It is not something new that anime fans have been the target of ridicule for many years and, although this is something that has gradually become normalized to have a taste for anime, the mockery and dislike towards this group of people, still persists today. An example of this is a video of an event that took place at the famous Anime Expo in Los Angeles, where a cosplayer makes a performance with a cosplay of Kana Arima from the popular anime Oshi no Ko, in which many bad comments towards otaku were found.
Otakus are criticized for a video that was popularized at an event during AnimeExpo.
This “controversial” video comes from the Instagram account of the cosplayer @hamu_cotton, where she is doing a cosplay performance as Kana Arima, one of the beautiful waifus of the popular anime “Oshi no Ko”, in this performance she is performing a dance to the song “L0li God’s Requiem” performed by the VTuber Ui Shigure that became quite viral on social networks last year and that was composed as a form of attack to older men who enjoy consuming inappropriate material on minors.
In this short video that the cosplayer shares of her presentation at the convention, we can also see a group of fans, also in cosplay, doing a reaction to the dance, where they scream and throw themselves on the floor. This was the action that generated a lot of negative reactions from internet users, who showed their displeasure in the comments section. The funny thing is that these bad comments came even from the otaku community itself.
Many otaku said things like “I’m an anime fan and I don’t associate with them” “Suddenly, I don’t watch anime anymore” “This is the reason I stopped watching anime” “Stereotypes are correct” “What the hell is wrong with you guys?” “I like anime and manga, but I don’t even relate to the same air they breathe”.
Among the most popular negative reactions to this video, many alluded to the bad smell that was likely to be emitted among the audience, making a clear reference to the stereotype that “otaku” do not bathe. These types of comments said things like “Just imagine the smell in there” “I can’t even imagine the smell” “Why can I smell even through the phone?” “The person who cleans, deserves a promotion”.
Another thing that was quite mentioned, is that, the problem is not really that people like anime and that it’s not that people hate these kinds of stories, but what bothers are these kinds of “otaku” that cause people to dislike them. One social media user even gave as an example that during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, many athletes who are anime fans were seen, but their behavior was not as exaggerated as, for example, that of the people in the video.
Even with the number of people who made these kinds of rather negative comments about this event attended by many otaku, there were also many people who came out in defense of people who, in reality, were not doing anything wrong other than enjoying an activity related to one of their hobbies. For example, certain comments said things like “Why are you making fun of them? They’re just enjoying a hobby” ‘They’re just being happy’ ‘We’re just hating on them, but they’re probably happier than we are’.
