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The term "weeb" and its current definition.

Scoey

Member
Oct 27, 2017
230
"Weeb" and "weaboo" are words that will be familiar to anyone who reads this forum but what exactly do they mean in 2020?

Is it anyone who isn't Japanese who likes a Japanese cultural product?
Does it only apply to extreme anime/j-pop fans who randomly insert words like "oneesan", "sugoi", "chou kawai" etc etc into their English discussion?

Is it any non-Japanese who has a strong interest in anything Japanese (history, the language, zen etc?).

Is any westerner who marries a Japanese person automatically a weeb?

Is it a white person thing (I believe the original insult was wapanese) or can anyone be a weeb and are the criteria for qualification the same for all non-Japanese regardless of race (including other east Asians)?

Are there other cultures/countries that have a derogatory term associated with outsiders who like something from that place (especially a term like weeb made by people outside the culture in question)? There are Francophiles etc but that doesn't have a negative connotation at all.

Edit: can a mod remove the apostrophe from "it's" in the title please. Doumo arigatou gozaimasu senpai.
 
Ferrio

Ferrio

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,047
PBF071-Weeaboo.gif
 
Sandfox

Sandfox

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,743
"Weaboo" is basically a replacement for "Wapanese". It's a derogatory term towards white/non-japanese people obsessed with Japanese culture that caught on and gets thrown around casually now.
 
MrCibb

MrCibb

Member
Dec 12, 2018
5,349
UK
It's just a person obsessed with Japanese cartoons, comics, and all the culture around it all, stuff like that. Drops Japanese words casually into conversation. We all know the type.

Nowt wrong with it. Whatever floats your boat.
 
wandering

wandering

flâneur
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
2,136
A person who's super into anime/manga/J-pop/games/figurines etc. or any of the related subcultures and geeky stuff is a weeb.

A person who's into Japanese history, philosophy, traditional art, or other aspects of the mainstream culture is more of a Japanophile.

A person who says "waifu" or "husbando" is scum of the earth.
 
Opposable

Opposable

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,367
I don't think I've heard any fans of Japanese stuff call themselves that. It's mostly people making fun of a person for liking anything Japanese/anime
 
Richter1887

Richter1887

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
39,146
Weebs are basically people who are way too obsessed with Japanese culture that they start thinking they understand it even though all they know is stuff from anime.

Someone liking anime or Japanese media isn't a weeb. It is when you start being extreme about it that you are considered a weeb.
 
Sanka

Sanka

Banned
Feb 17, 2019
5,778
In some parts of twitter weeb has morphed into something more of a word for alt-right anime fans that glorify Japan and decry any western influence on it.
 
Imperial Bishop

Imperial Bishop

Member
Oct 26, 2017
35,563
"Weeb" is mostly used self-debricatingly by other anime fans, nowadays. It's sort of lost all meaning.

Also, is it a coincedence that there are currently four anime-related threads on EtcetEra right now? >.>
 

Deleted member 4034

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
26,560
The people that make their interest in anime their entire personality is how I always read it.

More time on Twitter has taught me why anime avatars get so much shit.

I am proud of one time when my coworker who knows I'm into nerdy shit asked me if I watched a certain anime and I said, no because I'm not a weeb. Dude got so defensive and started making fun my DragonBall shirts. I was just bored and it seemed like an easy reaction to get.
 
Opposable

Opposable

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,367
Also, man, I don't think we should be calling someone who married someone Japanese a weeb as referenced in the OP
 
TheMadTitan

TheMadTitan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
27,208
If you start speaking Japanese but only to interject phrases and lines of dialog from anime into your conversations, especially if you're doing it to disguise an insult when no one else around you speaks Japanese, you're a weeb.
 
Qikz

Qikz

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,470
Richter1887 said:
Weebs are basically people who are way too obsessed with Japanese culture that they start thinking they understand it even though all they know is stuff from anime.

Someone liking anime or Japanese media isn't a weeb. It is when you start being extreme about it that you are considered a weeb.
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That has long, long since changed. A weeb these days is anyone who likes anime.
 
Laser Ramon

Laser Ramon

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,629
Weeb gets thrown around for anything Japanese which renders the word completely pointless and I'll never forgive it for ruining the dumb joke in the Perry Bible Fellowship comic
 
diakyu

diakyu

Member
Dec 15, 2018
17,525
Is it even "in" to call someone weeb anymore? I never see the term used in the derogatory term anymore. It's not as prevalent as it used to be.
 

Deleted member 2328

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,354
These days it just means a more hardcore anime and japan pop-culture fan. Because the expression was somewhat "embraced" it lost a lot of its pejorative sense.
 
Ascenion

Ascenion

Prophet of Truth - One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,081
Mecklenburg-Strelitz
A weeb is as far as I'm concerned a non-Japanese Otaku. That's about as succinct as you can make it. Anime is cool, but if you take it too far (anime avatars, body pillows, niche Japanese game titles, using Japanese words mixed in with your native language) or obsess about Japanese media culture and not the actual culture well....you're a weeb.
 
Twig

Twig

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,486
Opposable said:
I don't think I've heard any fans of Japanese stuff call themselves that. It's mostly people making fun of a person for liking anything Japanese/anime
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I def call myself a weeb. Mostly as a joke but also, whatever. I don't really care.

I draw the line at tiddy figs and waifu talk, though, so maybe i don't actually qualify.
 
Kewlmyc

Kewlmyc

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
26,684
Either:

  1. Someone who consumes almost nothing but Japanese media (think 80-100% of what they do) or thinks Japanese media is superior to everything for stupid reasons.
  2. Someone who inserts random Japanese lingo into regular English conversation.
  3. People who violently refuse to call a show by its translated name, even if it's in the title.

At least for me. I used to consider people who watch anime in general weebs but anime has gotten so big, that it's pretty normal to have watched some at one point.
 
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