Weeaboo
"Ohio /tg/-kun, you are looking kawaii today uguu~ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧. Shall we play pretend on the futon after we eat our bento boxes desu? (>^3^)> Don't be Tsundere, you baka! It'll be sugoi! " - Sample text of a typical weeaboo
Weeaboo is a noun/adjective derived from a Perry Bible Fellowship comic, reaching internet stardom after the term was used as a wordfilter for "wapanese" on /b/. Although used in the comic as a nonsense word, it has since become synonymous with "wapanese" (itself short for "wannabe Japanese") until it supplanted the original term altogether. The term typically refers to people who believe that Japanese stuff is better simply because it is Japanese, with implications of harboring an unhealthy obsession with the culture and media of Japan (such as anime) while simultaneously managing to know very little about it. The term has spun off to describe other types of obsessions, such as Teaboo (girls obsessed with stereotypical Proper British culture, specifically the new Sherlock show and The Eleventh Doctor), Koreaboos (girls obsessed with K-Pop boy bands; considering the West hasn't really had actual boy bands since the 90s, it's not hard to see why) and Wolfaboo (kids obsessed with wolves, may or may not overlap with furries).
They are also known to hate all other Asian cultures and think that Japan is the "Best Asia Country Ever!", despite not knowing that just seventy years ago (and before!), the Japanese and Japan itself was one of the most conservative, imperialistic, xenophobic, theocratic, fascist nations in the world, hated or despised by almost everybody else, with the majority of the vote stemming from China and Korea (just open a history book you lazies). Modern Japan was given a rise in popularity due to American propaganda, as THE Capitalist Ally in the East, and the new Japanese generation, after being nuked to submission, putting on a new liberal democratic theme presenting themselves as sexually-liberal free-market libertarians with almost no similarity to their past conservative-fascist ancestors, to the point that they became the opposite. While conservative-Imperial Japan boasted a high population rise, modern anime Japan is almost sterile to the point of extinction. This isn't surprising, given their issues with having space for everyone (fortunately, not as bad as it could be... yet). It helps that conservative-Imperial Japan arranged-married pretty much everyone. It was much quicker to get people making babies that way.
In Japan, the Japanese have a similar concept they call the "Otaku"; there, an Otaku is basically a shut-in super-nerd who never leaves their room and obsesses over a typically nerdy hobby, usually anime/manga, and often leads to hoarding useless crap in their tiny apartment. Weeaboos appropriated the term to simply mean "anyone who watches anime / reads manga," so be wary about applying the term across cultural boundaries.
Fun fact: Japanese people see no real distinction between eastern and western animation. If you ask someone what their favorite anime is, they're as likely to reply "Spongebob Squarepants" as "Naruto." Weeaboos, on the other hand, are extremely adamant that there is a massive fucking difference between Japanese anime and all other forms of animation, and that any non-Japanese animation that mimicks anime isn't true anime (one such example is Avatar: The Last Airbender. Looks like anime, but made in America).
What doesn't make you Weeaboo
- Watching anime / reading manga
- Eating sushi / Panda Express / Pocky
- Wanting to visit Japan
- Learning Japanese
- Liking cute shit
- Owning memorabilia of your favorite show (Such as a T-shirt or poster)
What DOES make you a Weeaboo
Note: This is a non-comprehensive list that includes all items that definitively make you a weeaboo; because the line between weeaboo and non-weeaboo is blurry, the traits shown here tend to be on the more extreme side.
- Considering anime / manga as a superior art form just because it's from Japan
- Getting angry when someone doesn't watch your favorite show
- Refusing to acknowledge flaws in Japanese stories or merits in Western stories
- The exception to this is getting into intense arguments about which anime is better
- Judging people's character based on what shows they watch
- Arguing about how people who don't share your taste are not true anime fans
- Accusing people who are watching a show you don't like of destroying anime
- Vilifying dubs as a matter of principle, regardless of actual dub quality
- Eating sushi / Panda Express / Pocky exclusively
- Wanting to visit Japan and then getting disappointed that it's not like anime
- Expecting all Asian people to have watched anime and be as big a weeaboo as you
- Learning Japanese poorly by watching anime, then slipping in the handful of words you know into everyday conversation constantly, whether your peers understand you or not (see above sample text)
- Shouting "Kimochi!" in public. Most subs put it as "I feel good!" when in reality it's closer to "I'm cumming!" Bonus points for saying it in front of someone fluent in Japanese.
- Referring to everyone you know as -chan or -kun or -senpai at all times (bonus points for using honorifics incorrectly or using them when describing yourself)
- Endlessly quoting shit from anime, whether it's appropriate or not
- "Glomping" (leaping at and aggressively hugging) people who at best only think of you as an acquaintance. This can be especially bad if you're significantly heavier than the intended target.
- Watching excessive amounts of hentai (look, we get it, for most people porn is porn. But there's a point where watching 30 cartoons a day about dickgirls getting their asses reamed becomes a problem)
- Liking Lolicon or Shotacon (of course, maybe you're just a pedophile and don't give a shit about Japan)
- An obsession with Yaoi or Bishies, particularly stories with rape (mostly applies to women)
- Rejecting all real-life women for cartoon women (aka "3D Pig-Disgusting")
- Getting into arguments over how your waifu is superior and all other waifus are shit
- Getting into arguments over whether or not having more than one waifu counts as infidelity
- Running with your arms behind your back. No, it's not more aerodynamic. No, it doesn't make you faster. It just makes you look like a tool.
- Most of your wardrobe and possessions are related to anime in some way, such as mountains of useless and expensive figurines
- Wearing cosplay outfits in public outside of conventions
- Owning a dakimakura
- Going on dates with your dakimakura
- Going on dates with your dakimakura in public
- Believing Katanas are the best weapon ever and can cut through ANYTHING
- Going to the Holocaust Museum and taking a photo doing the Nazi salute because of Hetalia (yes, that actually happened)
- Shoving Hetalia characters into geography or talks about it during a class of international relations and expecting people to get your reference (Seriously Hetalia is just cancer. Period.)
Things that don't necessarily make you a Weeaboo, but are common traits
- Bad Hygiene
- Overweight
- Ill-fitting / dirty clothes
- Basement dweller
- Extreme social awkwardness
- No verbal filters or social boundaries
- No volume control
- Elitist attitudes
- Getting anal-retentive about franchise adaptations (i.e. "read the manga")
- Constantly tell inside jokes that aren't even that funny to begin with
- Wanting to exclusively date Asians (assuming you're not Asian yourself)
- Terrible fanfiction / unoriginal characters with strong anime themes
See Also
- Anime & Manga
- BESM
- Katanas are Underpowered in d20
- Maid RPG
- Mary Sue
- The Book of Weeaboo Fightan Magic
- Tau
- Ribbon
- Rising Sons
- Tanto Cuore
Links
- A compilation of weeaboos found in the wild.
- The Gunshow shows us the social dynamics of a typical anime club.
You think we were kidding about the war crimes? [[1]]. [[2]]. [[3]]