How Do You Feel About Extreme Otaku Culture?

When I’m not selling ero toys from Japan or working on visual novel game translations, I sometimes like to hang out on social media sites. One site I like to visit is Imgur, the image-sharing community that used to be closely affiliated with Reddit before going off in a new direction a few years ago, where I look at pictures of cats and, occasionally, giraffes. Recently I saw a “confession bear” post from a user who said he was a fan of anime and manga but avoided telling others because he’s turned off by extreme otaku culture.

I’ve been an anime fan for more than 45 years, since first thrilling to Speed Racer and Kimba the White Lion, and later, Space Battleship Yamato and Macross. I attended “Anime Expo Zero” in 1991, back when it was called Anime Con and was thrilled that as many as 2000 people could be found to come together at an anime-only convention. (Attendance at AX was over 110,000 this year, making it only slightly smaller than the San Diego Comic-Con.) When the first licensed anime products started appearing in my local Tower Records, I knew the world was starting to realize how great the medium of anime was. And thanks to the arrival of the Internet and the warm support of all of you, I’ve been able to create my dream job by founding this company. Anime has literally defined my life.

And yet, as with any fandom, some members take things a little too far, causing embarrassment other fans. We probably all know someone who takes their love for anime and related pop-culture from Japan to the extreme, “Naruto-running” to class or discussing the steamy details of their favorite hentai in mixed company without considering the T.P.O. (This is a Japanese abbreviation that means “time, place, occasion” and refers to using judgment about what is appropriate in each situation.) No matter how many JoJo references we might share online, there are some extreme fans who make us facepalm and groan, “Fucking weebs…”

On the other hand, it’s great when you can love a thing and express that love freely. I especially love the way the Internet allows us to find like-minded people to meet and interact with, sometimes becoming lifelong “IRL” friends. I know from discussions with many J-List customers that this is very important to them, and have repeatedly heard that “anime has saved my life.” Another thing I love is anime conventions, which give us all a framework to geek out over our favorite shows or games without judgment.

The Imgur post generated some comments, positive and negative, about extreme otaku culture. These included

• “There are people who get overly attached to an activity/hobby. Whether it’s keto/carnivore/vegans, crossfitters, gamers…”
• “Contrary to popular belief, you CAN enjoy something without every aspect of you screaming about you enjoying that something.”
• “Why are you hating on people for enjoying some of the fun parts of Japanese culture in one of the only formats available?”
• “I went to Japan recently. Got a laugh watching a biker gang made of Japanese trying to imitate USA’s 60s attitude and clothing. Reverse-weebs.” (This is a reference to the boso-zoku biker gangs who are indeed called yankii, from Yankee, because they like to dye their hair blonde.)
• “Stop worrying about what the world thinks. Love the things you love.”
• “Bruh, if people aren’t insulting you, you just aren’t being noticed. Own that shit.”

https://twitter.com/jlist/status/605336858386673664

In my writing for J-List, I always try to present the “real” Japan and not the one that we see in late-night anime. I encourage people to learn Japanese, caution against learning too much Japanese from anime and manga, and write about no-anime topics to Japan, like the meaning of Buddhism. But I’m also a fan, happy to share my favorite anime moments with our followers on social media without worrying if I’m being a “fucking weeb.”

One thing I feel strongly about is wanting to avoid all forms of “fandom bashing.” Anime fans dislike it when people wrongly assume just watching anime means we’re the same as the most extreme otaku out there, yet might turn around and make negative assumptions of other fans. Personally, I try to smile whenever I see someone enjoying their fandom — whether it’s Bronies, Furries, Koreaboos, or extreme sports fans — and avoid making judgments about them, so that hopefully they will judge me less.

How do you feel about extreme otaku culture? Do some fans need to dial it back, or is it okay as long as they’re having fun and not hurting anyone? Tell us in the comments, or on Twitter!