TEISHI SHIMASU Anime Stereotypes

ANIME ISN’T JUST WHAT IS PERCEIVED BY NON ANIME WATCHERS. PEOPLE JUDGE THIS FORM ON ENTERTAINMENT FOR NO REASON. CITY FIRST SPOKE TO A FEW ANIME LOVERS TO KNOW THEIR OPINIONS!

For decades, anime was only available to die-hard aficionados of the genre or to those willing to hunt down rare, imported VHS cassettes to get their dose.

Anime is now bigger than ever, due to expanded licencing that has brought more series to American shores.

It has grown in popularity significantly since the outbreak of Covid-19. It’s safe to assume that it’s turned into a new trend.

It is everywhere, from instagram to tiktok, you can find so many anime based accounts and posts ranging from just sharing snippets of certain episodes to detailed fan art and serious storyline debates.

It wasn’t like this before though.

People who watched anime were tormented, mocked, and made fun of for years before the epidemic. They were considered weird or were teased by the name “weaboos” or “weebs.”

Although bullying has decreased in recent years, preconceptions continue to exist and continue to annoy those who watch and love the entertainment form .

City First reached out to various anime fans and inquired what the most vexing anime stereotype is in their opinion.

Since I’m a girl I must be into Shoujo more and only watch Naruto and DBZ. It is very annoying and even if I try to make them understand that this is not the case, they only use it to make fun of me even more calling me a “wannabe” and whatnot. —KAMINI KAROLIWAL

It’s very annoying when nonanime watchers tell me that all the anime has the same storyline. People don’t even open their minds about it.

All is different and have different beautiful storylines and aesthetics. I just wish people understood that instead of judging it so harshly. —BABITA NEGI

For me personally it is when people tell me that it is boring and has nothing as interesting or realistic as a general Netfl ix series.

There is a lot of wonderful anime/w out there with intriguing plots, romance, exciting combat and much more that lays behind the stereotype. —ANSHUL MISHRA

Because of the story portrayal through animation, people think that it is for children without seeing what it really is.

People also assume that anime watchers are weird or immature but that isn’t right. Celebrities also watch anime like Keanu Reeves and Disha Patni. It has many genres that can satisfy most people.

—HARSH BARVE

The most infuriating stereotype I’ve encountered as an anime fan is when people dismiss me as a child for watching anime and suggest that I shouldn’t watch it since I’m a girl.

They do not believe me when I tell them that I am an anime fan and dismiss me very quickly. —SHIBANGI SOREN

It’s very irritating when people tell me that all anime characters look the same. Its like saying that all Asian people look the same.

Every character has a different story, different features and different universes. There is so much more to anime than the stereotypes. — ROOPAL SHARMA