Is anime a taboo?

[Ulysses Odysseus]

No one I know has any idea I like anime/manga. Not even my parents (reason why I stream most stuff so I can watch it in *secret* when they're not around). Reason being it is complete social suicide if anyone ever found out. Hell, I remember some female friends going crazy about this guy they just saw, then they went to his facebook page and saw he had Bebop and a few other animes listed and never talked about him again. I feel like some of my friends would be fine with it, they're a bit more open-minded, but if even one person found out, I can say bye bye to my social life forever.

And forget about finding other people who like it, I've seen the anime club at my school... UGH. Bunch of weirdos (I'm fine with weirdness, but sometimes it's just... too much).

I think the problem in the US is that anime gets associated with only a few things: 1. kiddy shows like Pokemon
2. Hentai
3. The really weird "weaboos" who want to live in japan and are annoying as fuck

I wish people could just see anime as another art medium which has good and bad series in it and some that are just weird but it's got a terrible stigma here.

I think we need a huge marketing push for a good anime movie or something that isn't kiddy or too extreme. Maybe 5cm/S or something along those lines. And it needs to be marketed HEAVILY like a regular American movie. Maybe that could start changing people's minds and realize that not all anime is the same and not all anime fans are the same.

[danin8r44]

I just got out of high school in the states and I don't think that it is really the anime itself that people tease. At my school I was friends with as many stereotypical jock kids as stereotypical nerds because I am a bit of both(more nerd if you ask me). Mentioning anime in passing with either doesn't detract from your social standing. Both groups sort of saw it as a small personality quirk or a slightly odd hobby. The only real difference is that the jock type kids would put on a confused or bored face and the nerds would put on a confused or intrigued face whenever anime viewing was mentioned.

The stigma of anime viewing, at least in my school, came from the "anime club" who constantly hung posters with the rising sun around our school and seemed to attract the five kids from every grade who absolutely refused to shower.

Edit: I would like to say though, that advertising your love of anime will reward you with a social stigma. Being not secretive but discreet about your anime viewing will keep your social standing intact in high school. Walking around with Naruto wear or decorating social network pages or personal keepsakes with anime related stuff will likely cast a large social stigma on you.

[LeoXiao]

I don't see much stigma attached to anime/manga, at least where I live. Most people don't mention it, but there are the types of people who you "know" are probably into it.
Among my friends (there are 2), they both accept it and will say "it's okay," but they are pretty cold about it otherwise. It's not the same as watching a movie or reading a book for them.

Hell, I remember some female friends going crazy about this guy they just saw, then they went to his facebook page and saw he had Bebop and a few other animes listed and never talked about him again.

they must've been really worthless people then, to judge someone like that.

[Hyperion]

Aside from a couple of my friends who poke fun at me, no one's ever bothered me for being an anime fan. Granted I don't wear a banner that screams "I LOVE ANIME!", and I've only let those close to me know I like it.

Granted I've gotten a couple of funny looks in video shops, but the best experience was in my local Barnes & Nobel. I asked the nearest clerk where their Anime/Manga section was and her face lit up like a Christmas tree as she tugged me along.

Most anime I buy from Best Buy, and there is -always- two or more people in that aisle, and when I join in and look they usually grin and ask what I like.

[HigurashinoUmineko]

My friends never really talk about anime that much. I mean they know I'm into it but I don't think they go bashing on it. I mean at least one time they were joking about it but that's it. Some people even praise my anime drawings tho so it's fine I guess.

[othera]

Originally Posted by Ulysses Odysseus

No one I know has any idea I like anime/manga. Not even my parents (reason why I stream most stuff so I can watch it in *secret* when they're not around). Reason being it is complete social suicide if anyone ever found out. Hell, I remember some female friends going crazy about this guy they just saw, then they went to his facebook page and saw he had Bebop and a few other animes listed and never talked about him again. I feel like some of my friends would be fine with it, they're a bit more open-minded, but if even one person found out, I can say bye bye to my social life forever.

And forget about finding other people who like it, I've seen the anime club at my school... UGH. Bunch of weirdos (I'm fine with weirdness, but sometimes it's just... too much).

I think the problem in the US is that anime gets associated with only a few things: 1. kiddy shows like Pokemon
2. Hentai
3. The really weird "weaboos" who want to live in japan and are annoying as fuck

I wish people could just see anime as another art medium which has good and bad series in it and some that are just weird but it's got a terrible stigma here.

I think we need a huge marketing push for a good anime movie or something that isn't kiddy or too extreme. Maybe 5cm/S or something along those lines. And it needs to be marketed HEAVILY like a regular American movie. Maybe that could start changing people's minds and realize that not all anime is the same and not all anime fans are the same.

I have this problem where I live
For example, My little brother saw my desktop background and strait away went "wtf you have a porn background" and still today talks about it as if its something bad. At school me and my friends were talking about games, After talking about art styles I mentioned anime and 1 of them goes "i heard that hentai is really badly drawn" and expected me to know the answer.. Didn't believe me when I said I have no clue, Then I have my IRL friends and brothers assuming I like everything japanese(Watching a movie, after it they'll be like "oh i bet the only character you liked was that asian chick")

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Your "social standing" depends on who you are standing next to.... do you *really* want to be "cool" with people who have no sense of imagination, spend their time trying to get laid or wasted, and spend money on the latest fashions?

Sounds like 70% of my generation. Halfwitted, useless and all they cared about is getting good grades and improve their social standing. The guys become much better after they went through the army, but the females? I don't want to say anything lest I get accused of being sexist.

Or would you rather talk to people who can make complete sentences, know how a computer works, won't look at you blankly if you mention a Shakespeare play. As long as you haven't filled your brain with *just* anime but also filled it with all sorts of other activities and knowledge - you'll be all right and you'll be more likely to have people around you who don't make you ill.

This is a big problem. People like to generalise. So watching anime is a waste of time compared to hanging out or going shopping? So people who like anime girls are desperados who need a 3D girlfriend rather than a 2D one?

They have this huge cavity in their brain filled with air.

[Alchemist007]

It's a taboo if you're a jackass.