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This is more of a social phenomenon and psychological condition as a result of exposure to overseas popular culture. Obsession of course, is not limited to animations or visual novels from Japan. The term probably evolved from our natural need to classify and identify things which we do not understand - for better or worse. Throughout modern history derogatory terms have been invented and used to label groups that a self-proclaimed majority adopted and imposed to spread shame if not outright aversion. That is how we are - always insecure about ourselves.

As with most hobbies, there are followers with varying degrees of dedication. True, someone who jabbers on about Japanese animation all day long may be annoying, but no less annoying than if they were talking about any other topic consistently. The backlash comes from the fact that this influx of culture has had a much bigger impact on the younger generation and its presence does clash with real beliefs and opinions.

In fact, there are South East Asian cultures who no doubt view Japanese culture as garbage simply because it is Japanese, which makes them draw a connection immediately to some of the less glamorous aspects of Japanese history. I do not blame them, but the problem with that is they are mixing reality and turning it into something else in order to express their own frustration.

I have more to say but I have to go!

That what had me dead-set on applying to Japanese Studies in university...and no amount of convincing or insulting from my parents had me wavering. I know, it's kinda pathetic.

I admit freely, my interest in Japan only started with anime and manga. From them I learned how versatile and yet how wonderfully traditional Japan is. I researched and liked it even more and last year I had teh chance of going to Japan on an exchange program. Aside from the terrible heat and humidity (yes, we went in summer season, but luckily, it wasn't the first time I was left to such a heat's mercy...I am looking at you, Vietnam) I met wonderful people and was presented a wonderful culture, made wonderful memories...and woul like to meet my host families again and be able to converse with them properly (what I could do was flipping through a dictionary, use google translate, sometimes, only, and do gestures and signs...).
There are a few things I only learned then about Japan that was less than nice, like their prefered ignoring of their defeat in WWII, but that's probably the big contrast between Germany, who actively tries to redeem itself for WWII...

I know I want to visit Japan again and maybe live there for a time, due to work, hopefully. I preferably listen to Japanese music, mostly because I dislike most German tracks Tokyo Hotel? Err...their first single was good but then..., I only like a selected number of Western music hate, absolutely hate electro and house and really am not much into that much J-Pop or J-Rock, actually. My prefered music is mostly melodic, maybe something classic mixed with awesomeness known as Kajiura Yuki and Shikata Akiko or Within Temptation, something with pop, but not too much, a bit rock but not to hardcore. ...I know I am very, very difficult with music. Okay, so I am not sure about two things and that is whether I constantly think of Japan and whether my conversations usually lead to Japanese related stuff...more like, my thoughts constantly are far off in fantasies that sometimes involve Japan (since my fantasies revolve aroudn anime/manga and some more and those are often set in Japan), sometimes doesn't. As for conversations...I don't think so, no...*goes ask a friend*

And there goes my try to write short replies no one is interested in. =_=

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That could be partly due to the government itself want to hide the truth behind WW2. We couldn't have any idea of what the government did to achieve that, perhaps erasing all WW2 history from history book lesson? This is one of the main reason I hate Japan... not that I hate (I rather love Japan) but if there's any reason I hate that magnificent country, well I just mentioned it. Especially because my countries (where I live now and become part with... and the country where my family ancestor lived) were victims of Japan invasion in WW2.

This is also one of the reason why South Korean couldn't really get along with Japan...

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That is something they are eventually going to have to work on, especially with incidents like Nanking still being left unresolved. Though there are not many countries that are sinless these days and it's a pretty normal reaction to not want to be blamed. It can cause some bad blood though on occasions. Australia was in a similar situation after WW2, but relations between Japan and Australia are quite good at the moment ad they are one of our strongest trading partners. That is one of the things that can annoy me about Weeaboos, they don't always recognise history, or the negatives about Japan, like xenophobia. They are like any other country in the world, there are good and bad things. It's okay for it to be like that and is frankly more realistic.

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My country (Indonesia) and Japan have strong relationship too. We're a close trading partner and doesn't seem to have any bad blood.

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I don't think that I'm a weeaboo but I:

I want to visit Japan someday. (I don't want to live in Japan for a long time but maybe a vacation there would be nice).
I frequently talk to my friends, who are fellow enthusiasts, about anime, manga and Japanese games
I claim to know Japanese history by reading entries on wikipedia. However Sengoku Rance and Sengoku Basara are the reasons for my curiosity.
I admire their culture but I don't think they are superior.
I claim that I somewhat understand some Japanese phrases. I watched anime for a long time and tried to learn Japanese from web tutorials and from the very old small book that I found from my uncle's basement.
I cannot read Kanji though some simple ones are really easy to recall. I wanted to learn to read Japanese someday so that I could play more Japanese visual novels.
I listen to anime songs but I don't listen to other Japanese songs.
I used to eat at a Japanese restaurant, then I realized one day that I really hate Japanese food that they serve.

Pretty much.. I think it's mostly people backlashing against fans who don't spend a lot of time on actually learning a lot about the culture, and are instead content with skimming stuff off the top.

I don't particularly understand a lot of the resentment behind it, because if you took all these same situations and applied them to a different culture, most of the time people would have no problem. If I spoke random french, wore a beret, and started eating a lot of baguettes and fresh cheeses, I don't think there'd be half the issue that people have with "weeaboos."

Maybe it's just because anime fandoms in general seem more incendiary.

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This is a really interesting thread.. I first heard about the term "weeaboo" from Rewritten Ennui but prior to that I had no idea that there was this label or that people were being hated for their fanaticism. I have to admit that the first game I made was quite "weeaboo-ish". But after looking through the lists of factors that make one a weeaboo, I don't think I'm a weeaboo.. Or at least, I hope not. (x It's true that I was first introduced to Japanese language and culture through anime. But what kept me captivated was the beauty of the language and culture. The Japanese are people who care about aesthetics, beauty and details and that is something I really admire. From their food, to their clothes, to their gardens, traditional houses, and so on.. You can see that they are really particular about presentation. I like the polite manner in which the Japanese relate to each other and I think that is also the reason why I grew an appreciation for their language. The Japanese also never fail to amaze me with their creativity and I think it's their amazing ideas that make their culture or subculture so interesting.
Things such as their capsule hotels, their advancements in technology, the whole idea of cosplaying- teenagers who buy or make their own costumes and hang around in Harajuku, waiting for someone to take photos with them, and etc.. All these things made me give Japan a second glance.

But even though I like Japanese culture, there are still several things that I don't like about Japan and I probably would never want to live in Japan.
It's a nice place to visit, but to live there as a permanent resident is a different story. I love my own country and there are many unique and rich things about my culture as well(:

I think there are many merits to Japanese culture and subculture.. To despise someone who appreciates them might be a bit harsh. (x
But yes, one must never fail to look as one's own history, culture and nationality and have a deep sense of appreciation for it.
Because no matter how hard you try, you can't be anyone else but yourself. (:

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I'm a white guy that likes playing Japanese vidya, watching anime, and eating Japanese food.
I've always catered to the Japanese audience with everything I've done online.
I've never been to Japan.

At first, people reading that would assume I'm a weeaboo, but they're totally wrong.
I fucking hate weeaboos, seriously, they're possibly the most embarrasing people in the world, and make me feel bad about enjoying anime.
I frequently shop at my local Japanese market, and around a year ago, a group of weeaboo furries decided to show up and spout memes and random Japanese words, pointing at ramen and shouting "SUGOIII OIISSHIII", "IYA, MAZUI", the usual broken Japanese they usually do, but of course, they were also wearing nothing but Bleach/Naruto/Death Note clothes/bags, and fucking tails.
They were REALLY loud and all horrible looking, like, I don't mean to be an asshole (er, maybe I do), but they were all acne ridden fatasses, except two of the guys who looked like they were going to collapse due to not weighing ANYTHING.

Now, the good news is, that the owner is somewhat er, racist, towards white people, and kicked them out.
The only reason I don't get anything from him is because I speak some Japanese, and I'm a loyal customer who doesn't buy nothing but ramen and pocky.

Haha, this is one hateful post, but I thought I'd voice my opinion of how annoying weeaboos really are.

"I'm not like those people. I'm so much cooler than them. So cool, in fact, that I have to dig up long-dead threads just to be sure everyone knows how cool I am."

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@ Both above: Haha, nice one.

On topic: Being seen as a weaboo has always been among my greatest fears. The way the internet works, if you are a weaboo, then you're automatically a fat, sweaty loser without a day job who spends his time jacking off to kiddie cartoon porn. Which, unfortunately, may have quite a bit of basis in reality.

On a slight tangent: If you are a Hellenophile, a Turkophile or a insert-Eastern-European-minor-here-phile, the worst you're gonna get is a raised eyebrow. Most of the time, anyway.

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Oh jesus christ what, I didn't even realize how old this thread was.
Strange, I found it through the new posts button.

Also, we're all cooler than people like that, I ain't bragging, haha.

And er, ontopic, in Ireland, nobody knows what a weeaboo is, so they just get classed as losers.

Now that this thread has been resurrected it is a suitable environment for my comment to live in!
So, here's my comment.

I used to be a weeaboo.* I stopped being one when I met other weeaboos.
So, If I were to hazard a guess on why weeaboos are thing, I would say, at least in a Midwestern American context, that your average Joe or Sally knows next to nothing about Japan. (I work with a guy who uses the terms "Chinese", "Japanese" and "Korean" interchangeably.) So if you are a fan of anime, you automatically feel like you're part of an exclusive club. Learning Japanese language, history and culture means you are smarter in that area than most people you know, even older people. This is an ego trip. Especially if you are an adolescent, this contributes to your identity a great deal. You are the person to "go to" when someone has a question about Japan. You are an authority. Acting silly by shouting out random Japanese phrases, wearing wacky clothes, etc. is kind of your "trademark" and if you are the only one doing it, it can work to your advantage because you're just so darn endearingly wacky! It also functions as a "friend selector" because if someone else understands you when you say something in Japanese, or compliments you on your "harajuku" outfit, you know they share your interests.

Of course, now that anime is more popular and more people are studying Japanese, this kind of silly "secret society" behavior can't be tolerated anymore. And of course, when an individual is "endearingly wacky", chances are 20 people simultaneously behaving the exact same way will just be "embarrassing."

*Minus the terrifying lack of the concept of personal space, hygiene, and general common sense. I never thought it was socially acceptable to leave off showering for days, get in people's faces, grope people in public (or anywhere else), and do the Nazi salute for cosplay photoshoots... so don't ask me where that crap comes from, because I really don't know.

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