The world of Japanese animation is bigger and better than it's ever been, and by now, it's a global sensation. Practically every child in the world knows what Pokémon is, for example, and classic characters such as Usagi Tsukino, Son Goku, and many others have become pop culture icons, spawning many imitations, references, and parodies along the way.
There's a lot to love about the anime industry, from the sheer novelty to the high-quality animation and diversity of genres and stories told in the medium. Better yet, this industry is getting more official support than ever, and for Western fans, anime is hardly an underground niche hobby. Still, there are some distinct drawbacks and inconveniences that come with being an anime fan, but at least most of them are minor.
10 Anime Fans Might Practice Gatekeeping
It's an unfortunate fact of life that many communities practice gatekeeping for their favorite hobby or media, and gatekeepers wrongly think that they can decide who a "true" fan is and isn't. This can make it unnecessarily difficult to get into a fandom.
Many robust fandoms have their fair share of gatekeepers, and anime fans are no different. These gatekeepers might think that if a casual Dragon Ball fan can't name every Saiyan character off the top of their head, they aren't a true fan. That's just unfair.
9 Some Fandoms Are Considered Toxic Overall
Fandoms are made up of people, and some people simply don't want to treat others well. In addition to gatekeepers, some anime fandoms are populated with fans who see fit to harass, demean, or mock others for any reason they can come up with.
Even if these unkind fans aren't practicing gatekeeping, they might harass other fans based on a different opinion on ships, disagreements on character power levels, or arguments on whether the manga or anime of a series is better. Bullying like that can ruin the anime experience for someone, and some fandoms have a reputation for it.
8 Many Anime Series Don't Cover All The Material
It's common for light novels and manga to get an anime adaptation, and the original creators are often thrilled and flattered by this. In most regards, getting an anime can boost the original material's prestige, but the anime won't always go the distance.
Some anime adaptations will complete the story, but many others won't. It's typical for an anime to just cover 12 episodes' worth of material and end right there. Such series often act as a super-long advertisement for the source material manga or light novels. That can be awkward at times, especially if the originals aren't available internationally.
7 Many Anime Series Have Filler Episodes
For some anime fans, this particular harsh reality isn't so harsh at all. In fact, some anime fans greatly enjoy filler arcs in series such as Naruto, Bleach, and Fairy Tail, and some filler arcs can be well thought out despite being filler in nature.
For other fans, though, filler is just a waste of time and dilutes the series' overall quality. Filler can also heavily disrupt the series' pacing, and some series have entire seasons of filler at a time. No one could blame fans for giving up on the anime and resuming the adventure in the original manga.
6 Anime Is Still A Bit Niche
It's true that some anime series are 100% mainstream in the Western world, such as Pokémon. Anyone would recognize Pikachu or a Pokéball and not think it's weird, and celebrities such as Robert Downey Jr. love the series. Not all anime have this benefit, though.
Anime is more mainstream than ever, but it still can't rival Marvel, DC, or franchises such as Star Wars or Supernatural in the Western pop culture landscape, try as they might. Anime fans might feel a bit alienated at times, and that's a shame.
5 There Might Actually Be Too Many Anime Series
"Choice paralysis" describes the phenomenon when a person can't make a selection because they have too many options, and the person is concerned that no matter what they choose, they're missing out on something even better. This often affects shoppers in particular, but it can work in other contexts, too.
Someone getting into anime may be overwhelmed when they find hundreds of series to watch, and many of these series might look rather similar to one another, such as slice-of-life series set in high school or shonen action stories. Unfortunately, just like the myriad of anime series available to choose from, there is no one right answer to this problem.
4 Anime Is Scattered Across Multiple Platforms
This particular harsh reality isn't a dealbreaker by any means, but it can still be a bit awkward for some anime fans. Now is the era of streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu, and a person might have to subscribe to several of them so they can watch all the shows they like.
That can make streaming as expensive as broadcast TV, and anime fans might feel the sting, too. Crunchyroll has an impressive library of anime, for example, but it doesn't have everything. There is also Netflix, which has some exclusive anime series, but there's also Hulu and Amazon Prime. There's no universal anime streaming service.
3 Regional Availability May Be An Issue
This particular issue may affect some anime fans more than others, and for other fans, it's not much of an issue at all. Overall, the anime community can enjoy access to their favorite series on a variety of platforms or on DVD, but some series are simply unavailable in certain regions.
The exact details vary from one country or region to another, but, overall, many anime fans are frustrated that certain series cannot be streamed where they live. This slightly undermines the universal appeal of the medium.
2 Dubs Are Often Iffy Or Nonexistent
This is another harsh reality of anime that not every fan will have to deal with, but for some fans, it can be rather irritating. By default, practically all anime is dubbed in Japanese, with subtitles available in many languages. For some fans, that's sufficient, but other fans feel differently.
Some fans like anime dubbed in their own language, but those series might get iffy dubs, with flat or unconvincing voice acting and odd translations at times. Often, these series fail to attract big-name voice actors such as Seth Green, Billy West, or James Earl Jones. Fortunately, there are exceptions. Still, many anime fans agree that English dubs simply aren't up to snuff.
1 Outside Observers Might Get The Wrong Impression
Anime isn't 100% mainstream in the West, so outside observers might not only be confused by what they see but also get some unflattering impressions of anime as a whole and draw some unfair conclusions about the industry. An example is "anime always has tentacle porn."
Anime has its fair share of clichés, tropes, and conventions, and creative series will make the most of them, but non-fans won't appreciate that fact. They might walk in on a fanservice scene and conclude that anime is trashy porn that's unsuitable for anyone under 18, and that can lead to some awkward situations.