Damn, it's getting heated in here. People eating french fries out of the trash? Anime avatars being the true oppressed group?
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Researchers determine that anime fans are at the bottom of the high school social hierarchy
- Thread starter ToddBonzalez
- Start date
As someone who went to anime conventions in the 1990s, can confirm.
And while not exclusive to anime fandom, excuse-making for the gross shit that routinely gets shoved into anime (1000 year old dragon preteens, rape culture, the usual problems with representation of minorities and women, etc) also doesn't help the cause of a fandom trying to crawl out of the Pit of Acceptable Targets that makes the internet in general a very difficult place to enjoy discussion.
It's easy to take any fandom over the line and become an easy target for mockery, but because both anime and video games hit big right around the time the kids and young adults who were enjoying them were also getting on the internet for the very first time, a whole new avenue for "tribal customs" of picking on perceived weakness was opened up and it's been a bullying industry with explosive growth ever since.
Most people I remember from high school who watched cartoons are now Internet justice warriors. I'm not surprised with the research.
Just because you aren't "cool" doesn't mean that you're getting bullied lmao. Stop this nonsense. I love anime and I was popular in school. Just dont be a fucking weirdo about it. Anyone who is over-obsessive about any of their hobbies instantly aren't "popular" with people because they are annoying. And anime fans tend to be over-obsessive and defensive of their hobbies.
I fell sick that they put a pyramid when they should just classification the groups rather that make a "social hierarchy".
... i was a Loner so what! i get upgrade to Anime/Manga in high school and in collage i was Good-Ats and Floaters with people who we still greet each other with "Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru" and we are now the in charge in the energy company's and thank to us "the popular kids" can post how depressed are their life in facebook... or their happy trips a round the world (lucky bastards). So take that science and stupid school!
(still anime and manga group need therapy in general and the medion need to grow up)
... i was a Loner so what! i get upgrade to Anime/Manga in high school and in collage i was Good-Ats and Floaters with people who we still greet each other with "Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru" and we are now the in charge in the energy company's and thank to us "the popular kids" can post how depressed are their life in facebook... or their happy trips a round the world (lucky bastards). So take that science and stupid school!
(still anime and manga group need therapy in general and the medion need to grow up)
That's weird
I defintely hung out with the dudes on the sports teams, and we talked about anime. I remember having a particularly long argument about naruto. I dunno folks in my highschool got bullied for other shit rather than anime. I realize this is a limited perspective considering, I was over 6ft, lifted weights and was a chill ass dude who did art. That said, as far as I know my friends weren't being bullied either anime , video games ect is just another thing people liked along with their lives.... I dunno. I don't think people care as much, I feel like being in whatever nerd ass shit you like and no one cares as much.
I defintely hung out with the dudes on the sports teams, and we talked about anime. I remember having a particularly long argument about naruto. I dunno folks in my highschool got bullied for other shit rather than anime. I realize this is a limited perspective considering, I was over 6ft, lifted weights and was a chill ass dude who did art. That said, as far as I know my friends weren't being bullied either anime , video games ect is just another thing people liked along with their lives.... I dunno. I don't think people care as much, I feel like being in whatever nerd ass shit you like and no one cares as much.
i think the biggest effect on whether you're popular or not is your involvement in sports. you can have side interests but if you're in popular sports, you'll get a seat at the table.
There's a reason that people who spend their time watching and debating cartoons find themselves amongst the lowest social strata.
This is the same for anyone who partakes in media created for children, even video games, to some extent.
Most people grow out of childish stuff, while others continue watching shit like anime, Power Rangers, and so on. You do you, but it obviously puts you at odds with people who leave that behind in adolescence and into adulthood.
I loathe anime to death outside of very good, atypical stuff (Grave of the Fireflies and other serious works), but find it hilarious when grown-ass people actively debate what superpowers they would rather have from whatever flavor of the month anime they are watching.
This is the same for anyone who partakes in media created for children, even video games, to some extent.
Most people grow out of childish stuff, while others continue watching shit like anime, Power Rangers, and so on. You do you, but it obviously puts you at odds with people who leave that behind in adolescence and into adulthood.
I loathe anime to death outside of very good, atypical stuff (Grave of the Fireflies and other serious works), but find it hilarious when grown-ass people actively debate what superpowers they would rather have from whatever flavor of the month anime they are watching.
I was co president of my school's anime club. Can't say I recall any particular social hierarchy or "judgements" towards us at my school. Maybe I never noticed it, or at least, it was never targeted towards me. I guess I'd consider myself a floater as well, so maybe that also played a part.
Hilariously enough, given the part of Georgia we were in, I imagine the majority of my former classmates who weren't in anime club are current Trump supporters or Alt Right.
Hilariously enough, given the part of Georgia we were in, I imagine the majority of my former classmates who weren't in anime club are current Trump supporters or Alt Right.
My high school experience almost 20 years ago was everyone talking about Goku going Super Saiyan for the first time, no one was bullied or less popular. It was a simpler time back then.
Now I feel embarrassed to talk about anime I like, especially to the hardcore. It just feels creepy and everyone seems like condescending assholes. All personal experience of course.
Now I feel embarrassed to talk about anime I like, especially to the hardcore. It just feels creepy and everyone seems like condescending assholes. All personal experience of course.
Fortnite and Marvel movies make billions each year. It ain't just kids or nerds anymore.
That said, there is a huge difference between anime fans and Shonen Bros. Every black guy I know, myself included watches/watched Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleach and My Hero Academia.
Yeah, it's a generalization, and an unfortunate one, but one that seems to pan out a lot. Not really seen or experienced anything on the bullying end, though. Yes, they're targets of mockery when they do stuff like run around the streets with swords, but I don't know if people just keeping a 10ft distance counts as bullying with the smell and general loudness/craziness. No one made fun of my manga or fantasy or chess stuff because I didn't wave them around. They were just hobbies that differed from the stuff other people liked so they never came up. No doubt others have experienced worse, but I never saw any during school, college, teaching, etc.
It did seem (from my experience anyway) that it was the obsessiveness that spilled over into real life that drove most people away.
I would agree that this tends to be the general divide. It's good fun online or at cons (adult life can be rather boring sometimes), but when you make it your whole life it starts to take on a Peter Pan feel.
I don't think it was that they were reading fic. I went to a college prep school and my friends and I were some of the smartest kids at school and we consumed fic frequently.
What happens with disenfranchised students is that they feel no self worth, reinforced by being ostracized by their peers, and thus see no value in trying to do better in school. They sometimes also suffer from some sort of unaddressed mental health issue caused by varying external factors, which also impairs their ability to strive for scholastic achievements.
Fan fiction was not what was keeping them from studying, but more likely a way that they coped with things.
Or they were just weird otaku kids, but generally the above is what is really going on.
It might have been more accurate if they had rephrased "Anime/Manga Fans" as something more general like "Nerds," because as others have noted, they aren't being bullied for watching anime, they're being bullied for perceived weird/odd/unusual behaviors and mannerisms (which still isn't acceptable, obviously) that are common among socially awkward people and those people happen to cross over heavily with anime fans/gamers/nerds/etc. Plenty of ordinary people on the other parts of the hierarchy watch anime or play video games and aren't bullied.
Might makes right. They finished top 3. If only the anime nerds watched more wrestling anime.
Big difference between the general public going to Marvel movies and playing the occasional game of Fortnite or whatever, and those who make it their lives to dress in the clothing, discuss it ad nauseum, etc. I don't mind going to the movies, and they are fun to talk about for a few minutes, but the moment you start getting into discussions of power levels, you cross over into true nerd territory, which is what secludes those people from the rest of society.
To be fair, people that are this judgmental usually aren't worth socializing with.
Ironically, being that concerned about appearing as adult-like as possible through your hobbies or the media you enjoy while looking down on those who enjoy the things you perceive as childish is a pretty common trait with teenagers. You know, most kids have that phase where they aggressively shun anything they think is for kids and try way too hard to appear mature. When you naturally grow out of things, you really just don't care either way.
Honestly, if you're an adult and you can enthusiastically geek out about an anime with a friend, that sounds like you're more secure in your own maturity than the guy on the side laughing because he thinks grown-ass people shouldn't be watching kids stuff.
That's nice that you think and feel this way, but that is not how most people think. There is a reason why anime, furries, hardcore gaming, comics, and so on are still looked down as nerdy. It is great that you enjoy them (as you clearly do), but that won't stop the majority from thinking you are childish for doing so.
One of the frustrating things about the alt-right lean of anime dorks is that it's allowed people to justify the way they treated geeky anime kids in high school*. But just like what what was done to them doesn't excuse their behavior now, what they're doing now doesn't excuse what people did back then.
*Either that, or the proliferation of the internet has those people who bullied to discuss their actions, and they're making excuses for being shitty in HS. Take your pick.
Case in point:
ERA has turned into a trip into the early 2000s in the silliest of ways.
*Either that, or the proliferation of the internet has those people who bullied to discuss their actions, and they're making excuses for being shitty in HS. Take your pick.
Case in point:
ERA has turned into a trip into the early 2000s in the silliest of ways.
It really is this at the end of the day.
^
I was pretty much all of those except stoner, loner, and I didn't look emo (but I listened to screamo).
I did fine in the social hierarchy of high school.
I did fine in the social hierarchy of high school.
I fell into multiple categories and was definitely a floater. Had good grades, played sports, Cello player, etc... Had a different circle of friends for different hobbies, which is still the case 10 years later.
I could see anime only people being at the bottom. Anime-club folk had way too many strange quirks, something even I could pick up on as a weird 14 year old. They tend to get overenthusiastic with their hobby which ends up rubbing people the wrong way.
I could see anime only people being at the bottom. Anime-club folk had way too many strange quirks, something even I could pick up on as a weird 14 year old. They tend to get overenthusiastic with their hobby which ends up rubbing people the wrong way.
You've got over 1700 posts on a video game enthusiast forum. Why are you this judgmental?
I think it's pretty sad to give up something you enjoy to conform to perceived societal norms that are constantly changing anyway. You're only denying yourself quality media by giving up animation/video games. Moderation is the key here, as with everything else in life.
