It's the whole otaku culture that sucks people's minds into such overboard fantasies that the idea of real life partners will only disappoint them. Go to a comic con in America and you'll see plenty of guys with girlfriends, etc. Look at the characters in that movie Mallrats who are experts on comic books, yet they have girlfriends. Here in Japan, however, male and female otaku are wrapped up in their stupid, secluded bubbles. Look at the manga here that caters to men vs that which caters to women. Mutually exclusive interests. Women read BL manga about fags and men read manga about pinheaded, docile slaves. Male otaku want to go to those stupid maid cafes to hear girls with squeaky voices calling them "master", thus ensuring them that they will not find happiness as real women will disappoint their unrealistic expectations. Fujoshi (female otaku) are programmed to be attracted to gay-looking men with slender faces, V-shaped jawline--- overly-soft-spoken pussies exemplified in boy dance singing groups like BTS (my daughter calls them "LGBTS") and Johnny's Jr. They act so effeminate that it's disgusting. You'll see them spoon-feeding each other in 31 Ice Cream commercials even. It's sick.
I like watching Urusei Yatsura. It's funny and I get a kick out of it. But I do not relate to it whatsoever. That's the kind of stuff that kids can enjoy. Mention you like that show in Japan and that's no big deal. But there are so many other anime that are specifically targeted towards the lonely otaku type. Despite a few cool shows these days, I noticed how anime changed around they year 2000 when the whole "moeblob" genre was ushered in. The soft-spoken, vacuous, doe-eyed little girl trope prevails and mentioning that you are into that is a bit... weird.
I'm the proto anime nerd generation. When I graduated high school in '94, I did not know of any other anime geeks in my large high school. I alone wore an occasional anime shirt, for example. Then a year or two later, the whole Dragonball Z/Sailor Moon boom happened, and it became big among high schoolers. Suddenly it wasn't some weird niche anymore. We adopted the term "otaku" to just mean "anime fan," but that's not the right connotation. Mention "otaku" to Americans 30 years ago and we may think of Hayao Miyazaki. Mention "otaku" to Japanese 30 years ago and they may think of Tsutomu Miyazaki.
The "Densha Otoko" TV comedy/drama from the early 2000s sort of lessened the stigma and provided empathy for otaku. It's loosely based off a supposedly true story, the events of which unfolded on the 2ch anonymous forum (which 4chan is based off of). It was a story of an otaku who broke the mold and gained the courage to pursue a beautiful woman, a woman who appreciated that he wasn't a typical prick out to impress chicks.
When I first taught in Japan 24 years ago, admitting you're an anime fan would make people uncomfortable. Teachers were still that older generation of normies. Nowadays, it's not uncommon to see teachers with some anime figures on their desks. It's changed, but there are certain anime/manga that ONLY cater to otaku types, and it only serves to ensnare them and prevent them from relating to anyone other than each other. You've perhaps seen that photo of those Japanese losers proudly embracing their anime "fuck pillows." That's what I am talking about.
Look at the randier anime and manga and it is obvious that the creators have zero experience with actual women. "Well, I've never actually touched a real woman's breast, but I've been to plenty of birthday parties, so I know what a baloon is like." Think of the "bags of sand" comment from the movie "40 Year Old Virgin." The stuff they are into only guarantees that women will be repulsed by them.
Yes I mean, I'm aware of neets and etc. I just kinda assume they would have been that way with or without anime. As a teen in the 00s in a small town I was a weirdo for liking it. I wasn't too vocal about it. But if someone asked I told them, hey, anime isn't just Pokemon kids show. They are for adults too. Like Family Guy or South Park, it's animated but not for kids. And for someone with a pervy sense of humor it was head and shoulders above western adult comedy animated or otherwise. Watching like, a harem show, usually with a virgin and clueless MC. I didn't watch that and be like "I am entitled to this IRL" I watched it and thought "I wouldn't be a bitch like that guy I'd bang them all the first time they showed a hint of wanting it". Now I watch with my wife. Idk. It could be that because Japan was so much different culturally than us that it affected more of them in different ways.
"Neets"? That's a new term for me. I think you are right that many such guys would be like that regardless, be it video games or whatever. I think it's a similar case with all of this trans degeneracy. The internet has provided a way for these people to feed off of each others' unhealthy obsessions and it exacerbates the situation. Instead of being isolated and perhaps have their peers keep them in line, they feed off each other's energy.
It used to be that the whole "hikikomori" thing was a solely Japanese phenomenon, but now this has proliferated in the USA as well. My theory is that the vaccines are causing these kids to have such great anxiety issues that they cannot deal with life, so they stop going to school. The internet situation probably amplifies this negative frequency. I can't pretend to have the answers and perhaps I'm just talking out of my ass. My sister married a guy who apparently refuses to work. I don't even ask about him when I talk to her, so as not to bring up any sore feelings. I'm a huge nerd myself, so I have friends who have never been married. I guess you could call them "incels," but they have never even bothered trying out matchmaking services like this topic about Elon Musk entails.
It's the whole otaku culture that sucks people's minds into such overboard fantasies that the idea of real life partners will only disappoint them. Go to a comic con in America and you'll see plenty of guys with girlfriends, etc. Look at the characters in that movie Mallrats who are experts on comic books, yet they have girlfriends. Here in Japan, however, male and female otaku are wrapped up in their stupid, secluded bubbles. Look at the manga here that caters to men vs that which caters to women. Mutually exclusive interests. Women read BL manga about fags and men read manga about pinheaded, docile slaves. Male otaku want to go to those stupid maid cafes to hear girls with squeaky voices calling them "master", thus ensuring them that they will not find happiness as real women will disappoint their unrealistic expectations. Fujoshi (female otaku) are programmed to be attracted to gay-looking men with slender faces, V-shaped jawline--- overly-soft-spoken pussies exemplified in boy dance singing groups like BTS (my daughter calls them "LGBTS") and Johnny's Jr. They act so effeminate that it's disgusting. You'll see them spoon-feeding each other in 31 Ice Cream commercials even. It's sick.
Well that's not the effect it had on my adolescent brain. But I suppose different people are wired differently.
I like watching Urusei Yatsura. It's funny and I get a kick out of it. But I do not relate to it whatsoever. That's the kind of stuff that kids can enjoy. Mention you like that show in Japan and that's no big deal. But there are so many other anime that are specifically targeted towards the lonely otaku type. Despite a few cool shows these days, I noticed how anime changed around they year 2000 when the whole "moeblob" genre was ushered in. The soft-spoken, vacuous, doe-eyed little girl trope prevails and mentioning that you are into that is a bit... weird.
I'm the proto anime nerd generation. When I graduated high school in '94, I did not know of any other anime geeks in my large high school. I alone wore an occasional anime shirt, for example. Then a year or two later, the whole Dragonball Z/Sailor Moon boom happened, and it became big among high schoolers. Suddenly it wasn't some weird niche anymore. We adopted the term "otaku" to just mean "anime fan," but that's not the right connotation. Mention "otaku" to Americans 30 years ago and we may think of Hayao Miyazaki. Mention "otaku" to Japanese 30 years ago and they may think of Tsutomu Miyazaki.
The "Densha Otoko" TV comedy/drama from the early 2000s sort of lessened the stigma and provided empathy for otaku. It's loosely based off a supposedly true story, the events of which unfolded on the 2ch anonymous forum (which 4chan is based off of). It was a story of an otaku who broke the mold and gained the courage to pursue a beautiful woman, a woman who appreciated that he wasn't a typical prick out to impress chicks.
When I first taught in Japan 24 years ago, admitting you're an anime fan would make people uncomfortable. Teachers were still that older generation of normies. Nowadays, it's not uncommon to see teachers with some anime figures on their desks. It's changed, but there are certain anime/manga that ONLY cater to otaku types, and it only serves to ensnare them and prevent them from relating to anyone other than each other. You've perhaps seen that photo of those Japanese losers proudly embracing their anime "fuck pillows." That's what I am talking about.
Look at the randier anime and manga and it is obvious that the creators have zero experience with actual women. "Well, I've never actually touched a real woman's breast, but I've been to plenty of birthday parties, so I know what a baloon is like." Think of the "bags of sand" comment from the movie "40 Year Old Virgin." The stuff they are into only guarantees that women will be repulsed by them.
Yes I mean, I'm aware of neets and etc. I just kinda assume they would have been that way with or without anime. As a teen in the 00s in a small town I was a weirdo for liking it. I wasn't too vocal about it. But if someone asked I told them, hey, anime isn't just Pokemon kids show. They are for adults too. Like Family Guy or South Park, it's animated but not for kids. And for someone with a pervy sense of humor it was head and shoulders above western adult comedy animated or otherwise. Watching like, a harem show, usually with a virgin and clueless MC. I didn't watch that and be like "I am entitled to this IRL" I watched it and thought "I wouldn't be a bitch like that guy I'd bang them all the first time they showed a hint of wanting it". Now I watch with my wife. Idk. It could be that because Japan was so much different culturally than us that it affected more of them in different ways.
"Neets"? That's a new term for me. I think you are right that many such guys would be like that regardless, be it video games or whatever. I think it's a similar case with all of this trans degeneracy. The internet has provided a way for these people to feed off of each others' unhealthy obsessions and it exacerbates the situation. Instead of being isolated and perhaps have their peers keep them in line, they feed off each other's energy.
It used to be that the whole "hikikomori" thing was a solely Japanese phenomenon, but now this has proliferated in the USA as well. My theory is that the vaccines are causing these kids to have such great anxiety issues that they cannot deal with life, so they stop going to school. The internet situation probably amplifies this negative frequency. I can't pretend to have the answers and perhaps I'm just talking out of my ass. My sister married a guy who apparently refuses to work. I don't even ask about him when I talk to her, so as not to bring up any sore feelings. I'm a huge nerd myself, so I have friends who have never been married. I guess you could call them "incels," but they have never even bothered trying out matchmaking services like this topic about Elon Musk entails.