How To Spot An Anime Tourist (And What It Actually Means)

An anime tourist, according to the internet is exactly as it sounds. It’s someone who is “touring” and nothing more.

An outsider.

When analysed, I define the word “anime tourist” like this:

Someone who isn’t part of or involved in the anime community based on their opinions or favourite anime shows.

This becomes obvious when you see the types of comments surrounding this term, when people use this term, and their clear intention when using it.

You can always trust the anime community to come up with:

Loser terms.
Cringey sayings.

And most of all, so-called “insults” that in reality can’t be taken seriously by anyone who doesn’t live on the internet.

This is true for the term anime tourists, which is meant as an insult but in effect, makes the person saying it look sadder than they actually are.

Situations where people are called “anime tourists”:

1. When their favourite anime is the big 3

I have seen this so many times and have seen variations of it over the years. For people who’s favourite anime revolves around the big 3, or even DBZ being the obvious go to that it is, this is when terms like “tourist” fly into the picture.

Why? Because:

Naruto.
One Piece.
Bleach.

And even anime like DBZ are so known, respected, popular, and successful, that it’s almost lazy to choose these anime and claim them as your favourite.

That’s how it’s viewed by people who love calling others anime tourists anyway. But it goes beyond this.

It’s also why the term “normie” exists in the anime community. And that is also thrown at anyone who focuses on the typical but popular anime and claims them as their best of all time.

2. When you criticise a popular anime series

Fullmetal Alchemist isn’t the greatest anime of all time and I’ve said this before somewhere. Does that make me an anime tourist even though I’m more a veteran than 100% of the clowns saying it?

This is the logic of many who throw the “anime tourist” term around. It might contradict the first point, but popular anime (outside of the big 3 and shows like DBZ) is violently defended by the worst of the fanbase.

They’ll call you all kinds of names because their self esteem is so attached to these fictional pieces of work.

3. When you talk bad about Loli culture

I’ve noticed this over time, especially the more I’ve understood it and have learned about “Loli” culture in the anime community. At first, I didn’t know enough so I didn’t say shit.

Nowadays I see there’s a disgusting group of anime fans, who knows what their age is, who hide behind profile pictures and violently attack anyone who dares to disparage and criticize Loli culture.

They also praise Loli culture (the lewd or pornographic kind) as if it’s some sort of achievement.

When people criticize it in general, they are of course talking about the fanmade images and rotten fanart, rather than the usual thing you see in anime like Haganai, Hyperdimension Neptunia, GATE JSDF, Masamune Kun, or other acceptable anime.

4. When your opinions differ from the accepted norms

When I was looking up this dumb term for “anime tourist”, I ended up coming across a video from the channel Anime Tea, a black anime YouTuber.

I thought it was sarcastic and that was the point. It’s titled “This YouTuber is an Anime Tourist”.

She was criticized for her take on age gaps and “harassment” anime like Nagatoro and framed an anime tourist.

It’s hilarious that people use this term thinking they’re offending anyone when they’re only making themselves look more like a loser than they already are.

I’ve had a taste of this on a viral level over the years.

5. Whenever you talk about fanservice in a negative light

I have all sorts of opinions of fan service, and I’ve talked about it more than many. From all sides of the argument (good bad, ugly).

I noticed these days that when people on Twitter criticize fan service in any capacity, a mob of wankers (pun intended) come rushing out of their caves to throw around terms like anime tourist, normie, etc.

Thinking this is an insult for one proves how much of a geek these people are because it doesn’t hit the way they think it does.

And second, not handling opinions well means you shouldn’t be on social media in the first place.

6. When it’s blatantly obvious that you’re new to the anime community

New anime fans have it hard, especially the ones who are genuine and aren’t on some bullshit. I’ve seen the nonsense over the years when it comes to the worst of the community scaring off newcomers in the anime community.

Or those who act a certain way in so many forums or social networks, that new fans don’t even wanna be part of the community or they just don’t bother taking part in it.

There’s a weird arrogance that some fans have where they think they’re better than you because they’ve watched 100 more anime than you have, and I know exists among dickhead influencers.

7. When you’re a culture vulture

You see, the word “anime tourist” isn’t all negative. There is actually an argument for it in the cases of culture vultures.

What is a culture vulture in the anime community? Someone who wants to profit off the culture, forces the culture to cater to their demands, while not giving a shit about that culture in the slightest.

This is really how the term “tourist” should be used in the anime community because these types which exist across entertainment industries are without a doubt tourists trying to ruin it for everyone.

The likes of CBR, Comic Book, and various websites owned by similar companies are perfect examples.

8. When you use anime as a scapegoat

I’ve done an entire article on this shit. I highlighted so many people who have gone on to criticize and use anime as a scapegoat (CNN included), only to find out the same people are closet pedo’s or have secret stashes of child you know what hiding in their computer.

And similar scenarios.

These are the people who are obsessed with dissing anime fans, only to find out they themselves are the things they are criticizing fans for.

It’s called nuance.

Where did the term “anime tourist” come from?

I searched as far back as 2010, 2011, and every single year up until 2020. It seems in 2020, the year of the pandemic, this term started gaining steam on social media.

Reddit, unsurprisingly, was one of those platforms. And of course, Twitter is where the term is used to a sickening degree.

The problem with fans who use the term “anime tourist”

The irony of this 1M+ views Tweet and anime fans who use the term anime tourist like this, is fans in the community also behave in this way.

In fact, a shocking amount of fans who have:

Watched a lot of anime.
Have been in the community for a while.
Who have experience.

Fans like this also:

Join anime fandoms for the sake of policing others.
Watches common shows like Naruto or One Piece.
Has pronouns in their Twitter bio.
Berates you for something you don’t like.

To think otherwise is naive at best and biased at worst.

.I’ve had Mecha fans who are obsessed with the genre stalk and criticize me because I accurately pointed out Mecha’s gradual decline in the 2010s.

Why Mecha Anime Has Been DECLINING And Losing Its Appeal Since The 2010’s https://t.co/mbzr60FpMJ #animemotivation pic.twitter.com/oyyVGmK35n

— Anime Motivation (@AnimeMotivate) June 10, 2022