Why is anime so weird?

[Aureumterra III]

I’ll just start this off by saying I never liked anime, ever, but I have been around this weird subculture on the internet and in real life that obsesses over it.

Anime seems so weird, almost every anime seems to have people with artificial hair, the hyper sexualization of everything, and other weird things like catgirls and all that. What makes it even weirder is there is a certain subset of people, usually in the West, who obsess over it and spend every breathing moment of their life talking about anime. Why is it so weird and particularly so socially awkward?

[Infected Mushroom]

It... isn't?

[Aureumterra III]

I’ll just start this off by saying I never liked anime, ever, but I have been around this weird subculture on the internet and in real life that obsesses over it.

Anime seems so weird, almost every anime seems to have people with artificial hair, the hyper sexualization of everything, and other weird things like catgirls and all that. What makes it even weirder is there is a certain subset of people, usually in the West, who obsess over it and spend every breathing moment of their life talking about anime. Why is it so weird and particularly so socially awkward?

True. Anime is one of the worst internet phenomena.

I mean, technically it was a thing before the internet, as it’s just a style of animation, but the internet has grown a weird subculture that obsesses over it

[Rwekazaland]

Now I seee how you talk about catgirls and stufff but..
DBZ ANT WERID

[Whitemore]

What seems weird to you is normal to other people.

[Ifreann]

It... isn't?

Shockingly, this. Anime isn't weird, it's just normal in a way that people on the far side of the world aren't always familiar with.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

Anyone who hates anime hates Jojo. I can't abide by that.

[Mestovakia]

Anyone who hates anime hates Jojo. I can't abide by that.

"Awaken, my masters!"

[La Paz de Los Ricos]

I’ll just start this off by saying I never liked anime, ever, but I have been around this weird subculture on the internet and in real life that obsesses over it.

Anime seems so weird, almost every anime seems to have people with artificial hair, the hyper sexualization of everything, and other weird things like catgirls and all that. What makes it even weirder is there is a certain subset of people, usually in the West, who obsess over it and spend every breathing moment of their life talking about anime. Why is it so weird and particularly so socially awkward?

This and this have been helpful in understanding anime's online popularity.

[The Holy Therns]

I’ll just start this off by saying I never liked anime, ever, but I have been around this weird subculture on the internet and in real life that obsesses over it.

Anime seems so weird, almost every anime seems to have people with artificial hair, the hyper sexualization of everything, and other weird things like catgirls and all that. What makes it even weirder is there is a certain subset of people, usually in the West, who obsess over it and spend every breathing moment of their life talking about anime. Why is it so weird and particularly so socially awkward?

Are you the year 2003?

[La Xinga]

It just is. The drawings, the face, the voices, I don't like them.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

Anyone who hates anime hates Jojo. I can't abide by that.

"Awaken, my masters!"

https://youtu.be/x7u5_T5Xacc

[Mestovakia]

Can't believe you guys can hate Pokemon.

[Aureumterra III]

Anyone who hates anime hates Jojo. I can't abide by that.

Never seen that, I don’t particularly hate anime itself, but I definitely hate the weird and toxic internet subculture. I never liked anime, that’s not to say I actively disliked it, I just found it really weird

[Whitemore]

Anyone who hates anime hates Jojo. I can't abide by that.

Never seen that, I don’t particularly hate anime itself, but I definitely hate the weird and toxic internet subculture. I never liked anime, that’s not to say I actively disliked it, I just found it really weird

You really shouldn't judge anime based on it's community, that's ignoring the hard work anime writers and producers put into their work.

[Ifreann]

Anyone who hates anime hates Jojo. I can't abide by that.

Never seen that, I don’t particularly hate anime itself, but I definitely hate the weird and toxic internet subculture. I never liked anime, that’s not to say I actively disliked it, I just found it really weird

So are you talking about anime or are you talking about a toxic internet subculture?

[Kiu Ghesik]

True. Anime is one of the worst internet phenomena.

I mean, technically it was a thing before the internet, as it’s just a style of animation, but the internet has grown a weird subculture that obsesses over it

...you just described the internet.

Now I seee how you talk about catgirls and stufff but..
DBZ ANT WERID

ant
werid

I love this post with every fibre of my being.

[SD_Film Artists]

Anime seems so weird, almost every anime seems to have people with artificial hair, the hyper sexualization of everything, and other weird things like catgirls and all that. What makes it even weirder is there is a certain subset of people, usually in the West, who obsess over it and spend every breathing moment of their life talking about anime. Why is it so weird and particularly so socially awkward?

As with any media, it depends which genre you watch. It's not all Dragon Ball Z and hentai, some of it would pass for a normal drama series if it wasn't animated; indeed some great 'western' films such as The Matrix and Inception were directly inspired/copied from anime. My brother wouldn't touch anime until I showed him the more realistic parts of Ghost in the Shell

[Dominioan]

A question as old as time itself.

[Greofman]

It... isn't?

ffuuuucck man im high

[Wubdich]

Anime isn't much weirder than any other Internet phenomena. Every fandom, franchise, or phenomenon has its 'bad sites' or 'bad examples' that make it appear weird.
So you are neither wrong nor absolutely right.
There are parts of the anime fandom/community/whatever-you-call-it that have some 'weird' attributes for someone that is not that into it. There are people who throw half their income at Anime-merch and whatever else, either out of obsession, or because they want to support the creators of their favorite anime.
But it isn't much 'weirder' than people obsessed by a specific music genre, movie genre, specific artist, movie itself or whatever else that can be obsessed about.
What about meme-culture? Just like anime fans throw half their income at merchandise from an anime, in meme culture people buy stuff worth half their income just for the giggles.

[Destyntine]

I’ll just start this off by saying I never liked anime, ever, but I have been around this weird subculture on the internet and in real life that obsesses over it.

Anime seems so weird, almost every anime seems to have people with artificial hair, the hyper sexualization of everything, and other weird things like catgirls and all that. What makes it even weirder is there is a certain subset of people, usually in the West, who obsess over it and spend every breathing moment of their life talking about anime. Why is it so weird and particularly so socially awkward?

I often find myself thinking the same thing. I've honestly tried watching anime (after being forced by multiple friends) and never found the attraction that they do.

I've always noticed a trend in anime, the main character is always some teen/young adult with an average build and introverted personalities who either has a direct super power or a learned supernatural ability. I never understood why the main protagonist is always like this in anime.

I guess we all have that urge in our brains to have the attraction to something. Anime just tends to be more common than other attractions. Kind of like car collector enthusiasts or football fanatics, there is always something that the brain will crave.

[Unstoppable Empire of Doom]

"Certain subset of people, usually in the west"

Someone clearly hasn't heard of Akihabara....

[Hurdergaryp]

The drawing style of the godfather of manga and anime, Osamu Tezuka, was heavily influenced by Disney. Given how Disney comics became available to the Japanese public during the American occupation, it is fair to say that anime was made possible by the defeat of Imperial Japan.

[Nevertopia]

I’ll just start this off by saying I never liked anime, ever, but I have been around this weird subculture on the internet and in real life that obsesses over it.

Anime seems so weird, almost every anime seems to have people with artificial hair, the hyper sexualization of everything, and other weird things like catgirls and all that. What makes it even weirder is there is a certain subset of people, usually in the West, who obsess over it and spend every breathing moment of their life talking about anime. Why is it so weird and particularly so socially awkward?

why are you so weird?