Predicament of Anime

Terrorists. Murderers. Communists. Corrupt politicians. These are the types of people considered most dangerous to American society. However, there might be one group of people more harmful and relevant to America than all of these people combined. Weeaboos.

What is a weeaboo? Weeaboos, or weebs for short, are a group of westerners who immerse themselves in a pseudo-Japanese culture based on their interpretation of anime and manga. These weebs are rampant on the internet. Known for writing extensive (and often perverse) fan-fiction, drawing (often perverse) anime stylized art, and adding some Japanese words such as “kawaii” or “baka” to English conversations.

These are the type of people that Uzair Saleem, an 11th grade student from Summit High School deals with whenever he opens his laptop. “I love anime,” he says. “It’s not bad at all. The people in the anime community are the problem.”

This opinion is shared by many modern teens. In an average class, one is likely to see a freshman boy playing “Dokkan Battle”, the new DragonBall Z mobile game. Despite the obvious implications that may arise from students playing an anime based game, most are to likely distance themselves from the weeaboo community.

When asked about the negative stigmas associated with the anime community, Uzair cited a plethora of examples. “People usually think of lazy, sad, adult men who rarely experience social interaction." When asked to cite positive traits, Uzair was unable to find any.

To understand why weeaboos are so detrimental to anime, one must understand how the weeaboo culture was formed and the effects it has on the Western perception of anime. Pseudo-Japanese culture created by weeaboos was formed by a mix of translation errors and false assumptions.

Weeaboos don't understand that they are misinterpreting Japanese culture. They develop their conclusions about Japan based on cliches and patterns from the anime and manga they've seen.

Uzair says, "Basing your knowledge of Japan on anime is like basing your knowledge of Greek mythology on the Percy Jackson series. You can kind of get the concept but specifics are lost."

Though they may seem harmless, misconceptions like these spread the the stereotype of ignorance. This makes would-be anime fans less willing to watch anime or read manga. Casual anime fans have trouble discussing anime online due to the confident, hostile nature of hardcore weeaboos.

And weeaboos don’t just harm the anime fanbase. Hayao Miyazaki, a world renowned anime film director blames weeaboos and otakus (Japanese anime fans who develop antisocial tendencies) for the lack of quality in modern anime. “Anime was a mistake.” Miyazaki says. “It’s nothing but rubbish.”

If even a popular anime creator can see the harm in weeaboos, then something must be done. “We need to spread a trend of education amongst anime viewers.” Uzair says. “If the people know that they are harming anime, they might make steps to improve their behavior. These are the steps we need to take to correct the mistakes of weeaboo.”

-Caleb Venerable