Do anime fans have a healthier relationship with "hype culture"?

It is the same people doing the same thing. Anything Dragon ball always had a lot of hypers for anything. Some other popular manga adaptations get a lot of hypers, Jojo is a example. Some bad animation trailers for popular anime get a lot of bad trippers, Chainsawman and Sakamoto Days included. This https://myanimelist.net/anime/60146 too. Gundam sequels new works also get hypers and doomsayers.
Some whiny people in MAL do hyping each season, they create threads like Isekai is finally dead this season.

Cinema has less content, so obsessive hype coverage there just got more ridiculous, people literally analise every pixel in a trailer as far I saw.

Comparing it to cinema is silly. Cinema pricing has become ridiculous, to the point where you don't go unless you're 100% sure about what you're going to watch before you've even seen it. I can't remember the last time I paid actual money to go to the cinema to watch a film completely blind. With anime, you're either pirating (no cost) or you've got a subscription plan to a streaming service (where checking out an individual series costs you nothing). Giving anime a chance is a low-cost venture. Most dedicated anime fans have huge amounts of free time, too.

As for the topic at hand (again, your OP makes it really hard to ascertain what exactly you're trying to say about it - but I'll give it a go), I don't think anime fans have a good relationship with "hype culture". Sakamoto Days and The Beginning After The End are examples of shows where hype set them up to fail when, honestly, the source material simply wasn't that good in the first place. Lord Of Mysteries (to a lesser extent) is also suffering from being overhyped. Taking TBATE out of the equation (its failings are a unique case really), the other shows are solid-to-good at worst, yet if you read online, you'd think they were terrible.

Nothing can be more hyper than Hyperdimension Neptunia.

Nothing can be more hyper than Hyperdimension Neptunia.

It’s kind of a mixed bag, honestly. Reboots in Western cinema use to perform quite well, especially throughout the 2000s and even earlier. But these days, going to the theater feels more like a fucking chore than a casual outing, and I think that’s a major factor behind the shift toward safe, familiar IPs like sequels, shitty reboots, and long-running franchises.

Theaters themselves have changed too. Smaller, independent cinemas have largely disappeared, and the big chains have transformed into upscale experiences. The one big theater near where I live assigns seats ahead of time, you pick your spot like you’re reserving a table at a restaurant. There’s full food service with gourmet meals delivered to your seat (they will even bring you a freaken steak dinner that is almost on par with "LongHorn Steakhouse"), a coffee cafe with servers, and even a full bar serving actually well made alcoholic beverages. It’s no longer a casual experience, it’s a full fucking commitment. Almost shocking they didn't transform the theaters chairs into pseudo-toilet seats too, so one doesn't even need to get up to take a shit or something and miss a single second of the film (like a scene in that movie "Idiocracy", guy has an arm chair that is also a toilet to watch TV in his home. lol). I mean fuck... They even got specific chairs in the theater, that one can reserve, that not only recline but where the arm rests lift up then the seats can be shifted closer together, so a couple can freaken snuggle, make out, or even feel each other up during the entire film (wish that existed back when I was still in high school in the 90s too). lol

This added effort and cost create a mental barrier. When you’re paying 150+ USDs for an early evening outing for two just to see a two hour film, like I did recently with my wife, in theater dinner for two, a few light things to snack on after the meal, and a few drinks each, you want to guarantee the experience is worth it. So naturally, people gravitate toward familiar franchises or sequels where the risk of disappointment feels lower.

On the other hand, I think Anime handles this shit a bit better. While there’s still hype for titles like "Chainsaw Man" or "Jujutsu Kaisen", the cycle is shorter and more organic. Trailers drop a few months ahead, people sample shit out, and the sheer volume of content encourages exploration over loyalty. There’s less need to latch onto hype because there’s always something new around the corner.

That doesn’t mean Anime is free of overhype (Just look at freaken "Ex-Arm" lol), but it avoids the bloated marketing cycles and high-stakes pressure of Western blockbuster culture. And because Anime is so accessible through streaming, trying something new doesn’t feel like a big financial or time sink when subscription fees to streaming platforms feels more like paying with pocket change one can find lying on the floor of your buddy's shitty Honda Civic that they haven't vacuumed or cleaned since the 1st day they bought it. lol

So to answer the question, I think this shift is caused by a combination of rising costs, reduced accessibility, overblown hype cycles, and just fucking audience fatigue. People retreat into the familiar to minimize disappointment, and that ends up reinforcing the industry’s risk-averse behavior.

That’s a big part of what fuels this ‘comfort-first’ culture. Familiarity becomes a filter, and hype fills the gap when originality feels risky. In that kind of climate, apotheotic hype becomes necessary to push anything new, but when shit underperforms, the backlash is harsher, which only deepens audience skepticism. That’s how we end up relying on algorithms and brand recognition instead of discovery. It’s a self-reinforcing fucking dead end cycle.

yes, you are. you are looking at it from the perspective of hardcore anime fans who will give anything a shot.

hardcore cinema fans will do the same.

the vast majority of viewers will only watch stuff that has either been hyped to high heavens (Solo Leveling) or proven itself among the hardcore crowd (Frieren, Dungeon Meshi).


which is exactly my point: no regular viewer does that.

That seems absurdly high....source?

I don't deny that, however, Hollywood sequels, reboots, remakes etc are also the big budget films, that you want to check out in theaters. Personally, the only kind of film, I would ever care to check out in theaters is anything that is epic in scale. If it's just a drama or rom com, I would rather watch it at home.

Yeah......this never happens to manga adaptions lol.

Chainsaw Man had it's dissent, Oshi No Ko is getting heat, AOT had tons of controversies.....I think 1/5 of my posts on here, was just fighting with other fans when the final season was in development. I remember when I first got on MAL, and Darling in the Frankxx got super hyped up, and then got a ton of flack....and fans over in Japan literally harassed a VA, over a story development, she had no control over. I really don't know how you can argue this?

I mean it's subjective, however, I haven't encountered better behavior here. Stuff like Star Wars and big AAA releases, are bigger than anime. So of course, that is going to attract in pure number, more detractors, and those disappointed by hype. Anime is growing significantly....it' still very niche compared to some of the stuff you are talking about.

@krautnelson
I've mentioned that this was post two of a series of three, and it was supposed to be the "spiritual successor" for post one (Which I haven't posted yet, might do it tomorrow), which touches on the aspects of "casuals vs hardcore fans", so it makes sense that you see such things there.

What's up with this guy and his inability to write concise messages? Not every topic requires 1500+ characters of text.
This has to be some form of narcissism. Seen it many times on reddit. People who don't respect readers' time and egoitistically insist on writing long paragraphs on topics that don't warrant such verbalogy.

And even disregarding his lack of respect for the readers' time, he's comparing apples to oranges.
Movies make most money from cinema sales, so obviously people will think twice before spending money to watch unknown IPs.
Anime makes most money from merch sales, bluray sales, promoting manga/novels, and people mostly watch anime for free (or almost free) on TV, streaming websites, or pirating. So of course people will be less affected by hype and more likely to give unknown series a try.

@iweebz He thinks a higher word count makes him sound intelligent, but he doesn't realize all he's posting is the mediocre slop of a midwit desperate to feel superior.

The video was reading this article: https://www.honest-broker.com/p/the-new-80-rule-in-culture

So yeah, I misremembered the quote a bit.

Worst of all, in a place like the U.S., even something as simple as going to the theater just to catch a damn movie has become a luxury for many. If someone looks at ticket prices today and thinks, "this is too much", that’s not just sticker shock, it’s a symptom of how they’ve slipped out of what used to be the middle class. Where if one looks at going to see a film at the theater and think that it is now too expensive, they are already part of the low class demographic in the states and probably have been for some time. Where even some people I know are even totally in denial about it, where they are actually not far from actually being in the lowest ranks of the lower working class now. Specifically when I often hear some friends complain about some really petty things like paying to go out to just catch a quick healthy bite to eat like at a Panera and instead insist on just going home just to make themself a PB sandwich. Where even simply going to a McDonald's drive thru just to get two large fries as just a snack and some coffee seems like an expensive luxury to some these days. This actually happened recently since I can't walk on my broken leg, having a friend to drive me around to town, asking if they wanted to get a quick snack to eat just by simply going up to a McDonald's drive thru. In the end I just told them I would pay for everything even bought them a full meal since they knew I would be paying. lol

It’s one more signal that wealth now dictates access to even the most basic forms of leisure.

Unless you're content with something like a walk in the park (which, by the way, isn’t even free in some states anymore, I’ve heard of places starting to charge just for park access and even parking), the options are drying up fast.

Even streaming, gaming, or catching a ballgame, things often people used to take for granted, are becoming unaffordable for many people I know in real life. Just a few weeks ago, my wife and I invited a couple out that we used to double-date with all the time, and they had to turn us down… not because they didn’t want to hang out, but because they couldn’t afford to anymore.

And this is a couple that, just two years ago, joined us in living it up like rock stars, dining at high-end restaurants that required reservations two months in advance, booking VIP booths at jazz clubs, sipping cocktails all night, and ending the night with an "Uber Lux" to take us all home in style. Now? That whole lifestyle just vanished for them. Even Uber Lux isn’t available around where I live anymore too. While my wife and I can still afford such luxury even to this day. Too many of our friends, while they are not struggling to get by, they simply can't afford to enjoy leisure activities they have completely taken for granted even just a few years back.

And honestly, it all ties back to what you said about the formula fatigue. Hollywood got too comfortable betting on the same formulas, thinking money and star power would always guarantee turnout. But when the product feels hollow and the cost of entry is high, people eventually check out. It’s not just burnout, it’s a fucking backlash. And instead of learning from it, the industry doubles down, like it can brute-force excitement out of us with flashy trailers and bloated budgets and at a cost that makes many I see around me as being an expensive luxury to enjoy at all.

@thewiru ok ok so if I follow you. You decided to post the part 2 of a series of 3 before the first. Even for you its a new low.

@MYZIC Yup so true lmao. I hope he at leasts takes the criticism to heart instead of getting defensive about it.

Nope lmao. He got defensive about it. Lost cause.

@thewiru except you are not George Lucas or Nisio Isin and definitely don't have the writing talent of the latter but whatever flock your boat.

This is so true, I miss being able to discuss a series for at least a few years after its finished airing, but everyone moves on to the next thing immediately. Forums like AnimeSuki used to be like that, but most of these places are dead now. It's harder to find community to talk about these things with the way the modern internet is built, how it focuses on temporary, short form content where the priority is engagement. I feel like the way people interact (or don't, really) has been affected by that shift, based on how episode discussion threads tend to just be short hype (or complain) posts and no interaction with the rest of the community.

And hi Zarutaku, hope you are well~

@CC
That isn't because of hype-culture, though, but rather by the sheer volume of anime being released nowadays.

People watched stuff like GQuuuuuuX the day it released, talked about it while it was still releasing, for three months.
There just isn't much to talk about anymore.

In the past, there would've been 8 anime in a season, only half of them would be subbed, and once you're caught up with them you would be watching older anime that maybe wasn't even subbed back in it's day. That's why such things happened in the past.

That makes me glad, how much do you like it? (possible trick question)

@CC I wanted to perplex you, did it work?

@Zarutaku No, I just hadn't got to this notification yet! I'm sleepy, it's past bed time and the forums keep going down.


Mildly concerning, but I'm sure it's fine. Surely Zarutaku isn't capable of playing trap cards?

As long as it's fun ... hold on, are you implying @CC is a catfish?