"when in rome do as the romans do" and anime tourists

I really don't know since i don't interact much outside people within my niches but if i were to guess from other people's experiences i'd say rarely to never.

How do the Romans do, though?

(metaphorically)

@Zarutaku it meant this

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do" is an idiom meaning you should adapt to the customs and traditions of a new place or situation you are visiting, rather than trying to impose your own familiar ways. The phrase, often shortened to "when in Rome," encourages flexibility and a willingness to follow local practices to ensure a more pleasant and respectful experience.

@deg I know, my question means: What are the customs and traditions that anime tourists should adapt to?

@Zarutaku like the pervert culture or waifu and husbando culture the anime culture has?

@deg Yes, for example, anything else?

@deg Yes, for example, anything else?

@Zarutaku i cannot think of anything else at the moment so i leave it to other commenters

ah ye maybe another one is that genres like battle shonen should get some respect too? if you only watch few battle shonen should you really say its trash?

@deg Well, gintama is shonen and yet it's not battle shonen, It's slice of life comedy 96% focused story. Shonen is demographic in which determines in what magazine original source material was published in this has nothing to do with the story, sure may have a bit different perspective but that's only it what matters is the author and the acutal genre/theme they work with.

@jacobPOL shonen is a demographic but battle shonen is a made up genre by the anime fandom though and they talk about battle shonens like dragon ball, demon slayer, attack on titan, my hero academia, jujutsu kaisen, chainsaw man, etc

Aren't you arguing against the surface level tourists now? The ones who refuse to learn and just base everything off their already existing stereotypes and beliefs? 🤔

Most Western fans pirate Anime so hard to see how any would spend money to even go visit Japan on some Anime sabbatical. If one is going to support the culture they should also adopt the consumerism mentality that comes with it too. Actually pay for the shit one consumes. lol

Most fans in Japan don't even consume a fraction of the amount of Anime Western fans do either. lol

Anime isn’t just an art form. It’s an industry, and Japanese fans generally understand that. lol

@ColourWheel im not sure about that we got aja reports yearly like this

AJA: Anime Industry Grew by 14.3% to New Record High in 2023
Both the domestic (Japanese) and foreign anime markets grew this year, but the foreign market overtook the domestic market for the second time since 2002, with 51.5% of the total market. https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2025-01-08/aja-anime-industry-grew-by-14.3-percent-to-new-record-high-in-2023/.219656

Sure, the industry is booming... But imagine how colossal it would be if every Western fan actually paid for what they watch instead of pirating and torrents. lol

I was making a behavioral and cultural argument. That many Western fans don’t follow “When in Rome” in spirit because they pirate heavily, whereas Japanese fans tend to be paying consumers.

You are simply conflating market size with behavior. Dropping shit like market statistic, implying that “Well, the foreign market is actually huge now, so Western fans are supporting the industry". But foreign market’s size doesn’t mean a majority of Western fans stopped doing shit like pirating. All you are showing is that shit has grown overseas. lol

"...how often do anime tourists or immigrants..."

We have anime immigrants? Really?

What that even means?
Like in the past Nicholas Light was reacting to k-pop and had a beef with its fandom, so he searched refuge in anime reactions (or at least he said something like that)... Is that an example of anime immigration?

"...how often do anime tourists or immigrants..."

We have anime immigrants? Really?

What that even means?
Like in the past Nicholas Light was reacting to k-pop and had a beef with its fandom, so he searched refuge in anime reactions (or at least he said something like that)... Is that an example of anime immigration?

@alshu like some american cartoons fans migrate to anime fandom

@deg Literally everyone whom are not born in Japan are tourists, because we would just watch our cartoons yet here we are 🤣🤣

@jacobPOL tourism is temporary or being casual while migration here refers to being hardcore or superfans

@deg aka full of elitism people whom cannot comprehend everyone are different and have different views.

@jacobPOL is that applicable to the so called tourists too? the anime culture is different so why force your own culture to it?

but to be honest im just going for devils advocate here since im more about markets law of supply and demand so whats in demand will dictate whats the supply and if new generation of fans demands different anime shows then so be it

That's still tourism in my book.
Like everybody (who is not born in Japan or something) starts anime as tourist...but the point is, how much time it will take for them to switch to anime casual or maybe abandon the media, which is also fair.

But if you are regularly watching and still staying in tourist mode for like 3-4 years, now that shows a bit of disrespect.
Still nothing that shocking or problematic, but you can't expect fans to respect you in return.



I don't think "anime immigrant" makes that much sense. People immigrate because they are forced by circumstances...nobody forces you to watch anime for entertainment... thus I theorised it could be work related.

Tourism is something like that tho - being on unfamiliar grounds for fun.
The analogy with real life tourism is moving to Japan, but after years not even trying to learn some basics of the language or some important customs.

PS
So I really think anime tourism is a thing...possibly in come very specific cases anime immigration too.
But people are blowing those out of proportion or are totally misusing the idea behind to trash talk.

No fucking otaku in Japan would relate to western "fans", and Anime/otaku culture isn't mainly an internet thing. It only seem that way to anyone who hasn't actually experienced anything beyond internet interactions. Otaku culture in general is doing shit like obsessively collecting shit like Physical media from books to merch. An actual Otaku in Japan would actually have more in common with an average Japanese salaryman simply for needing to work just as much as them just to keep affording the shit they collect and consume. lol

Actual Japanese Anime Otakus generally don't look too fondly on Western fans or the fandom here. lol