I’ve got a confession to make~
oh where am I
We all have strong cringe phases we went through when we were younger, I think. I wasn’t interested in anime until my teens, but I didn’t get too into it during those days. These days I’ll typically just watch Jojo on Fridays (which today’s episode should be out soon, now that I think about it).
However, I’ve contemplated living in Japan, and this is probably just because I feel out of place in the United States (it has nothing to do with anime or video games). Of course, a foreigner will always be considered a foreigner when living in Japan (it doesn’t matter if they’ve been there for 30 years), and nothing can change that. My contemplation for even considering to move there is that I’d prefer the hive mind mentality and conformity over the strong expression of individuality that is present in this country–for me, this is somewhat overwhelming.
2 Likes
Is it okay to call you “FlanFlan-chan” then ? (It sounds like a dumb idol pop song <3)
[quote=“FlanFlan, post:1, topic:307224, full:true”]Regarded every single anime ever made as the best thing ever while I spit on anything that didn’t come from Japan.
[/quote]
Bible Black too ?
Only like… 3, maybe 4? of those things could even be considered “weeb”, but ok.
It’s a better social system if you actually fit in with the hive-mind mentality because it cuts back greatly on drama. There’s been cases of teenage suicides due to relentless bullying related to some teens not fitting in with the hive-mind structure so it has its downside for sure. Here the problem is everyone is an individual and expresses themselves differently, but not everyone is tolerant of people who are different which creates a lot of senseless drama that tends to drag down entire communities.
I still don’t actually consider myself a weeb since everything on that checklist I don’t do anything. Except I do still obsess over anime art and post it everywhere I can if it fits in with the topic lol.
Don’t really watch anime anymore since the lewd culture started taking over. I have difficulty taking a story seriously when it’s plastered with lewdness so it’s made my enjoyment of anime go down as a result of this.
People pointing out how cringy I was being actually made me start to look at it. I was in an anime community and people still cringing over the strong weeb in me. Eventually learned how to be an “anime fan” without having to weeb it up… over time I started appreciating things that weren’t anime lol.
I can act toxic but I can calm myself down in certain situations if I think it’s gone too far. If someone blatently attacks me in a thread I will derail it to have an argument with them. I still weeb up the forums with sarcastic picture replies that don’t address what the OP was talking about but some things can’t be helped lol.
Implying I didn’t burn them in a bonfire while doing some exotic dance said to banish evil spirits. I wasn’t even cosplaying to go out to social events I was sitting in my room dressed up LOL.
I roleplayed Flandre, Youmu and Cirno for a couple years which is what got me so hooked on Touhou, getting so involved in the story and characters made me love them a lot. I still have a great appreciation for roleplay and it’s a shame it’ll never happen with Tree of Chat Filter.
Took a wrong turn at the “Load a Loli” thread? 
Those were the good old days. Before that god awful Boku no Pico became the “troll” hentai to tell people to watch, it was Bible Black. With the word Bible in it people were successfully trolling religious people into thinking it was a religious anime. Seriously horrible lmao.
4 Likes
Yeah, you’re definitely right about that. I have a Japanese pen-pal I’ve been communicating with for six years now and the thing that bothers her the most is that she can rarely be herself or express herself openly to others (likely due to the barriers created by honne and tatemae). However, she is extremely individualistic compared to the average Japanese person. Anyway, like you said, the bullying is very prevalent for those that don’t fit in.
When it comes to drama, I absolutely can’t stand it (not even in movies or TV).
Here is an interesting documentary I saw a long time ago about the differences between eastern and western thinking; whether it is valid or not, I don’t know, but it is interesting nonetheless.
I feel the same way as well. Many studios lowered the bar after noticing how easily they could make money by catering to the otaku (rather than focusing on story or character development).
This right here. I went through weeb very early (so if you ask me for anime info, you’re mostly gonna get fuzzy memories of 90s anime), goth (thank God that didn’t last long, I cried cause I felt everyone stared at me QQ I was like 13), hood (bad attempt at fitting in with my community… lkasjjdjjajsd), and finally the whole, open minded, drugs, sex, rock n’ roll ■■■■ for years. While I have my regrets, much of it cringe worthy, I had a lot of fun and it definitely makes me some what who I am today. However I seen people not come out of my scene in one piece or even alive. I’d say being a weeb is the smarter culture to get into any day, unless you know… You’re like Jeffrey Dahmer vore anime people. Then we may need to have a talk. o.o
4 Likes
I think, the saddest part about BB… was when I discovered that my friends who studied Japanese didn’t know about it. Of course with my friend we made them watch it during one of the girls’ birthday, but it truly was a sad discovery.
I agree for the lewdness in anime~
I normally don’t mind if they put some because it goes with the scene/moment, but the problem is fanservice.
That woman already has a tight uniform and a mini-skirt even though she’s a soldier, why do they feel the need to always show her panties too ?
@Takemi
I think Japan might be too “extreme” on that. Maybe you could visit some Northern European countries, like the Scandinavian ones. They usually have a good mix of both.
In Japan it’s tough because, even if you’re not particularly individualistic, they don’t truly speak their mind. A lot of people I know there (Japanese or not) say how it’s a shame that basically everybody is an “hypocrite”, as in they don’t truly say what they think. It also makes it difficult to have real friends.
The only thing they aren’t shy about is the bullying XD
1 Like
When I studied Chinese I met a few Chinese people who actually said this exact thing. They said they hated their culture because everyone was “Fake” and said they appreciated western culture more because everyone seems so “Honest about themselves” so they were putting more effort into learning English to meet more western people. Although I still think it isn’t exactly ‘easy’ to find a real friend here either. People here still put on a good act to hide certain things about themselves when they are NOT anonymous on the internet.
If you really pay attention you will see conformity in western culture as well it just isn’t as big a thing as it is in Asian cultures.
JP social system actually really weirds me out. There’s a reason why they seem so obsessed with high school and why their suicide rates are so high. Plus the standards for women are not fun, and in reflection of that, the standards for men are probably not fun either.
But more on topic, danut worry. I was a weaboo and still am a weaboo, even though I’m asian pfftahah. When I was like 9-10 years old I used “Nya” as a pen-name online, sung japanese songs outside of the home (see: at school), and used emojis and stuff like “=w=” quite a bit. I remember there was an actual japanese girl at school and I would share with her my goddamned anime songs (SEE: HIGURASHI. I SHOWED HIGURASHI TO A GIRL MY AGE, AKA ELEMENTARY-MIDDLE SCHOOL BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS NORMAL) and she was probably soooo weirded out.
I thankfully don’t have too many cringe memories but this was a uh, striking period of my life. I had my phases pretty early so it’s a blessing that people don’t think it’s super weird lmao.
Still a fucken weaboo though. Still watch my anime, still draw anime. uhh yeah that’s about it, weebus here
2 Likes
Just want to nitpick at this a bit to tell you that Higurashi is an amazing anime and I’m due to rewatch it. I actually trolled a friend of mine. You know how the first episode of Higurashi it starts off showing insane Keiichi with a bat and stuff? Well I video edited that out of the first episode and had my friend watch it telling her it was a cute slice of life school anime.
Boy was she mortified… especially since she hates horror LOL
#It’s so kawaii uguu~
3 Likes
oh my god, HAHAHA. IT’S SO MISLEADING. it goes from 0-holy fucking shit so fast, I’d love to see a cut version of it.
Good anime though, yeah. The final arc smashed my soul and shoved it back together so many times jfc
1 Like
Everyone goes through a “young and stupid” phase and those who deny it are outright lying.
What matters most is whether you grow out of it or stay in that phase.
Also, Japanese sucks as a written language, I happily went back to learning Chinese after taking a class in Japanese.
That’s interesting that you mention the Scandinavian countries since they were high on my list to visit/live as well. But yeah, you’re definitely right about Japanese people not truly speaking their minds (which goes back to that honne and tatemae system). As a foreigner, Japanese people will likely offer many complements, like, “wow, you speak excellent Japanese,” but they most definitely don’t actually mean it (however, they’re not trying to be insincere). It is just kind of their way of starting a conversation. Typically when receiving complements, they should always be played down and never accepted. Like you also said, it can be difficult to make real friends, and many foreigners leave Japan due to feeling/experiencing constant isolation–isolation doesn’t actually bother me, though. It is a nice country, but the culture can be quite extreme for most people (foreigners mostly, but even for some Japanese).
Their working standards/expectations are quite insane, I have to admit. Having a word specifically for “death by overworking” gives a pretty good idea. And when it comes to suicide, Japanese students don’t ask for help when they’re overwhelmed because they don’t want to be a burden to those around them, and failure, to them, is the ultimate form of being a burden.
1 Like
It is, but we have less problem on it in the Western culture. Well… I’m European though, and they tend to be a bit… “more honest”. Let’s use this word instead of “harsher” or “ruder” 8D
In Asia it’s kind of weird because even on things that seem casual they’ll pretend a lot. Or even it’s their way to say “No”, they won’t say it directly.
In the West people are more hypocrites, rather than just not speaking their minds, I feel.
They’ll speak their mind (or follow your lead), and they might be sincere. But with someone else they’ll be dragged into another opinion. And they switch their own opinions quite often too. I don’t quite understand Westerners…
I have anecdotes for everything, sorry, but actually it reminded of something XD
The “language compliments” levels in Japanese. If you speak it just a little bit, only common sentences, words, they’ll all go “Wow ! You’re really good/skilled !” once you are at average, you can have normal/good conversations, but you’re not that fluent yet, they won’t tell you anything at all. They can even be harsh.
Once you’re truly good at it, they’ll go “After all this time, you can finally speak it !”.
It’s like they compliment you to encourage you when you’re newb, then they don’t care (tough love ?), and then they finally express how bad you were and how you’ve improved.
I have a thick-skin, I live in my bubble, and most of all I don’t care about others, so when I was there I didn’t realize much how some people were mean to me. It’s when I remembered about it that I realized…
But I don’t think it’s awful, though. I think it just depends on the person, how they see things, what kind of people they are.
I know I wouldn’t be able to have real friends and it’s what would bother me the most. I know I can’t stay there for too long… but I’m sure I can make it work for a 2-3 years.
What bothers me the most is that I’m blunt/too honest. So while I’d let someone tell their closed-minded opinions, after some time, if I keep hearing the same stupid things, I’d most definitely confront them… Would be terrible at work, the boss/manager would prob come tell me how “You can’t do that ! It creates bad work atmosphere ! Go apologize for not nodding in agreement with a fake smile !”
It’s so sad for both~ Your life is a failure if you’re not a housewife with a good little family you take care of.
Your life is a failure if you’re not able to get enough money for the family… It’s sad to see fathers killing themselves because they got fired, they got too many debts, and such.
The feeling of “failing” their family, as a “man”, is stronger than living, staying with their family.
2 Likes
I’m the opposite in this regard, I think (about being blunt and honest, anyway). Rarely do I share my opinions directly with people about things, even if I’ve known them for a year or more (I’d have to be quite inebriated to do this). However, I am able to openly express myself in writing at least.
Perhaps this is why I feel somewhat out of place in the United States. I focus on trying to blend in for the most part, but everyone is so independent and they express themselves in so many unique ways (at least where I’m living currently), and it can be difficult to fit/mold to all of these roles. I constantly feel that I need to be in a place where there is some set of established social rules that everyone follows and understands.
In-person, I’m definitely not myself (and everyone is probably like this to a certain extent), but I’m by no means fake in any way. My external behavior would be best described as an extremely limited version of my actual self. I do my best to just keep to myself and avoid others.
2 Likes
This, basically. Guilty as charged. I swear there are too many situations I could’ve said no but didn’t out of fear of hurting people’s feelings. It’s just how most people are on my side - you’re not really thought of highly if you’re being too blunt or frank. People do seem to like talking about other people behind their backs, though…
Funnily enough, though, sometimes in my house my parents tell me I’m being too western in thinking. Comes with being in a college that is pretty western in nature. But in behavior, I’m pretty Asian, I guess. XD
2 Likes
Some people appreciate honesty, some don’t. I’d prefer people to be honest with who they are even if they are a rude cancerous cesspool to the human gene pool. Why? Cuz at least I can pick and choose friends easier rather than finding out someone is a cancerous cesspool 1-2 years later. Or the terrible feeling that people you thought were you friends just stop wanting to talk to you all the sudden and you don’t know why because they won’t tell you what’s up and keep assuring you, “Everything is fine” while you watch them inevitably disappear from your life forever.
However, the flip side is, if people are hiding who they are to fit in with everyone else like a hive mind, there’s significantly less ‘public drama’ situations that you’d see as commonplace in western culture.
Honesty makes it easier to find good friends.
Dishonesty makes public social culture have less drama.
2 Likes
That is definitely true, and I respect that. I’ve had many penpals from all over the world and the ones from Eastern Asia specifically were the ones most likely to disappear after a short period of time. And the one penpal from Japan that I’ve communicated with for six years didn’t feel that she fit into the indirect/dishonest society since she was much more western-minded. She was mainly trying to find friends because of how difficult they were to obtain in Japan.
1 Like
Ah, I see~
Yeah, not faking what you say/think, just not opening yourself too much. You’re an introvert ?
Sharing can also be annoying anyway, it can bring unnecessary questions, judgments, and such.
I don’t like this idea of “having to be as original as possible” in the West.
What I like about Scandinavian culture is the mix of both. They tend to be open-minded, you can be yourself, people won’t judge easily, but at the same time they have a strong sense of rules, manners, of doing things in the right way. (at least much more than in most of the West)
@Whimsicott
My Japanese teacher (herself Japanese) often told us “Japanese people are hypocrite” because of that XD
But in the West even if they tell you “No” face to face it doesn’t stop them from talking in your back…
I like honest people too. Especially if they have a problem with me. So we can fix it, or realize it can’t be fix and either accept or grow apart (that sounds so harsh~).
I understand hiding a bit who you are though. Not everybody can have the thick skin to accept 100% who they are. They know there are parts of them people will think are too “weird” and that they will make fun of them.
Especially when you’re at school… People tend to feel better by making fun of others there. It’s lame.
1 Like