I’ve been around long enough in the anime industry to KNOW what triggers people, and what doesn’t in general.
I don’t make this post to troll, but to actually educate, highlight, and talk about serious issues in the anime community. Though not everything on this list is serious, just things worth pointing out.
What you can expect:
- The truth.
- Commonalities.
- Types of judgments people make (prejudice).
- Problems within the anime community itself.
- Typical conversations, trends, etc.
And other things that offend anime fans across the board.
Here’s a list
1. Talk about diversity of any kind, even if it’s not political
This one’s a given but worth talking about.
In the western part of the world, and in smaller doses – other countries that see the whole SJW, political correctness movement going on, “diversity” has become a dirty word in the anime industry.
It’s not just anime, it’s entertainment across the board. In fact, it’s almost exclusively associated with entertainment but bleeds into education and other businesses.
It’s a dirty word because Hollywood, Disney, and companies like them jump on trends to pander, grandstand, and profit while creating shitty products that mock the races or people they claim to represent.
With anime and the fans who represent it, they see diversity like this:
- Shoehorning stories from black, Asian, or non-white creators (usually black).
- Pushing certain agendas and narratives that aren’t necessary.
- Going along to get along.
- Being disingenuous to avoid backlash or being cancelled (pandering, grandstanding).
Let’s not beat around the bush, this is mostly white, edgy anime fans in the USA who see it this way. The UK in small doses.
Some are fragile and deflectors by definition. But again, many around the world are aware of this through western media consumption.
Ignoring the racists who don’t want diversity because they don’t like anyone of certain skin colors or cultures, this is the main thing that triggers a portion of fans.
Carole Tuesday, Lycoris Recoil (though limited), classics like Bleach and Black Lagoon, or Michiko To Hatchin are examples of diversity and GREAT characters/stories in general. Or just the inclusion of such characters.
2. Make sweeping statements about fans with anime profile pics
In the beginning, I thought these were sweeping statements myself. But over the years it’s sadly proven itself to be true a LOT of the time, but not all the time.
Take Twitter as proof. There are many anime accounts with anime profile pictures (or pfp in general) who go on racist rants. Or just abuse other people anonymously about their race, orientation, or whatever else.
This happened right when the black female anime voice actor was announced by CR for the Nagatoro anime (dubbed version).
The loud minority or whatever the percentage is are responsible for triggering and offending anime fans who have profile pictures. They get thrown in the same bucket after all.
3. Say you enjoy dubbed anime more than SUBBED anime
This argument has been going on for so long it feels ancient by today’s standards. People have been arguing about dubs vs subs since the 2000s.
This only increased during the 2010s and is still a thing in the 2020s and beyond.
As with subjective things like entertainment, opinions aren’t written in stone. And as with reality in general, nothing created is perfect.
You have:
- Subbed anime that are bad.
- And subbed anime that are good.
- And some that are on point.
The same is true for dubbed anime. The argument is more nuanced than it is black and white, but the most important point is nobody should care what someone else chooses to watch.
Nobody’s being harmed by choosing dubbed over subbed, and a lot more people than you think have solid reasons to choose dubbed (disabilities for example).
And besides – bragging about watching subbed is stupid because if you remove the subtitles, 95% of fans won’t know what the F is even being said.
I say that as a fan who watches mostly subbed but enjoys dubbed anime.
4. Criticize female anime characters for being sexy
I’m more talking about the selection of western feminists who run their mouths a lot about the big bad scary female characters who are terrifyingly sexy and attractive.
You’ll always see it on Twitter, the sh*t hole of social media. When a female character is considered:
- Attractive.
- Sexy.
- Beautiful.
- Hot.
Or any other word you wanna use, controversy, backlash, and overly dramatic criticism about how it “affects” women in the real world is bound to follow.
This is what offends a lot of anime fans, and the reaction is always priceless.
Example: Local Anime Translator Says Manga Is SEXIST For Appealing To Men With Hot Female Characters!
5. Say Sword Art Online Is an Isekai (even though it’s true)
I already proved this point loud and clear again with my latest SAO post: Why Sword Art Online Is An Isekai.
The definition of Isekai, defined by the Japanese where the term comes from…. Is “another world”. Or “different” world.
That’s it. Even if that world is inside a game it still counts and always has since the 2000s before the trend took off. But since the 2010s when YouTubers and the like bashed SAO for petty clicks and views, the hate train hasn’t stopped.
6. Say “anime is for kids and losers”
We already know this is a classic term, classic meaning its been used forever at this point. Andrew Tate might be the most known person to use it, publicly.
The narrative has been beaten over the head to death so long that it’s ingrained, and at best is generalized drivel intended to make anime fans feel shame and embarrassment.
7. Saying you love anime OUT LOUD as a female fan
Now I’m not saying this is the most COMMON thing that happens in the anime community, but I’ve noticed it for some years now in smaller doses.
Female fans would come out, promote anime, share their interests and what not, and they’d be criticized for it.
Usual insults include:
- You’re not a real anime fan.
- You’re doing it for clout and attention.
And from a portion of apprehensive fans they’re funny about female fans enjoying Shounen, a genre known for its toxic fanbase.
8. Argue that liking lolis is disgusting
Another issue within the anime community is the debate and arguments around:
- Loli’s (characters who are little girls).
- And lolicons (people attracted to these animated drawings).
What is Lolicon? There’s no direct, straightforward definition, but typically everyone agrees it’s mixing childlike fictional characters with sexual undertones.
Hopefully we can all agree on this. pic.twitter.com/qh4dtiWGLl
— ❄️Eight Ultra❄️ CEO of Rukia (@EightUltra) September 17, 2022
In my view it’s sickening and using the “it’s only fiction” excuse for being attracted to little girls or worse, getting off on it is dangerously close to paedophilia.
This more applies to fanart because it’s not something you see in anime as a general rule.
Regardless, there always seems to be in-fighting whenever this topic is mentioned and is definitely a conversation that’s triggering.
9. Redraw anime characters black
If you’re in the anime industry long enough you’ll see this scenario play out, over and over again.
- Anime characters get redrawn.
- Few people care (unless it’s redrawn from slim to overweight).
- But the moment black skin (or Asian in small cases) is redrawn, people lose their minds.
This is predominantly and dominantly true when it comes to black redraws of anime characters. Or just black anime characters in general despite being original.
Relevant: The HYPOCRISY Of Weebs When It Comes To Black Anime Characters
10. Point out that anime characters look white
This is another ongoing conversation in the anime community, and one many are afraid to talk about from what I see. The conversations stretch as far back as the 2000s.
Where does this belief come from?
- Anime characters are blonde a LOT of the time. Every season.
- Anime characters are western, consistently.
- And few characters are anything other than western-looking or Japanese (the latter being obvious).
My view was bias makes us think anime characters look white, similar to how a dark-ish skinned character can be judged as being black but not black.
Nowadays I see it for what it is and it partially speaks to western influence and in some cases, pandering rather than “just” design choices.
This is a non-issue by the way as a general rule. Just an observation.
Related: Why Anime Characters Don’t Look Japanese
11. Say Fairy Tail is better than Naruto (or the equivalent)
Fairy Tail is the SAO of the Shounen/Magic genre. It gets a lot of hate, disrespect, and many fans bandwagon the criticisms of everyone else. Mostly YouTubers who play it safe.
Saying this out loud comes with an argument though and most aren’t about that life.
12. Make the original dialogue political as a localizer
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, To Love Ru, and too many anime to name have been messed with as far as dialogue. This is even true when it comes to subbed translations, not just dubbed content.
America is an overly obsessed political machine as far as how a segment of its society thinks about the world. And some of these people are localizers calling themselves “fans” who manipulate dialogue to fit their unrelated narratives.
Many controversies have started because of this.
13. Tell the world you enjoy fanservice
The big bad fanservice. The “scary” attractive female bodies of female characters who even when they’re not sexualized or sexy, they’re “still” weaponized to point the finger at fans who enjoy it.
Let me make a point: being sexy and being sexualized are two different things. Some textbook feminists and the loud minority don’t seem to understand that.
It’s as if the internet has taken away all context and people no longer can contextualize or comprehend simplistic concepts, topics, or distinguish between black, white, and the grey area in between.
14. Claim anime is for paedophiles
We’ll end this with another classic criticism. Despite point #8 the usual suspects when it comes to pedos are the very same people claiming anime fans are exactly that.
A CNN author made this accusation, and one of their own employees was convicted of these very crimes years later.
A Trump supporter also made this accusation on Twitter and was later convicted of being the very thing he claimed anime fans are supposed to inherently be.
It’s a dangerous case of projection a lot of the time, just like shaming tactics in general.
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