been watching anime too too much, other than the occasional cultured one).
KimAriel
53 posts
Joined March 2016
KimAriel
Hello! So, I got carried away and gave a long reply and, even went to a more sociological analysis. I hope it's crystal clear, though.

Answers here.
  1. How is it in your country?
    A) It is a normal thing around here. So much so that, it's not even something people actually debate upon. Brazil is known for having the biggest amount of japanese immigrants and descendants outside Japan (worldwide).
  2. Are you closet or open otaku?
    A) Open. It's not something that has to be closeted, it's just something that I like. There is no need to be ashamed, like, at all.
  3. Why do you chose to be the latter or former?
    A) It's not a choice, really. It's common interest among youth these days. In fact, many of us grew up watching anime on open TV. The old classics: Naruto, Dragon Ball, Pokémon, Saint Seiya (Knights of the Zodiac), Sailor Moon, Sakura Card Captor...
  4. If you’ve experienced the way things before, how do you feel with society’s receptiveness to anime and anything Japanese?
    A) Sometime ago, a few years back actually, I remember some churches were saying shit about anime and anything related to the otaku sub-culture because they misinterpreted Death Note as an actual thing. That's because some kiddos wanted death notes and actually wrote some names on them, maybe to feel better about their own burdens, but otakus were blamed for it. It's not even like Death Note is for kids, cause it's 100% not. I think that there is one thing that should come to people's common sense (in every country!): just because it's animated, doesn't mean it's made for children. Look at Elfen Lied, for example. It's mostly gore. I wish people understood that better.
    Besides that, we must always remember that art reflects the culture where it was made. Most anime and mangas are made by adults for adults. It is no secret that Japan has a very introverted society, and one of the biggest (if not the biggest) su*c*de rates in the world. Many animes have main characters with little to no personality (+ some even have mental disorders, to be "relatable"), so the one watching can feel better by pretending to be that X character. My best examples are Amnesia or Mirai Nikki. If a child sympathizes with that, it's only natural that something such as the Death Note incident is going to happen. Adults need to do their best to know what their children are consuming, even though it's not something completely controlable. That way, they cannot blame other people for their own mistakes. Heck, churces even said otakus and anime were demonic! It's very annoying.
Last edited by KimAriel , edited 1 time in total.
UPR
722 posts
Joined October 2018
UPR
1. Anime/Manga is pretty mainstream for the most part (whether as a positive or negative in some cases) except the doujin scene for a huge part (still the stigma of mostly being porn)

2. Mostly closet Otaku, I will take about it with people in my circle of Otaku's but not outside it unless it comes up in conversation

3. I choose this because I am an actual definition-based Otaku, not enough to be a Hikkimori but just a definition-based so it kinda just happened since I got into anime/manga from a young age (8 or 9)

4. So it has changed a lot over the years in the states. Around 5 to 6 years back I used to get threatened with getting my shit kicked in here if I brought that stuff up and just 3 to 4 years back it was starting to become more accepted amongst more normal circles. Still, even now it's probably more accepted compared to the 2000s when weeb circles were still very huge but underground, now they are huge and everywhere. Even now there aren't a lot of actual "Otakus" since that stigma has not changed at all lol. There is still a growing popularity for it though so who knows, maybe it will change in the future.
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