JDSQuinn

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Waifu

Anime, Internet, Waifus and Amazon Reviews

Me and Anime

So. If you know me you'll know I've been wandering back into the dark medium of Anime - Japanamation, Manga, Chinese Cartoons - whatever you want to call it. Why? Well it kills some time and as someone that more or less needs constant entertainment the millions upon millions of Anime episodes available cheaply on the internet cater to this. Also I'm incredibly lonely.

Anime in the West much like video games have sort of grown up with the internet - speaking about either of these cultures they are linked to the internet be it memes or rather the communities online that create them - I remember back trying to get into anime when I was younger and paying like fifteen quid for a VHS with two episodes of some awful cringe worthy thing. I had nothing to go on but the back of the box and 12 year old me was taken for a fool. Thanks Forbidden Planet.

My problem there is that I was young and didn't have an internet connection. These days I have facial hair and broadband - the perfect combination. Anime is very odd in that it has so much variety, so many genres, catering to so many demographics that it's pretty overwhelming. I've read people online saying they didn't want to get into Anime because it actually has too much variety. Which is funny because if you say you want to get into video gaming nobody is asking you to play every single video game ever made. Anime has the problem of being shelved together as a whole when actually it's simply a medium for story telling. Hence the variety.

Also people are put off by the hyper sexualized imagery much of Anime is cursed with. For which I don't fucking blame anyone.

Course for some that's the only reason they watch anime.

Video games doesn't have such a problem being something a little more engrained in popular culture at least here in the UK - at a glance a person can tell the difference between FIFA and Call of Duty. To this effect someone can easily identify what they want to play and, invest themselves in an online community if they want. Video gaming has also largely cut off the negative stereotypes of the loner in their parents basement - well, they still exist but not so much I guess. Nintendo with the Wii managed to market consoles as a sort of family fun thing, Microsoft and Sony pushed forward the online aspects and PC gaming was first there with MMO's. Don't get me wrong - there are still loners in their basements, and I forbid to criticize someone for that as is their choice - but gaming is seen these days to be a fairly healthy and more often than not social pastime now.

stfu noob 1v1

Anime on the other hand. Euughhhhhhh. Not. Really?

But then again is it meant to be? Does it have to be? Does it matter? That's a debate for me to delve into some other time i.e. never.

Anime communities online have always felt to me far more unwelcoming; a fucking pantheon of knowledge is needed from the get go consisting of acronyms, tropes, artists/animators, Japanese phrases, culture and history, which all feeds into a strangely snobbish mindset. A 'My favourite Anime is better than yours' attitude.

You might think I'm pretty much ragging on Anime communities online right now, but that's in reality the hurdles you face when it comes to people online - once you start to get the in-jokes and references you find yourself enjoying it. You even find yourself joining in with the abrasive, harsh community that baffled you not long ago.

Anyway my point is that the community is self contained to some degree, but it can turn into a semi-aggressive snobby hugbox. And when a hugbox isn't contained and it spills out into the real world you get some hilarious shit.

Waifu

What is a Waifu? To put it simply it's when you find yourself overly attached to an anime character that you'd like to marry. A joke meshing of 'Wife' mixed in with Engrish. The gender switch is 'Husbando'.

Well it used to be a joke.

As with most things on the internet it's been taken too far.

Here's a dude raging about it on youtube:

Dakimakura

When a hugbox mentality leaks out into the real world we have an weird element that people's social perception seems to have been changed somewhat. Of what is acceptable and what is not. So maybe you've seen this kind of thing;


Courtesy of Reddit

Those poor bastards.

Those are some dudes with near life sized pillows of popular anime chicks in public. Without a doubt one of the strangest things you can imagine someone doing. Not only that, but most of the time the images are overtly sexual. Encouraging, a perhaps, more *ahem* 'physical' use of the pillow. If you catch my drift.

A literal hugpillow mentality? HAHAHAHA but seriously though.

This is big business for some people.

I could imagine someone having one in their room for their personal use - for hugging or otherwise. But to take it out in public? Man that's just crazy. It's one of the wonderfully strange things to behold.

Well I do what I always like to do and read the comments. Well more accurately I decided to go to Amazon and see if they actually sell the things, which of course, they do. Considering the cringe nature of such a purchase I was curious to look at the reviews. Of which there are many.

Lawl

Here's a pick of Best Of's I found on my travels. I can't believe people have the balls to admit they bought such a thing, let alone give in depth reviews, but there you go:

Best dad ever 11/10. Shame it's a bit short. The shortness thing comes up again and again.

I am glad that a pillow will not lie to you.

At least the top guy knows that he should try to hide it from guests. I, on the other hand, would have it on the mantelpiece next to my degree certificate.

":)".