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May 13, 2022 10:53 AM
#1

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Dec 2020
82
This is something that I have been wondering for a while, in anime (usualy slice of lifes) when a character gets a cold they aren't able to get out of bed, they almost pass out and have fevers and then someone has to take care of them for the day.

I understand that this is a plot device just to show another situation on these characters lives but is it normal? Like is it normal to be this bad when you get a cold, or maybe is it normal in Japan?

Because I can't even remember the last time I had a fever let alone anytime I has or even seen someone that bad because of a cold...
Basically my question is, did you or have you have ever seen someone get as sick as it is portrait in anime?


You may grow out of anime eventually...
But until then you might as well enjoy it!
May 13, 2022 1:38 PM
#2
Neet Specter

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Mar 2022
11175
It happened to me once when i was 13... It wasn't a cold but the flu..
I didn't have the girl i liked come over but after missing school for 5 days, when she talked to me she said yes...
 

May 13, 2022 1:55 PM
#3

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Oct 2018
5808
I wonder what's wrong with their immunity, it usually takes only one drop of rain to bring the character down.
If you're a fanboy, please don't waste my time.

Watch more movies, please.

Perhaps, this is hell.
May 13, 2022 1:55 PM
#4
Twintail Expert

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Feb 2019
1617
A lot of times it seems pretty extreme. But worth noting that the Japanese word for a common cold could be/is also used for the flu, not necessarily just the sniffles.
May 13, 2022 1:56 PM
#5

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May 2021
3648
you know japan is an island so it is kind of like australia but with the virus that is why they always use masks



May 13, 2022 2:03 PM
#6
ranked 54 in FAL
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Mar 2018
1594
it is a bit exaggerated yes, but in my experience it isn't that unrealistic. i get fevers at the very least on a yearly\bi-yearly basis and it's pretty often for those to have about one day during my time being sick that i'm really down for the count and i don't think the people around me are that much stronger in their constitution.
May 13, 2022 2:14 PM
#7
🍅 Tomato 🍅

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Feb 2020
123307
Raindrop, the most overpowered anime villain.
May 13, 2022 2:28 PM
#8
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Jul 2018
561864
Serafos said:
Raindrop, the most overpowered anime villain.

Don't laugh at that. I almost always catch a cold when I have been out in the rain. We weebs are delicate creatures. xD

But I don't even passed out and could walk normally when I had 40+ fever. Not that I felt good tho, but that's not a cold anymore.

Tho two or three times I passed out, because during my period I often have iron deficiency, but otherwise it never happened and surely not because of a cold.


Lime_Bear said:
This is something that I have been wondering for a while, in anime (usualy slice of lifes) when a character gets a cold they aren't able to get out of bed, they almost pass out and have fevers and then someone has to take care of them for the day.

I understand that this is a plot device just to show another situation on these characters lives but is it normal? Like is it normal to be this bad when you get a cold, or maybe is it normal in Japan?

Because I can't even remember the last time I had a fever let alone anytime I has or even seen someone that bad because of a cold...
Basically my question is, did you or have you have ever seen someone get as sick as it is portrait in anime?


It's the opposite from what I have heard. You are forced to go to work or school until you are getting really, really sick. So maybe they just the wish to take a day off and that's some kind of wishfulfillment fantasy.
May 13, 2022 3:07 PM
#9

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Oct 2018
2760
Notoshin said:
ryo-san said:
It happened to me once when i was 13... It wasn't a cold but the flu..
I didn't have the girl i liked come over but after missing school for 5 days, when she talked to me she said yes...


Yes to what‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎


Yes to obviously... ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
May 13, 2022 3:58 PM

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Jun 2017
6625
It may not be a cold, it might be some other illness that they don't want to go into detail about, so they just keep it vague and say it's a cold.
My waifu is the most wonderful waifu. Mai Valentine.

We're freaking out that we're running out of time, but to do what? Should i stop and think of that? Is there something i could do to slow it down? Live in a day for once, instead of watch it sprinting by
May 13, 2022 5:25 PM

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Jul 2021
10743
TheBlockernator said:
It may not be a cold, it might be some other illness that they don't want to go into detail about, so they just keep it vague and say it's a cold.

What other common disease can you get just by getting a little wet in cold weather?
May 13, 2022 5:30 PM
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Jul 2018
561864
I’ve never speed ran a cold like it’s depicted in anime, I’ve gotten very sick but it’s been a gradual process, then sick for a few days. I’m sure the anime does it so that it’s one episode instead of multiple. But yeah, drops of rain, or going out without a jacket are killers in the anime world.
May 13, 2022 6:03 PM

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Jun 2017
3115
Phosphophyllita said:
I wonder what's wrong with their immunity, it usually takes only one drop of rain to bring the character down.

On the other hand, they have that overpowered generic medicine ("Here-I-brought-you-Medicine") that gets them up and doing in no time. Life in anime is simple.

May 13, 2022 6:17 PM
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Jan 2020
2956
I've been completely drenched by pouring rain before, and been completely fine. And it's not like I immediately took off my wet clothes. That being said, I do tend to not get sick. I seem to have a decent immune system.

I always wondered where that "cold" troupe came from though. Is that something that people in Japan readily are concerned with? It's in a lot of anime, so, even if it's just a superstition, it had to have stemmed from somewhere. The other thing too is that Japanese people are known for longevity, so it's not like they necessarily have weak constitutions either.

If nothing else, I suppose it is just a convenient plot device for drama and romance.
"...Is your mother worried? Would you like us to assign someone to worry your mother?"
May 13, 2022 6:43 PM

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Jun 2017
6625
JaniSIr said:
TheBlockernator said:
It may not be a cold, it might be some other illness that they don't want to go into detail about, so they just keep it vague and say it's a cold.

What other common disease can you get just by getting a little wet in cold weather?


I don't see many characters getting cold's from playing in the rain, from what i see, they just get sick and it's called a cold.
My waifu is the most wonderful waifu. Mai Valentine.

We're freaking out that we're running out of time, but to do what? Should i stop and think of that? Is there something i could do to slow it down? Live in a day for once, instead of watch it sprinting by
May 13, 2022 6:45 PM

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Jul 2007
4681
the rain carries disease and plague in japan from the chinese winnie the pooh air that crosses the sea
☆☆☆
"There's a huge difference between one and infinity.
However, compared to the difference between
existence and non-existence, one and infinite are
nearly the same. I am the child destined to become
the best witch... no... The greatest Creator in the world...!"
-Maria Ushiromiya
☆☆☆

May 14, 2022 6:06 AM

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Feb 2018
3048
Lime_Bear said:
Catching a cold in anime...





((((000000000000000000000000000000000))))
May 14, 2022 6:11 AM
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Aug 2021
10436
I wonder what's wrong with their immunity, it usually takes only one drop of rain to bring the character down.


On the other hand, they have that overpowered generic medicine ("Here-I-brought-you-Medicine") that gets them up and doing in no time. Life in anime is simple.


Massive W Massive W Massive W Massive W Massive W Massive W
May 14, 2022 4:30 PM
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Jul 2018
561864
I think it's the fact that some cultures will rely more on traditional means to treat a cold and don't use fever-reduction medicine that a lot of Westerners rely on; they basically have a philosophy of "sweating it out" (which is actually better for your body to fight the virus, provided that whatever you've caught isn't too severe, but having a fever for a prolonged time does will definitely start to make you feel delirious). That being said, you also have to consider that Japan and China are hyper-focused on keeping everything super clean which, and I know I sound like Alex Jones here, doesn't do wonders for boosting your immune system by any natural means. Living in complete filth isn't good for you either but also keeping everything sterile won't allow our body to get the proper exposure it needs to learn how to deal with new elements that it may encounter. Although anecdotally, I've heard of pediatricians encouraging parents with young children that have an abnormally expansive list of allergies to go outside and get dirty a bit more often, and that apparently gets decent results in reducing the body's attack response to new stimuli.

but like, also anime plot device logic lol

Personally, the closest I've ever come to being that sick was a killer migraine I got from a fever that made me involuntarily burst into tears. It passed after a three-four hour nap and some Tylenol, and I wasn't all that physically incapacitated so much as I wanted to kill everyone and then myself.
May 14, 2022 8:07 PM

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Jan 2018
33322
lay down because nose won't stop running like dripping tap water. if you never touch a rain drop then fever will probably sink in your skin as soon as you get caught wet. it's still logical, as long as you have a full day of proper rest with proper nutrition you can recover in a day.
May 14, 2022 9:14 PM
Laughing Man

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Jun 2012
7035
Dunno, in my experience, I, myself, or anyone I knew had to miss class or something like that because they were under the rain for 0.1 seconds.
It's so prevalent in anime that it probably does have some foundation in reality.

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May 14, 2022 9:30 PM
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Jul 2018
561864
You never heard of the severity of the Japanese common cold? That thing can literally kill you irl there.
May 14, 2022 9:38 PM

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Aug 2018
17114
you don't know? catching a cold is dangerous.
May 15, 2022 7:47 AM

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Feb 2016
15016
No, Japanese people will keep to their schedules even when sick.
その目だれの目?
May 15, 2022 8:02 AM

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Oct 2013
546
I've always found it weird how sickness-prone anime characters are, though my perception is definitely skewed since I never get sick and it's been over 5 years since I had a cold of some kind. I have to wonder if there's a difference in illness transmissibility and immune system receptiveness for Japanese people because the idea of getting a cold just from being exposed to cold makes me role my eyes every time. As long as it's used in the plot as a minor thing I don't mind, but it can feel very contrived if used to have a big impact on the story.

A society which fails to uphold empathy as its foremost guiding principle is doomed to ignore or even defend the exploitation of its most vulnerable members.
May 15, 2022 8:12 AM

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Mar 2012
8746
I just watched Fruits Basket Prelude and I'm wondering this myself. I mean

Are Japanese people really that weak!?
May 15, 2022 2:13 PM

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Mar 2017
2852
_Maneki-Neko_ said:
Serafos said:
Raindrop, the most overpowered anime villain.

Don't laugh at that. I almost always catch a cold when I have been out in the rain. We weebs are delicate creatures. xD

But I don't even passed out and could walk normally when I had 40+ fever. Not that I felt good tho, but that's not a cold anymore.

Tho two or three times I passed out, because during my period I often have iron deficiency, but otherwise it never happened and surely not because of a cold.


Lime_Bear said:
This is something that I have been wondering for a while, in anime (usualy slice of lifes) when a character gets a cold they aren't able to get out of bed, they almost pass out and have fevers and then someone has to take care of them for the day.

I understand that this is a plot device just to show another situation on these characters lives but is it normal? Like is it normal to be this bad when you get a cold, or maybe is it normal in Japan?

Because I can't even remember the last time I had a fever let alone anytime I has or even seen someone that bad because of a cold...
Basically my question is, did you or have you have ever seen someone get as sick as it is portrait in anime?


It's the opposite from what I have heard. You are forced to go to work or school until you are getting really, really sick. So maybe they just the wish to take a day off and that's some kind of wishfulfillment fantasy.

Is that assessment based on information or observations that predate Covid-19? Because it wouldn't surprise me in the least if once the pandemic came around they swung the opposite way and encouraged people to stay home even for mild symptoms, at least during the first year or so of the pandemic before vaccines became available.

Then again, presuming the Japanese shifted to working from home for jobs that lent themselves to it, it wouldn't surprise me if they leveraged that fact that WFH makes it easier for employees who are "sick but not too sick" to put in at least some work hours where otherwise the commute and working in-office would have been prohibitive.
A møøse once bit my sister...
May 15, 2022 3:22 PM
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Mar 2022
382
>character gets sick from being outside in the literal cold too long
immersion broken, instant 0/10
May 15, 2022 3:48 PM

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Jun 2008
24605
I remember reading something a long time ago that japanese people get super sick when they get sick due to their hectic lifestyle. But that might have all been bullshit.
May 15, 2022 7:42 PM

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Feb 2021
4761
I'm not from Japan nor am I Japanese, but whenever I get cold I usually have a 38-39 degree fever and everything seems so dark when that happens. So I do need someone to take care of me during that time.
"Nobody could laugh at someone who's trying their hardest" -Machio-

May 15, 2022 7:50 PM

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Nov 2008
27806
It could be worse, you could be like Marie from Sispri and get sick from water splashing on you, unfortunately it's not limited to that anime either as I've seen it a few times.

Also, the power of love has cured a few colds in anime, sadly no sex has cured a cold in anime even though that does help relieve a cold irl.


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