Thanks to streaming services and society in general becoming more open to popular culture, anime has become more mainstream than ever. But that doesn't mean everyone is into anime. To plenty of people of all ages, anime is still just a weirder version of "normal" cartoons. Unfortunately, people who see it that way aren't likely to change their mind anytime soon, no matter how many anime Netflix licenses or makes live-action adaptations of.
Because people don't understand anime, they make a lot of assumptions about the people who watch them as well. While some assumptions hold a grain of truth, some are generalizations that don't even begin to accurately describe the wide range of anime fans that exist.
10 They Like Watching Kids' Shows
When people think about anime, they often think about shows like Pokémon or even Dragon Ball Z. And while these series can explore adult themes, they were made for and aimed at children. The assumption is that anime fans only watch shows aimed at children. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s also inaccurate. There are plenty of anime that are aimed at an older crowd, and plenty of anime fans enjoy those as well.
9 That Anime Fans Like Fanservice
Anime has garnered a reputation over the years for containing a lot of fanservice that range from the tasteful to the unsavory, and many people assume that all anime fans enjoy watching fanservice-heavy shows. Ironically enough, many anime fans criticize this aspect of anime. Some of them look for other series without fanservice, while other fans persist while remaining frustrated at the amount of fanservice in the series.
8 That Anime Fans Only Care About Action Series
Looking at the most popular anime, shows like Dragon Ball Z and the big three of Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece are generally the ones people mention. And they all have one main thing in common: they’re all action-oriented series.
Newer series such as Demon Slayer, Attack on Titan, and Jujutsu Kaisen also tend to have a ton of action. But there are plenty of anime fans who want nothing to do with heavily action-oriented series and like romance series or political intrigue series.
7 That Anime Fans Can't Be Successful
The stereotype is that anime fans are generally so caught up in their own world that they never become successful. This idea has no basis in fact, as anime is a massively popular hobby with fans of all kinds. There are plenty of anime fans who are actually quite successful, such as Meg the Stallion, who’s talked to interviewers about her favorite series like Black Clover and even cosplayed as Todoroki from My Hero Academia. There’s also Michael B. Jordan, who wore a Saiyan-inspired outfit as Killmonger in Black Panther.
6 They Don't Like Listening To English Dubs
When people think anime fans, many people think of gatekeeping snobs. The kind of people who only watch the series “in the original language” and look down on anyone who would actually watch a series dubbed. But that’s not every anime fan. Plenty of people see value in both dubs and subs, like people watching a dub while they’re doing something else and a sub while they’re giving the show its full attention.
5 That Anime Fans Don't Have Friends
The reality is anime fans have always had strong communities, dating back to the early 2000’s when they all gathered on message boards to talk about the latest anime series. There are also anime conventions, which have grown from tiny affairs attended by dozens to massive, three-plus day vacations with thousands in multiple places across the world. People who don’t have friends wouldn’t be able to create communities like that.
4 That They All Know How To Draw
This one isn’t as common, but the idea that every anime fan has the ability to draw is probably boosted by “How to Draw Anime Characters” books from the 2000s. While it’s true that there are plenty of anime fans who have learned how to draw, it’s not all the fans. There are plenty of fans who would much rather appreciate good art rather than try to create it, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
3 That All Anime Fans Love Video Games
There’s an assumption that all nerdy hobbies intersect. Comic book fans love D&D, anime fans love video games, wrestling fans love all of the above. Well...not necessarily.
There are plenty of people who find modern gaming too exhausting or too time-consuming. And it doesn’t help that nearly every anime video game that comes out is almost always garbage.
2 That They Love All The Long-Running Shows
Most are aware that the most popular anime are Naruto and One Piece. People might not know much about anime, but they know the most popular series run for hundreds of episodes. From that, people might infer anime fans all love the longest-running shows. However, there are plenty of fans who want anime to stick to being 13 to 26 episodes and find long-running series unnecessarily prohibitive.
1 That They'll Watch Anything As Long As It's Anime
Every anime fan has gotten at least one gift from a friend or a relative who isn’t a fan that isn't based on an anime they like. Unfortunately, most anime series have a tendency to look the same thanks to similar artistic cues. In truth, anime has so many different genres that there’s literally no series that every fan could enjoy.