Lemma Soft Forums

If you're in this part of LSF, chances are that you like anime/manga/Japanese culture in one way or another. That's not a bad thing, mind you. Appreciation of a different culture is a good thing, right? Today's world is very multicultural and countries influence each other in ways that weren't possible before the modern age. Traditions have diffused from one group to another, and people borrow practices and ideas from other sources to supplement their own needs. So when does an appreciation for Japan become an obsession? When does an otaku become a weeaboo?

Straight from the Urban Dictionary, the term 'weeaboo' is defined as:

A negative term directed to anyone overly obsessed with Japanese culture to the point where they become annoying.Used frequently on the image boards of 4chan.

Most weaboos are uneducated about their obsession of choice and are often noobs who are overly zealous, trying to impress others with their otaku knowledge. Another trait of a weaboo is their desire to "be Japanese".

While the two terms are often fused together, weaboos are very different from anime fans or enthusiasts. A fan may be just as enthusiastic and knowlegable
about Japanese culture, mainly anime, but they neither boast about their knowledge nor call themselves otaku(because of its known negative connatation).

So to put simply, a weeaboo is someone who is overly zealous about anything Japanese and tries to become Japanese, totally disregarding their own native culture.

That is probably and usually a bad thing, as shown by the glorious David-sama who can speak Kanji. Gosh, I wish I could speak Kanji fluently too.

I'm a Chinese-American girl who has a mild interest in Japanese culture, anime, and manga. It's not my entire life, and I don't have the urge to learn how to speak and read Japanese (though I can sometimes recognize Chinese characters when they pop up in anime). I know someone is saying hello on the phone when they say moshi moshi, but I never say sayonara when the time for goodbyes come along. I know some Japanese folklore and myths from all the games I play, but that's about it. Am I weeaboo? Dear lord, I hope not! I have my Chinese pride, and Japan actually borrowed many aspects of Chinese culture in the past (written language, government, religion, etc.).

So what about you? Using the Urban Dictionary definition, could you be categorized as a weeaboo?

I find the entire term pretty dumb. It's an internet phenomena that has no relevance in real life. I make an effort to act more American when I'm around Americans, and I act more Korean when I'm around Koreans, and I act more Japanese when I'm around Japanese. The ethnicity that you're born with doesn't mean you have to act that way. The whole thing seems to be somewhat of a reflection of America's culture.

I'm pretty sure I used to be one-- still am in a way really. I thought Japanese anime/manga was awesome and everything associated about it could do me no wrong.

Well, at least history classes showed me otherwise along with the social and cultural practices and behaviors I disagree with about the Japanese. Now it's like any other culture to me; it's got it's ups and downs, but undeniably rich in some areas. That and my tastes have been slowly adjusting and leaning towards more western fare (still love manga though).

Also, I would like to direct people to this lovely Tumblr about people who allow themselves to act inappropriately. Almost every story there makes me question humanity and my fellow fans of anime/manga in general.

Nope...

Good way to spot a weebo.
1. They call themselves otaku.
2. They say Kawaii like Kawai
(....you don't speak Kanji, you read Kanji)

Much like the thread about whether or not 'otaku' is insulting, this entirely comes down to perception and is fairly meaningless really - it's only a measure of whether the individual trying to insult you finds you irritating or not, and/or whether you think it's reasonable for anyone else to think that about you.

Hayzel wrote:(....you don't speak Kanji, you read Kanji)

I meant that sarcastically. If you followed the link to David-sama's spiel about the superiority of Japan, you would see that he says

I speak Japanese fluently, both Kanji and the Osaka dialect, and I write fluently as well. I know everything about Japanese history and their bushido code, which I follow 100%

It depresses me to no end that someone could be so ignorant about any language. And yes, the Weeaboo Stories Tumblr can be entertaining and disheartening at the same time.

Rewritten Ennui wrote:

Hayzel wrote:(....you don't speak Kanji, you read Kanji)

I meant that sarcastically.

I got that. But its hard to tell sarcasm online. Just making it clear XD

Hayzel wrote:Nope...

Good way to spot a weebo.

2. They say Kawaii like Kawai

You also forgot the excessive use of other Japanese words littered into their daily vocabulary such as sugoi, desu, kisama, and whatever kids are using these days.

I will not lie, I absolutely hate seeing those words being typed in a sentence unless it's for complete mockery and sarcasm.

It's an internet phenomena that has no relevance in real life

You haven't met a weeaboo in real life yet, then... I know quite a few. They are obsessed with Japanese things, even the tiniest most trivial Japanese thing (like pocky) excites them to no end. They randomly try to quote anime and idolize american dub actors like they're gods, almost all of them say their main goal in life is to become an anime voice actor or mangaka. These are grown people too, not kids (it's childish behavior if you ask me).

So yes, they definitely exist in real life and are annoying little buggers. I love manga and I'm interested in Japan, but it's like any of my other interests, I keep it to myself and don't flaunt that I like it. (okay, except for my little pony, I love my pony collection- I am a ponyboo, I guess.

I suspect that I am a weeaboo. About half of my hobbies are centered in eastern media... so I get depressed when I think that the glory days are over, and that western media has already won. This thought makes me feel like I've wasted the last decade or so of my life.

Also, I don't know if I can write a halfway decent story... and I've often attributed it to the fact that I grew up speaking English. Perhaps this is absurd. But there's only so many people who write in English that I admire...

Because of this thread I read 20+ pages of that tumblr

I'm thinking about getting other interests

Maybe is it a first stage when you begin to discover about anime culture and subcultures. I remember, when I was in college, that there were lots of people just like that, who didn't understand Japanese but a few words.
I remember that I used to be happy when I was watching subtitled episodes and remembered some words, flaunting at being in contact with a new form of culture. At that time, the people I knew back then were discovering Japanese anime as well so I didn't feel we were out of place.

There was still this admiration, just as if we were rediscovering Jipangu. And now that I think about it we were quite dumb!
But as you get to know better about Japanese culture as a whole and not only through the spectrum of anime medium, you begin to be able to think out of the box.

About mannerism: it's not a bad thing at all, even if it pisses off some people. It's only an expression of "love", in a way that the people using foreign words instead of the local ones just feel good when using them.
Come on, who hasn't used the words "déjà vu" in an English sentence, "mega cool" in a french sentence, and any other slang mix involving local trends?

And why should there be rules about how someone likes another culture after all? Because it's out or some norm? Because of social status?
And I think the issue about ethnicity is completely out of case. It's only a matter of culture, a matter of personal preferences, personal choices about values that one cares most for.

I think the fact about trying to stick a label on anyone (calling them otaku or weeboo or anything else) is just a symptom of rejection because of false assumptions and reverse elitism reflex or because of personal standings, experience, aesthetisms. So what?

It's just the same in any entertainment field, any sport! So maybe I'm a football "weeboo", symphonic music "weeboo", science fiction "weeboo"...
You get the point.

MaiMai wrote:You also forgot the excessive use of other Japanese words littered into their daily vocabulary such as sugoi, desu, kisama, and whatever kids are using these days.

I will not lie, I absolutely hate seeing those words being typed in a sentence unless it's for complete mockery and sarcasm.

I rather see those words used in sentence rather than seing a mockery and sarcasm. Those words probably annoying for certain people with low tolerance, but they don't meant to hurt anyone, unlike mockery and sarcasm which only purpose is to hurt others.

Rewritten Ennui wrote:So to put simply, a weeaboo is someone who is overly zealous about anything Japanese and tries to become Japanese, totally disregarding their own native culture.

well, if your country is so messed up, sometimes it's better to disregard it completely and try to become a japanese instead ^^

I would say I was a weeaboo, but I never littered my speech with Japanese phrases. Never, really. I did collect manekineko so I got to paw and go "nyan!" back at them, but that insanity was really never forced on anyone. =P Also, I don't watch anime or read manga. I watched a few anime ... only one series completely through, and because it was one season. Is liking anime/manga required to be titled "weeaboo"? I certainly considered myself a Japanophile, but not an otaku. I'd rather watch live-action movies, read Japanese literature and history, and absorb the culture in general. I was a huge Japanese music fan, even had an online radio station for it for several years and flew there just to see some people in concert (best time of my life, btw). So ... yes, in most respects, I was a weeaboo, just not one of these "annoying" types.

I agree with Hikki that the people who explode about weeaboos are way more annoying than the actual offender.

HikkiPanda wrote:

Rewritten Ennui wrote:So to put simply, a weeaboo is someone who is overly zealous about anything Japanese and tries to become Japanese, totally disregarding their own native culture.

well, if your country is so messed up, sometimes it's better to disregard it completely and try to become a japanese instead ^^

http://www.cracked.com/article_19363_6- ... k-out.html

Well there's a difference between just being obsessed with something and being insane about something. Having a strong interest in anime and manga does not necessarily mean you will overreact to every thing related to it, have to make sure everyone knows you love it, act irrationally because you think you can get away with it at a con... Like the stories in that Tumblr. I don't consider a people with strong interests to be weeaboos, I consider people who act just plain insane about their interest to be weeaboos.

So, I hope that doesn't make me annoying. I think any person would be just a little creeped out by someone going crazy because they like a certain thing...