Hey comrades,

Simple enough question. Why is there such an overlap between anime fans and those who identify as communists?

I’ve considered myself an ML for over 2 years now, however I’ve never been able to get into anime. Tbh I would’ve thought that - since it comes from Japan - that it would be heavily reactionary/anticommunist in nature anyway.

Is there something I’ve missed?

  • Black_Venom
    12·
    4 years ago

    I became a communist because of the internet and I like anime because of the internet. I guess it’s a zoomer coincidence?

  • Calliope
    8·
    4 years ago

    A lot of anime are actually quite leftist. The environment animators make anime in often causes them to be under payed and overworked, so there is a degree of class consciousness I think that comes from these conditions. There are plenty of trashy anime and full on reactionary anime but these are completely overshadowed by the passion and vision some anime studios have. If only anime fans would gain some sense though, they are predominately chuds and libs for sure v.v

    I have a ML anime YT channel, weeb revolution, perhaps you could discover an answer from it

    Additionally Here is a very long video I edited, Japan has a problem… And Anime will solve it So yeah Japan is very reactionary… I’d say anime has always been kind of a counterculture whether that be embracing leftist ideas or going full reactionary

    When it comes to liking animation though, I’ve recently been enjoying Chinese animation which is called donghua. There are a lot of shows catching up to the quality of Japanese anime and frankly they tell way more interesting stories. So there is always donghua too if you dont want to be a weeb lol

    • Hildegarde
      2·
      4 years ago

      oh this makes sense. you made the subcommie !weebrevolution@lemmygrad.ml then? edited - a recommendation: add a text post and link to your channel to that subcommie, and pin it as the top post so newcomers can figure it out. As somebody sort of new to anime, what’s a good video to start with?

  • Makan
    7·
    4 years ago

    I’ve seen the opposite: those that identify as fascists or far-right and anime fans.

  • loathsome dongeaterA
    5·
    4 years ago

    I’ve always assumed that the white westerners who watch a lot of anime are hyper-reactionaries who fetishise Japanese culture because of all the wrong reasons like their nationalism.

  • WTOS
    3·
    4 years ago

    I’m not too sure… Based on my own experience it’s the other way around: anime fans are ultra reactionary and play into fascistic tropes a la “we’re honorary whites lol Japan”. White anime fans I’ve found to be insufferable for this reason, which extends into other places like South Korea (but not China gee I wonder why). The few who are left leaning tend to be better educated across the board (e.g., knowing what Orientalism is and Othering, etc.).

  • folaht
    2·
    3 years ago
    1. Anime popularity via the internet. Anglo-reactionaries don’t want to touch anything outside Anglo culture. And with such a large internet presence, there’s bound to be a few communists in there.
    2. Anime, Japanese cartoons, is an art and therefore it’s creators are artists. Communism is popular among artists.
    3. Anime is often watched by those outcast by society looking for escapism. These are most often people with a libertarian left to libertarian centrist mindset, whereas the US is becoming more and more authoritarian right.
    4. If a return to the status quo ante currently in the US and some European countries is less wealth inequality, then heavily reactionary can cause someone to look up to communism.
    5. Japan consists of East Asians. China consists of East Asians. They’ve had a lot of cultural exchanges in the past and with that connection made, for some (like me) the style of manhua will always be considered more of an extension to manga/anime than cartoons like Avatar, the last Airbender ever will be, so an interest for China develops.

    And I would like to add here that I don’t consider myself a communist as I like the ability to vote. I just really don’t like Anglo-US culture and it’s political landscape.

  • Shaggy0291
    1·
    4 years ago

    I’m mostly done with anime these days, but I’ll never not push the line that TTGL is dialectical as fuck.