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I did my PhD in Japan, in a lab focusing on robotics for lunar exploration, among other things. Every semester there was a revolving door of interns and exchan

I did my PhD in Japan, in a lab focusing on robotics for lunar exploration, among other things. Every semester there was a revolving door of interns and exchange students from France[1], and a good percentage of them came not for the very interesting subject matter, but for their interest in manga and anime. It was always cringy when they introduced themselves as an anime cosplay enthusiast with the mistaken impression that this a normal hobby for adults in Japan. Now I live in Europe and joke that you don't see a bunch of Japanese weirdos walking around Brussels dressed up as Tintin. [1] In the ten years I was there, the number from France was pretty constant, but there was an upward trend in this type of person coming from Scandinavian countries and the US. There is an excellent meme on this matter: https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/481/981/034.png https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/481/981/034...

anthk 4y ago
Honestly, the reverse it's a bit true... for Japanese girls/women. They love Disney.
- johnwalkr 4y ago
  Well, I didn't elaborate the extent of some of these people but the equivalent would be meeting multiple, 24 year old Japanese women attending MIT for a summer program that has Disney cosplayer as their identity and skip class to walk around Boston taking selfies with Minnie Mouse hats on.
chaorace 4y ago
I know it's a joke, but I can't help but feel endearment for the (obviously not real) guy every time I see this. Who wouldn't want to trade stories with an eccentric foreigner in a silly hat while eating barbeque and watching fireworks?
mcqueenjordan 4y ago
In my experience, most Japanese people are much less judgmental about these things than this seems to imply (and less so than Westerners in general). Of course, there's always a time and place for "liking what you like", but this seems a bit otakuphobia-esque.

anthk 4y ago

Honestly, the reverse it's a bit true... for Japanese girls/women. They love Disney.

johnwalkr 4y ago
Well, I didn't elaborate the extent of some of these people but the equivalent would be meeting multiple, 24 year old Japanese women attending MIT for a summer program that has Disney cosplayer as their identity and skip class to walk around Boston taking selfies with Minnie Mouse hats on.

chaorace 4y ago

I know it's a joke, but I can't help but feel endearment for the (obviously not real) guy every time I see this. Who wouldn't want to trade stories with an eccentric foreigner in a silly hat while eating barbeque and watching fireworks?

mcqueenjordan 4y ago

In my experience, most Japanese people are much less judgmental about these things than this seems to imply (and less so than Westerners in general). Of course, there's always a time and place for "liking what you like", but this seems a bit otakuphobia-esque.