I guess I thought of it as people needing to actively be anime fans specifically, rather than just occassionally watching some anime and having fun with it. I suppose it’s similar to movies in that sense, where there’s quite a difference between a cinephile and someone who likes to put on Netflix to unwind.

Yeah, I think that’s a good way to phrase it. There is also a generational element, as I mentioned with the Gen Z statistic (probably more pronounced with anime because it is animation and a lot of the anglosphere still treats animation as “for kids”).

Also I want to apologize for probably coming across too brusquely before. I jumped to respond and then rushed to actually complete the response before I had to go to work. My bad.

I especially don’t know where anime (or, I guess more specfically, J-Pop) stacks up on the music/radio stage. AFAIK foreign-language songs just don’t crack the American music scene, but I’m no audiophile and I haven’t listened to the radio for close to two decades so

╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭

In terms of blockbuster: how about Demon Slayer’s Mugen Train movie being the highest grossing movie of 2020 worldwide? Infinity Castle was also the seventh-highest grossing movie of 2025 (and was the highest-grossing international film in the U.S.). That’s beyond Disney making Ghibli a household name.

Yes, my views are going to be U.S-centric, I’ll admit that, and I’m sure what counts as “everyday conversations” is going to vary by region – however for me “mainstream” means things like the above, that anime movies like Chainsaw Man and One Piece see theatrical releases outside of Japan and get placed on lists of highest-grossing movies worldwide. Pokémon is also partly anime and it is literally THE most profitable IP in the world. Big companies like Sony and Disney have anime as part of their regular catalogue. It’s not some niche little thing that only scrappy companies like Tokyopop will touch anymore. Goku is in the Macy’s Day Parade (which is a major national event in the U.S., I am completely unaware how well-known it is outside the country).

I’m sure you can argue that there are a lot of anime that no one outside those really entrenched in the greater anime fandom have heard of, but to discount anime as a whole being some niche form of media only known to those in the hobby is, IMO, misguided at best.

Oh, and something else to back up my claims: a 2025 global research report by Dentsu found around 30% of “global consumers” (which I’m reading as those with disposable income, probably 16 and up) watch anime at least once a week, and another 2023 report for the U.S. specifically found that 1 in 3 adults 18-54 watched “viral anime titles” with that number going up to 44% for Gen Z aged 18-24 at the time.

The common joke is that gooners looking for a doujin to fap to end up being emotionally broken – which personally I didn’t get but to each their own – but because it’s so grounded in reality it can set some people off, especially if they’ve had past trauma.

You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders!

In all seriousness Metamorphosis (AKA 177013) should probably come with some content warnings. Just wanted to give you a heads up in case you’re being completely genuine.

( ≧▽≦) Oh sweet baby Dionysus

Jean-Claude Van DAYUM that girl is bursting out of her everything d(꒪ ཀ꒪ d)

Calling bullshit that anime only became “mainstream” by the time of AoT’s final season. That was literally only 2020, anime had been mainstream for years at that point (I’d argue close to two decades). Also I remember watching those Bleach episodes as they premiered, the 3am claim is hyperbole, Toonami may have been part of the Adult Swim block by then but there was plenty of anime airing at primetime (as she herself mentioned earlier in the vid). I’m definitely being pedantic but these youngin’s actin’ like they had it so bad while vastly overselling the experience irks me.

Also I find it a little weird how she mentioned “anime stigma” like a dozen times and never once brought up the way a lot of parents used to associate late-night anime with hentai? That may be because of youtube, tho.

Artist seems to be What if Animation (possibly @WhatifAnimation but I do not visit twitter so cannot confirm).

Obliviousness aside, I’m glad to see the general vibe here is not Lawful Stupid. Whatever team is working on this is clearly putting a lot of work in in addition to the AI and I’m very much looking forward to it, but of course because AI is even mentioned it has to be embroiled in the latest culture war. Le sigh.

(゜o゜) I didn’t even think about that. I never cross-posted even when I actively used reddit (like 5 years ago) but that’s a neat idea. Cheers for that <3

I’ve been trying to drum up activity in the !rwby@sh.itjust.works community, if that counts as anime enough? Mostly I’ve been posting fanart because there’s a lot of it out there.

I know there’s not really any love lost between the RWBY fandom and the greater anime fandom so I’ll accept if that’s something most would rather avoid. Either way, thanks for the list and all you’re doing for the art communities <3

Hey looks like this list hasn’t been updated in a while (either 2 years by the title or 9 months by the 🖉 mark). Have there been any changes lately?

Also I’d be curious whether RWBY-related communities would qualify to be on the list? I’m currently trying to drum up activity in the only one I’ve found over on sh.itjust.works but also semi-considering starting up a RWBY NSFW community somewhere because there is just so much of it and I’m not seeing it shared anywhere.

As an aside, ʚ♡⃛ɞ(ू•ᴗ•ू❁) thank you for your work keeping the moe communities active on ani.social.

Oh, damn, my mistake. You’re definitely a rarity in the anime fandom, then. I only know of Twinkle Nora Rock Me!, Chargeman Ken, and other similarly notorious anime from the 70s and 80s because of this one youtuber Kenny Lauderdale who covers old anime like that. It may have been from him that I even learned of YKK.

I would never be able to get into collecting LaserDiscs for various reasons but I tip my hat to you for being able to and helping with preservation, however small.

Kenny Lauderdale fan spotted ☆(*^o^)乂(^.^*)☆

Personally, my favorite parts of it have always been the themes of connecting with people and the hedgehog’s dilemma, rather than all the action-y bits or the heavy-handed religious symbolism. Between it, Eureka Seven, and The Big O, and comparing them to the likes of Code Geass and whichever-actual-Gundam-series-I-watched, I learned I don’t really care for mecha being mecha, but I enjoy when mecha are metaphor.

QUICKEDIT: I realize I’m sounding like I’m trying to convince you to like it and it’s not my intention here, more just trying to explain my side and make conversation.

Yeah I still remember like a dozen years ago watching a Digibro video that was trying to proclaim “your tastes should always be changing!” and I was literally within 2-3 years of their age at the time and was like, “how fucking young are you that you think this is a revolutionary thing to say?”

Like, my love for FMA has only grown over the years as I’ve matured and am better able to appreciate its themes, and meanwhile I can no longer stand even a single minute of Hetalia. Similarly, I grew up on all the long-running shounen battle anime like DBZ, Naruto, Bleach, etc., but I couldn’t bring myself to like Fire Force because I’m not 15 years old anymore (though I will admit HeroAca is a guilty pleasure of mine).

There’s dozens of us! Dozens!

My condolences. Haibane Renmei is one of my favorites.

I think on the one hand it is fair to say NGE is one of the greats from its time and arguably one of the most influential anime ever made (to the point where it’s now part of Japan’s cultural identity – you can hear Cruel Angel’s Thesis just causally as waiting room music for instance).

On the other hand, even as a fan myself I recognize how many brain-dead evangelical (heh) supporters try to tout it as the end-all-and-be-all of anime when it’s really just an unorthodox entry into a very specific type of genre.

I’m an idiot it took me so long to realize the dude on the left is eating his own food and not sneakily trying to steal from purple hair’s plate (I haven’t seen Frieren only a handful of memes and r34).