I think we’ve all been there at some point or another…plus, we can afford to loosen up for a little bit, can’t we?
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Reciting strange localised names.
This one’s a personal anecdote, but I’m sure you’ve all had a situation like this…
When one of your favourite anime has an English name like Cute High Earth Defence Club LOVE!, it can be a strange experience asking for merchandise.
Something I once had to ask a guy at the counter of a geek goods store once: “Do you have any Cute High Earth Defence Club LOVE! Picktam straps?”
He then told a guy over the phone the same request…
Goodbye, dignity. It was nice knowing you.
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Watching anime in public.
Whether you’re the obnoxious sort who shares spoilers that aren’t really spoilers or the type who obsesses over Japanese voice actors in the presence of your friends who don’t want the analysis, you probably know someone – or maybe you are someone – who could be considered a nuisance for the uninitiated.
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Second hand embarrassment.
If your family members (ones who don’t approve of anime as a hobby) walk in on you unannounced…and you’re watching something that could be interpreted strangely, such as the frog quest in KonoSuba…
…or you’re reading No Game, No Life and have to go to a job interview…
…yeah, I’m not even going to explain what’ll happen in those cases.
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Questionable tastes.
“You like anime?”
“Yeah, I like anime.”
“What’s your favourite show?”
“[name of show you don’t like]”
*big silence*
“Oh. Okay then.”
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The curious case of the reverse-gender avatar.
A general observation I’ve made is that people who identify as male and are anime fans often use pictures of anime girls or women as avatars and vice versa. However, this leads to misconceptions that the person is actually a woman or a girl in real life, much like how it goes in Recovery of an MMO Junkie. Only with more awkwardness, since with MMOs you have a face to put to the actions but if you’re on, say, Discord you have their voice and/or words (plus possibly an avatar) at most to guess their real gender.
So, that leads to moments where you accuse a person with a gender-neutral online name for being a guy when it turns out they’re a girl, or vice versa.
So, that’s five awkward moments for anime fans. Do you have any you’re comfortable sharing?
Its always pretty bad when they say “My favourite anime is sword art online”
I’m a die hard ecchi and harem anime fan, and I wear it with pride. My friends jokingly look at me as if I’m fucking insane.