The term "weeb" and its current definition.

[admiraltaftbar]

Overuse of both terms have basically diluted them past any real meaning. It's kind of ironic they're used as terms of endearment now (and years ago when it first started) considering it was originally termed to label people with an offensive level of fetishization of what they perceive as Japanese culture from their anime and video games. Also those who wish they were actually Japanese which is yikes.

 

[mute]

I see it as a general term for anyone that is into Japanese cultural exports of some nature.

Insisting it only applies to the extreme cases seems more like an effort to downplay one's own weeb-ness.

 

[Pandora012]

Weebs are the worst. Take iRAWRasaurus as an example.

 

[Valcrist]

This is how I feel about it lol. I'm pretty much a weab. Who gives a fuck?

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My friends and I all call each other weebs in multiple social circles and it has never been offensive.

 

[Qikz]

Number 3 is annoying. We are both talking in English, there is an English name, why are you calling it by its Japanese name? It comes off as putting Japanese things on a pedestal and superiority. It's not far from when white supremacists praise Japan for being a homogenous, ultra conservative country with no outside influences or "SJW" stuff.

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I watch stuff in Japanese, I don't often know what the official english name is so that's my excuse.

 

[Forkball]

I watch stuff in Japanese, I don't often know what the official english name is so that's my excuse.

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What are your thoughts on Jojo no Kimyou na Bouken: Ougon no Kaze?

 

[mhayes86]

I always heard it in context as a derogatory word for someone who is really into Japanese culture with most of their knowledge of the culture pulled from anime.

An older co-worker of mine is probably what I would consider a Japanophile, I guess. He's been studying Japanese for years and takes it seriously, and he's been there several times since he has friends that live there. He throws out Japanese phrases and talks about Japan constantly in casual conversation which gets kind of annoying. What caught me off guard when I first started and met him was that his cube is plastered with Sword Art Online pictures, a few figures, and a Hatsune Miku wallpaper on his desktop.

Unrelated, I can't stand him, and since the pandemic started, I haven't had to work with him which has been great.

 

[Qikz]

What are your thoughts on Jojo no Kimyou na Bouken: Ougon no Kaze?

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I thought it was kuuru very tanoshii

 

[Timelord19]

These days is used mostly between anime fans:

 

[Crashman]

I really don't recall weaboo ever not being used by weebs. Like, you can say weebs, are the only ones who call weebs weebs now, but wasn't that always the case?

 

[TheAggroCraig]

I am a fucking weeb

 

[Midgarian]

So Japanophiles, as in people who have an interest in Japan from an academic/intellectual perspective, are not Weebs right?

I always found this term strange. Making fun of people for expanding their cultural horizons, even if it ends up being Japanocentric.

 

[Hektor]

I remember that a coworker called me a weeb at work some months ago when he saw my Desktop wallpaper

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Then i saw him playing Shadowverse during a Major meeting a few weeks later

my pearls were clutched

 

[N64Controller]

I remember that a coworker called me a weeb at work some months ago when he saw my Desktop wallpaper



Then i saw him playing Shadowverse during a Major meeting a few weeks later

my pearls were clutched

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Only weebs call other weebs weebs.

Because only weebs know the term weebs.

Non-weebs that know what weeb is are self-denying weebs.

 

[MikeHattsu]

Only weebs call other weebs weebs.

Because only weebs know the term weebs.

Non-weebs that know what weeb is are self-denying weebs.

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So everybody in this thread are weebs 🤔

 

[N64Controller]

So everybody in this thread are weebs 🤔

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Exactly

 

[LinkStrikesBack]

So Japanophiles, as in people who have an interest in Japan from an academic/intellectual perspective, are not Weebs right?

I always found this term strange. Making fun of people for expanding their cultural horizons, even if it ends up being Japanocentric.

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It's not just about liking Japanese culture though. Watching anime/playing videogames that come from Japan isn't enough to count as a weeaboo.

But if you're like the person mentioned on the previous page who insists on saying the Japanese saying before a meal, you insist on using Japanese suffixes in English or other weird stuff, then you're probably a weeaboo.

 

[Midgarian]

It's not just about liking Japanese culture though. Watching anime/playing videogames that come from Japan isn't enough to count as a weeaboo.

But if you're like the person mentioned on the previous page who insists on saying the Japanese saying before a meal, you insist on using Japanese suffixes in English or other weird stuff, then you're probably a weeaboo.

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Yes I suppose people forcing it into their lifesyles is a bit cringey.

But hey, there are people Worldwide in non-English speaking countries (even places with no English colonial legacy) that code switch by adding English in every now and then. They aren't seen as Angloboos, because associating with Anglophone culture is seen as something prestige to do. If people do it for any other country/culture that isn't their own it gets looked down upon it seems, in this case Japanese.

If someones interest in Japan is superficial (only the cartoons) and they think it makes them an expert, then by all means this term is fine. But I think people who truly show an interest and read and study further into Japanese culture shouldn't be known by the phrase.

Japanophile is much nicer to say to people.

 

[crimsonECHIDNA]

Not every person with an anime avatar is a weeaboo, but every weeaboo has an anime avatar.

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Fucking anime avatars. Just can't truth them.

 

[Deleted member 29280]

Being a weeb is when being obsessed with anime transcends just being a hobby and becomes your main personality trait. To the point you genuinely consider learning Japanese to move to anime-land.

I really don't recall weaboo ever not being used by weebs. Like, you can say weebs, are the only ones who call weebs weebs now, but wasn't that always the case?

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No, lol. "Weeb" isn't some sort of secret word that normies don't know.

 

[Deleted member 46493]

If someones interest in Japan is superficial (only the cartoons) and they think it makes them an expert, then by all means this term is fine. But I think people who truly show an interest and read and study further into Japanese culture shouldn't be known by the phrase.

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You're correct but in the real world "Japanophiles", even those not interested in anime or manga, while maybe not called weebs, are stereotyped in the "nerdy/weird/Asian fetishist" camp. As in, if a (white) guy says they're into Japanese culture, it's considered "suspicious" even if they like history, the language, etc. Part of it is because people who are Asian culture and people fetishists come up a lot online or in popular culture and part of it is because the average person still thinks Japan is "weird" so people that like it must be weird too.

 

[Midgarian]

You're correct but in the real world "Japanophiles", even those not interested in anime or manga, while maybe not called weebs, are stereotyped in the "nerdy/weird/Asian fetishist" camp. As in, if a (white) guy says they're into Japanese culture, it's considered "suspicious" even if they like history, the language, etc. Part of it is because people who are Asian culture and people fetishists come up a lot online or in popular culture and part of it is because the average person still thinks Japan is "weird" so people that like it must be weird too.

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Of course.

The unfortunate thing is that's true for hobbies and lifestyle/leisure choices in general isn't it.

Anything outside of the "What the mainstream media/pop culture says is the orthodox way to live" is weird to most people.

 

[Eeyore]

If you watch anime you're a weeb.

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Not if you're Japanese.

 

[ArtTeitlebaum]

Side question: Is this mainly an American phenomenon or do those weeaboos exist in the rest of the world, too?
I never met such a person irl in my part of the world (central Europe), but this might be an effect of the age demographic I'm part of lol.

 

[CaptainBojangles]

It means that you purchased Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

 

[Deleted member 46493]

Side question: Is this mainly an American phenomenon or do those weeaboos exist in the rest of the world, too?

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It's not just the US. I've definitely befriended British, Swedish, French and German people who could be considered "weebs".

 

[Hektor]

Side question: Is this mainly an American phenomenon or do those weeaboos exist in the rest of the world, too?
I never met such a person irl in my part of the world (central Europe), but this might be an effect of the age demographic I'm part of lol.

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I am German and ive met plenty of other German weebs of varying social acceptability

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

I used to watch enough anime to be classified as a Weebus Majoris. What an insane fucking waste of time that used to be.

 

[WrenchNinja]

People who define their entire identity with Japanese multimedia are what the term is referring to.

 

[ArtTeitlebaum]

It's not just the US. I've definitely befriended British, Swedish, French and German people who could be considered "weebs".

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I am German and ive met plenty of other German weebs of varying social acceptability

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Thx, very interesting.

 

[Mr Jones]

I remember that a coworker called me a weeb at work some months ago when he saw my Desktop wallpaper



Then i saw him playing Shadowverse during a Major meeting a few weeks later

my pearls were clutched

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....why are there girls in school outfits chillin' out on tanks? I... *sigh* weebs.

 

[Stinkles]

Sure --

You know what? Nah, it can stay

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justice in Edo was swift and brutal

 

[Morrigan]

justice in Edo was swift and brutal

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ColdSun went behind my back, I see. Top ten anime betrayal

 

[Hektor]

....why are there girls in school outfits chillin' out on tanks? I... *sigh* weebs.

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One of the best Animes ever created






God bless this medium

 

[AnansiThePersona]

Nowadays it just means you watch a lot of anime

 

[Mr Jones]

One of the best Animes ever created



God bless this medium

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A school for girls to learn tankery. TANKERY.

*bigger sigh* Okay I'll go watch an episode.

 

[Stinkles]

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[iRAWRasaurus]

Weebs are the worst. Take iRAWRasaurus as an example.

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Fucking weeb

Spoiler

 

[thewienke]

To me it's hard to define exactly what makes someone a Weeaboo and where the line is between someone who enjoys Japanese culture and someone who really enjoys Japanese culture.

Yet we all know it when we see it. It's a gut instinct thing.

 

[deadman322]

people who use loli anime characters for profile pics.

 

[MrMegaPhoenix]

i think a non-japanese person with a japanese username, an anime girl as their avatar, near exclusively plays japanese games (mostly anime or nintendo at best, hates on western games and especially the cinematic/shooter style ones) and tends to use japanese words even though they know 99% of people they are talking to dont understand the word

they usually "claim" to be a fan of japanese culture too, but the culture they are aware of is what they see in harem anime and stereotypes of what a salaryman is. You never see them being huge fans of the more standard live action tv dramas and or music that isnt j-pop (specifically you wont see them being fans of a male japanese rock band or something like that). Its just a highly fetishized view of what japan is like and thats what i think best describes a weeb. Not simply a literal japanophile, but an ignorant steretyping of "what japan, my favorite country that i have idolized because of anime, is like".

its like someone in japan if they were interested in colonial america and researching that. its fine and nobody is gonna see that as weird. But the japanese guy who views all americans as what the big bang theory is like, wants to dress in "authentic american clothing" (a native american outfit) and watches nickelodeon all day because "its so much better than japanese tv" and so on? he'd be like a weeb for america, as its just that "ignorant stereotypical fanboy" view of a country that people actually in the country find dumb/annoying

(i'm more bothered by these type of people as they tend to match up with the hardcore anime otaku crowd, which has negatively influenced at least anime and gaming to be worse than it could be. i dont mind if that makes me bitter)

 

[texhnolyze]

There are different kind of weebs.

People who like Japanese games are weebs too, even though they rarely watch anime. I consider myself as one, though the last anime I watched was almost a year ago. I do watch lots of J-dramas and play JRPGs, as well as collecting and building Gundam kits.

 

[nilbog]

Japanese cars with a bunch of anime decals.

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[Siggy-P]

It started out as an insult but it was ruined by the insidious march of self-deprecation.

Side question: Is this mainly an American phenomenon or do those weeaboos exist in the rest of the world, too?
I never met such a person irl in my part of the world (central Europe), but this might be an effect of the age demographic I'm part of lol.

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They exist everywhere there's internet. Spain, France, Sweden, Russia, Britain, you name it.

 

[Soph]

Hardcore Japanese Media Culture Fans.

People who watch too much anime or play too much on a Sony/Nintendo console.

 

[tiesto]

Number 3 is annoying. We are both talking in English, there is an English name, why are you calling it by its Japanese name? It comes off as putting Japanese things on a pedestal and superiority. It's not far from when white supremacists praise Japan for being a homogenous, ultra conservative country with no outside influences or "SJW" stuff.

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There are times when a game remained in import limbo for years and the Japanese name is just what I (or other people) am used to, after calling it that way for years. I'll use Sakura Taisen over Sakura Wars, Seiken Densetsu 3 over Trials of Mana, etc.

 

[the magical kitsune]

Depends on the anime you watch.

Is it dragon ball? You're ok bro
Is it chihayafuru? Yeah you're a weeb

 

[HomokHarcos]

I think people obsessing over Japanese culture, even if it's because anime, is still preferable to hating Japan and putting people into internment camps like during the 1940s.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

I'm all for self deprecation making a mockery of a term intended for mockery. Because nerds trying to feel superior to other nerds for the most part is silly.

 

[Van Bur3n]

A weeb is ultimately someone overly obsessed with Japanese culture despite not being Japanese. It's not exclusive to just white people (although, lets be honest, they're the worst in this regard in most cases) and there are plenty of people from other Asian countries who can be a weeb as well.

There is a lot of nuance as to what the effects are on the individual for being a weeb. Some have a skewered idea of what Japanese culture is based on the particular pop culture they've obsessed over (typically anime or manga). Some believe Japanese culture is superior to other cultures because they're idiots. Some believe they have a say in Japanese culture just because of their keen interest in said culture because they're especially idiots. Most just like consuming the shit they like consuming.

There are innocent ways of consuming media like most people do, there are bad ways of consuming media like a few idiots do. In my little old opinion, those few idiots spoil the bunch.

I think people obsessing over Japanese culture, even if it's because anime, is still preferable to hating Japan and putting people into internment camps like during the 1940s.

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Well that was a sharp, dark turn.