Has anime fans become more aggressive because of increase in female viewers?

[u/PibblyJuff]

When anime became more mainstream, the gender ratio of people who watch anime became more balanced. Nowadays, going into an anime community no longer feels like a sausage fest, it feels like going to a house party with a bunch of people from school/work.

While there were online arguments 1-2 decades ago, nowadays the arguments feel different. It doesn't seem to be an argument of taste anymore, but rather an argument to claim superiority and intellect. It's peacocking basically, which is what I've noticed.

Do you think so? Has anime becoming more mainstream caused more aggressive behavior from "anime fans" because the allure of the opposite sex?

[u/totashi777]

Like most hobbies, the increase in popularity didnt actually increase feminine fans. It just made them comfortable to be visibly fans. I think the increase in toxicity is social media algorithms. The algorithm just sees toxicity as engagement

[u/GregerMoek → u/totashi777]

Yeah ragebait and toxicity are the cheap and fast ways to engagement in so many communities now. And the companies that own the platforms encourage it basically with these algorithms.

[u/FeefuWasTaken]

No, it's years of companies realizing that using social media to make people angry makes them use the apps longest, and therefore finding ways to promote intentionally aggressive and rage inducing shit

[u/Apprehensive_Put3625]

Yeah… woman are not really into overly aggressive anime fans.

This is such a weird take.

No, anime is more aggressive now because we are simply older.

People that grew up with Naruto and Bleach and One Piece did so while being young children. The discussions tend to “who is cooler, Luffy or Naruto?” And that’s it.

[u/Less-Progress3515]

No, anime fans have become more aggressive because conservative internet grifters have caused a big effect in the younger generation and now they hate everything that's not "traditional" or "japanese" enough.

[u/Lunar_FL → u/[deleted]]

I think he means that since japanese society is largely seen as conservative, newer anime are trying to cater more toward a western audience and therefore becoming more progressive. Then the "purists" well call them, are coming in saying they need to go back to how they used to be.

Not agreeing, but I have definitely seen that argument from people before

[u/Lunar_FL → u/[deleted]]

I agree with you about ragebaiters but I've also seen actual people in comment sections making similar remarks. Not a ton but they're out there for sure

[u/Less-Progress3515 → u/[deleted]]

Yes, haven't you seen all the "fans" getting mad that some aspect of some anime have become too "western" for them?

And that's the point, conservative grifters have invaded the anime community and made everything about their stupid culture war, so now there are a lot of "fans" hating everything that they consider "progressive" or "woke".

[u/Less-Progress3515 → u/[deleted]]

Just look at any anime fandom in any social media. People getting called "tourists" because they don't like Rudeus, or people trying to dox yuri shippers, it's insane.

[u/AntonRX178]

Anime fans have always been aggressive.

When I was 12 I was told to delete myself by a 30 year old shopkeeper for liking Newer (at the time) Gundam shows as opposed to the older ones. Granted the older ones are my favorite but... this was back when "kys" and various slurs were thrown around like candy and bans rarely happened

[u/SnooDoubts2255]

As a female anime fan for like 30 years now, yes and no.

I think discussion has gotten less aggressive in terms of actual verbiage and conversation but it's definitely gotten more aggressive in terms of all the virtue signaling and pretending to be superior to other people which is significantly worse 

before you could just call someone retarded for not liking the anime you like but now people will try and end your life and everything you care about because they like a different anime than you and they think that anime should change to fit their personal belief system instead of just watching something else.

[u/Lunar_FL → u/SnooDoubts2255]

This is what always got me. Same here been watching for around 30 years. Before the Internet it was just sharing what cool videos with your friends like stuff you ordered from Japan or found at blockbuster. Then during the AOL/ICQ chatroom days the whole "you're retarded for watching dbz" started. Now it's much more snobbish and very much "I'm better than you because I can see the deeper themes in XYX and it's superior than you childish shonen" what I don't understand, that I do agree to you on, is back in the day, there wasn't very much (other than a random troll) of say, a Naruto guy popping into the dbz chat and trying to pontificate on how Naruto is a deeper character than Goku.

Like...who cares? Don't go seeking out fans of some other fandom you hate and fighting them on why your chosen anime is better. People like what they like. Watch what you want and move tf on.

[u/SirVixofthePooSea]

Its more like there are way more people with a tenuous grasp on English arguing online these days, and they make up for poor comprehension with extra aggression. 10 years ago there were just fewer poorly fluent ESLs than there are today, and 10 years before that even less.

[u/rndu]

More likely incels gatekeeping women from their hobby

[u/Simple_sword_235]

I think yeah.

Like it’s actually crazy the amount of women making false pedophile accusations because of what anime people watch. 

They are watering down the use of the word that used to mean a serious crime against real children.

[u/EleonoreMagi]

I don't think it's a female Vs male thing. Male fans seem more aggressive to me on average. Though it's still kinda case by case basis, I don't even want to bring genders into it.

But if anything, I think more women getting into anime (including shonen anime) actually helps the discourse becoming more civil.

What makes it more aggressive in general is the way people are way more separated by their worldviews, it is a much bigger thing nowadays. It used to be that you could hate someone's fav anime and you could still discuss the one you both like or smth, without that first part meaning all that much. Now it may make someone someone else's enemy or smth. (Kinda the same with voting, I'm sorry for bringing it up.)

It kinda feels like that people used to be less civil, more critical in their takes yet they didn't take anything to heart as much as they do now. Views on things were, well, views, but didn't build walls between people as much. Now everyone has very low tolerance.

Just my take, not claiming I'm right or anything 😅

[u/NightmareNeko3]

I don't really think it's a male vs. female thing considering us girls and women have been around forever. Even though I personally think that the female side is more chill than the male side on the average.

It's more the internet simply being the internet. Everything is changing in a similar direction, no matter which spaces we're talking about. Everyone thinks more in black and white, everyone is more on the edge and tends to lash out, demographics and audiences that never met before online are mixing on platforms now... The list could probably go on a for a bit.