If you hang out in the Japan foreigner social media sphere, then you know that there's usually a VERY bad rep to being an anime fan and how Japanese people view our hobbies. After all, liking anime to a very very strong degree often translates to being a weeaboo.
I don't know if I was ever a weeaboo myself. Maybe I was. (usually when you don't know, it probably means you were right?) I was heavily in love with Japanese dramas, jpop and devoured quite a lot of anime. I probably did put Japan on a pedestal at one point, but having had some older friends working in Japan, I had a decently realistic idea of how living in Japan was like. Of course knowing is never quite the same as directly experiencing it, so you can never really know until you start living here yourself.
And perhaps that puts a lot of my blog posts in the most ironic spot haha, but either way - if my experience helps someone, then that's all that matters.
So. Let's honestly get one thing straight, liking anime doesn't mean that people see you as a non-functioning member of society. (Hello, reddit circlejerk trolls!)
However, the way you uphold yourself in public will highly determine if people judge whether you are functioning or non-functioning.
Yep, that's the end of the blog. Thanks for reading!
But no, seriously - use common sense. If something in unacceptable and taboo back home, it's most likely 100% the same here in Japan. Do you walk around in cosplay on the streets back home? No. Do you fucking Naruto run from your car to Wal-Mart back home? Maybe for your clickbait tiktok or youtube video, but definitely not normally. If the general public back home doesn't do it, they don't do it in public either.
Show interest in something, but don't fangirl/fanboy about it.
Especially in a professional setting. If you are an ALT new to a school, don’t introduce yourself to your new coworkers by telling them how much you love the new volume of ONE PIECE and how much so and so is your OTP (one true pair) because they are absolutely a match in heaven. Some people might be impress with the former part as it tells them you enjoy their culture, but I promise you - no one is impressed with your OTP.
I find that people are generally appreciative that you enjoy anime, or manga. Lots of adults were once consumers of anime and manga at some point. Mostly during their school days. Some carry on to enjoy it very casually. Many live only in the memory of their anime-liking days. After all, most adults really don’t have a lot of free time with the crazy work culture. And most adults want to appear as though they have moved on from their child-like stage.
Think of it from a western standpoint. You liked the Disney Channel and cartoons growing up. at school, you indulged in it often. Your friends also loved talking about it with you. But as you grow older, people moved on. People still love Disney in a way that’s not so obsessive, maybe. They might book a travel to Disney World. Watch and rewatch Disney movies in their own free time.
Which brings us to the part where I say it’s fine if you ultimately choose to indulge in your own hobbies very privately.
If you want 100 posters of ONE PIECE in your room, go for it. Just don’t brag about it and go around showing photos to everyone and anyone in the staff room who really cannot care less about your obsessive hobbies.
You want figurines? Collect them by all means!
You want a bag with 50 of the same pin badges of one character? Get one! But maybe don’t bring it to work… (an anime convention would love your bag!)
Do people really care?
Not really. But if you can’t figure out what’s to keep private and what’s to keep public, you will be heavily judged silently amongst your peers.
I also find that hobbies here are very heavily gendered. Gender norms are still very prominent in this country, so it’s no surprise that it should apply to hobbies as well. For example, it is more acceptable for females to like characters. Like Disney characters, Sanrio characters (Hello Kitty, Gudetama, etc), Snoopy, Rilakkuma, etc etc. For men, it’s a no-brainer for you to like action anime and action games.
Basically, if it cool it’s for men. If it’s cute it’s a women‘s hobby.
If it’s neither or both, it’s acceptable for all.
Not that you HAVE to fit any of these roles. But if you don’t fit a gendered hobby norm, you might get some head turns and ehhhhhhhhhhs. Maybe a couple of curious souls, maybe not at all. It will be strange, but no one is going to call you out. This isn’t that kind of place.
I really think liking anime and manga can help some people mingle with some students. Especially if you’re not an outgoing person to begin with, it might help some of you start conversations with students. Especially if the anime is more well-known and long-running like Pokémon, Anpanman, Doraemon or One Piece.
Just don’t depend on your knowledge or extreme love for animanga to create everlasting relationships with every Japanese adult.