I honestly couldn't say. There are so many contradicting characteristics associated with my personality that I don't necessarily fit any stereotype/label. I legit confuse people. The definition of a "weeb" or what some call "neckbeards" doesn't seem to fit me all that much.
I generally love anime that is cute and has a heartwarming/bittersweet story that would make me smile. I tend to deal with depression & anxiety quite often; much of the "slice of life" anime tends to make me feel better when I'm down and puts my mind on the right track again. Western animation typically doesn't have the same effect on me.
I also have an interest in the Japanese language and music. I've been particularly interested in J-R&B. I tend to think that in some instances, Japanese music is eclipsing western music. However, idol music (like AKB48) leaves a lot to be desired.
There are many aspects about the Japanese culture that I find admirable and interesting (like an affinity for cuteness). However, I don't think that I could live in Japan. One such reason would be is that I think the public smoking & drinking would irritate me; the fact that alcohol is sold just about everywhere there's food is quite a turn off to me. At least here in America, plenty of restaurants and such exist where there's no smoking allowed or alcohol being sold. I'm fully aware that such an opinion is quite unpopular. Further more, I have no problem with people that like to partake in such vices; I just don't want to be around such. Particularly for reasons which if stated, would be quite a wall of text thus I'll spare you guys (this post is long enough as it is).
So maybe, 1 or 2? *shrugs*
PantsuSenseiUwU said:
id wear a MAGA hat at a liberal rally even though im a "lib"
This is not really directed at you per se, but this caught my attention. It really blows my mind that anime/"weebism" is associated with conservatism/Trump these days. It seems that this association came about after the "#gamergate" mess when researching such trend. Much, if not the vast majority of his supporters are the alpha male manly types that tend to think anime is for f*ggots and kids. I'm almost 31 years old and can no longer count how many times that slur has been thrown at me (it probably doesn't help that I have quite a bit of a feminine appearance and persona). I've always thought that in many ways, anime was quite forward thinking/progressive. For example, LGBT is well represented; just look at Wandering Son, Yuri on Ice and just yuri anime in general.
Honestly, it's quite sad to me that it's being particularly associated with the most vile of humanity by mainstream Western civilization and mass media. So much, that I'm considering in not being too open about being a fan of it anymore. I mean... I always say to not give a fuck what people think of you as liking anime has always been quite a stigma; but mass murderer, racist, nazi, misogynist, incel, pedophile or whatever terms/rhetorics being thrown around out there due to recent internet trends and world events are serious things to be associated with (unless of course, you are one of those that are listed; in that case, fuck off and don't talk to me). I already have documented mental illness; so yeah, not great things to be associated with.
Anyways, this is a hell of a topic to bring up and a nasty road to go down so I'll digress. It's something that I wanted to get off my chest for quite a while now. I'll close by saying: thanks a lot to the internet for fucking it up for everyone.
TL;DR
I think the takeaway to get from this thread (and post) is that anime is loved by people of all different nationalities, ethnicities, genders, backgrounds, walks of life, political persuasions and viewpoints. It's quite a diverse audience now. Anime conventions are looking much more diverse with every year that passes (especially here in Detroit with Youmacon) so I don't think that you can really associate it with a certain stereotype anymore despite recent trends/events. |