CATDOLL: How to identify the "followers" of anime? Japanese netizens tell you the answer

Although Japanese society has a stereotype about otakus, there are still many public figures who are willing to openly admit that they are otakus, such as the famous wrestler Masahiro Chouno and baseball player Takuto Nogawa. Of course, calling yourself an "otaku" does not mean you will be liked by your peers. If you don't really understand a certain field and pretend to know something, it will make people feel unnatural.

Among them, many works that become popular are particularly likely to attract some fans who are simply following the trend. So how to distinguish those who are simply following the trend? The Japanese social platform "ヒトメボ" conducted an opinion survey on female readers and came to a conclusion after sorting out the results - if the following characteristics are present, fans who are familiar with the original work may feel that the other party is not a "true fan" but just following the trend.

Only read part of the work

"JoJo's Bizarre Adventure"

Case: Although this interviewee has been a fan of the "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" series, his friend was not interested in JOJO because the style of the paintings did not suit her taste. It was not until her friend watched the introduction of the TV program that she suddenly became fascinated with JOJO and even said "JOJO is my Bible". In fact, her friend's interest was limited to the third part, and she had no idea what "ripple" was. And now her friend is fascinated by "Kingdom"...

Summary: Although the JOJO series is indeed very long, each part has a different style. Before watching the third part, it is recommended to read the first and second parts first to better understand the relationship between the Joestar family and DIO. A one-sided experience will only make true fans who have read the original work feel that this is a "novice".

Don't understand the tribute

"Gintama" pinched him "Kuroko's Basketball" Miracle Generation Setting

Originally, the fun of tributes in anime is based on the tacit understanding between the readers or audiences and the work itself. Real fans know that this is a funny way of quoting other works, but people who are not familiar with it may misunderstand it and even think that the work being paid tribute to is plagiarized.

Case: Gintama once paid tribute to Kuroko's Basketball from the same magazine, but after watching Kuroko's Basketball, followers insisted that Kuroko's Basketball plagiarized Gintama...

Only interested in peripheral products

The "Pain Tote Bag" is a must-buy for girls who love anime

Case: A friend who calls himself a "Sailor Moon nerd" recently bought a lot of 20th anniversary commemorative products. But when I mentioned "Haruka Tenoh", my friend looked puzzled. It turned out that my friend just liked these peripherals and had no idea or interest in the works or characters.

The characteristic of this type of followers is that they "will collect peripheral products of popular works and show enthusiasm", and since they "change their hearts" too frequently, they switch to new hobbies very quickly.

Haven't seen the original

Attack on Titan

Case: I found out that the other person is also a fan of "Attack on Titan". After chatting with him, I found out that he had only watched the animation, so he didn't know the progress of the original manga. What made me feel most disappointed was that the other person said he didn't like the style of the manga, and I felt that my work was denied.

This is just the original fans looking for superiority. "I've watched more than you so I'm a true lover, you didn't watch the original so you're just a follower", have you seen similar words on many social platforms? The conflict between "superior original fans" and "followers who only watch the animation" has not been completely reconciled to this day...