Are Anime Tourists the Most Annoying Anime Fans?

I love anime, and I love social media. That’s because I can share anime memes and clips with fans around the world…along with the occasional anime tiddy. And while I love anime fans in general, there are a few fans I could do without. Mainly, the casual “anime tourists” who feel it’s their job to police other fans and take away our fun. Let’s discuss this phenomenon in this blog post!

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I recently posted a meme I found that was created by Twitter/X user @Rev_says_desu. The meme described how to spot an “anime tourist.” They only like anime because it’s trendy and only watch mainstream shounen genre shows that “everyone” else likes. Also, they feel it’s their right to police other users and tell them what is and isn’t appropriate.

I asked J-List customers to give me their personal feedback about what kind of anime fan they hate. Everyone was happy to do so. Here are some of the replies!

Nagatoro San Fans Who Want Anime To Change

The kind of anime fan I dislike is the disingenuous kind that only voices their “concerns” because they want to force unnecessary changes and ultimately control what is/isn’t acceptable in Japanese media. These “fans” claim that it’s “criticism,” but genuine fans don’t police art.

What do I think about “problematic” anime? Read this blog post!

I hate anime fans who think Japanese companies should be Americanized to cater to modern Western sensibilities.

IMHO it goes beyond “I don’t like this show, here’s why” and into “anyone who watches/enjoys this show is ____” and “I don’t think ____ should exist.” If you need an entire hobby to change for you maybe it isn’t the hobby that is the problem.

The kind of anime fan I hate is the anti-fan service/censoring brigade complaining about the dumbest things unimaginable like, “Oh no, anime, ecchi and nudity are going to burn my eyes out!” People are way too uptight about the anime booba…. Ugh =_=

People who claim to be an anime fan but actually hate anime. They go out of their way to watch shows they don’t like just so they can complain about them.

I hate anime fans who nitpick over everything, saying stuff like “I like One Piece, but the fanservice ruined the series for me.”

The worst kind of anime fans are people who think anime should only comply with their sensibilities. Also, the people who judge me for watching dubs (sometimes).

The fans who give shit to people for only liking popular anime. Like, why does it matter so much? If they’re having fun watching it, then cool.

The anime fans I hate the most are those who watch anime just because it’s trendy, then complain and request things to be changed because they didn’t like something.

I dislike anime tourists and antis who always try to make their problems everyone else’s. Is it that hard to close something and move on if you don’t like it? If you don’t like hamburgers, don’t go to Burger King and get offended, just go somewhere else.

I hate anime fans who call themselves fans solely because it provides social validation from their peers. We’ve all seen these personality types, whenever a niche hobby goes mainstream.

This is broadly true of most fandoms in some way or other (see D&D)… but I think the most destructive are the whitewashers. There is an entire world that is NOT the U.S., and imagining that anime from Japan should have the same sensibility as you is foolish. Spice is why we like anime.

The anime fans I hate the most is that they treat fictional characters as real people and treat real people as fiction. They believe that fictional characters’ lives are more important than actual humans.

One group I hate are the gatekeepers. Kids used to get bullied hard for liking anime, and now they get mocked for only watching “common anime.” People need to be better to each other.

Yeah, I hate fake anime fans and anime tourists. I also dislike Anime News Network for trying to inject fake politics into Anime, along with woke localizers. Just let me enjoy my Anime in peace.

Americans, and it’s always Americans, who love anime but hate fan service. That’s like liking football but not tackles and wanting them removed from the game.

The ones that want to censor are the worst. Are they even fans, or are they just joining anime communities because they’re popular at the moment? A true fan is not going to want to censor what they love. I would call these people anime tourists instead…

What Can We Take Away From this Discussion About Anime Fans?

Whenever I ask a question on Twitter/X and get dozens of strong responses from my followers, I know this is a topic people feel strongly about. I hope you enjoyed this discussion and didn’t feel it had too much negativity.

Personally, I love that anime is a Big Tent, with hundreds of smaller tents inside it. If you get tired of watching idol anime, or isekai shows, or mecha series, or historical dramas, or romance anime, or yuri, or BL, there’s always something fresh and new you can move on to without leaving the umbrella of anime. And if you can’t find anything right now, wait for the next season to start. It’s great that there are “doorway anime” like One Piece and Naruto, although I always hope most fans will walk through the door and find something even better to enjoy.

What about the fan service haters? An anime season pitches around 40-45 new anime series at anime fans each cour, not counting series aimed at children or anime made for the Chinese domestic market. Of those shows, there will usually be two or three with heavy fan service, such as a magical girl series that explores BDSM themes. Most other shows will include perhaps a single panty shot or boob jiggle in episode one to get fans’ attention, then nothing after that. So, if you’re not a fan of sexual visual fan service, you have many, many options.