Kim Kardashian's tweet two weeks ago has stirred up some commotion in the otaku community. While, this is not the first case of Hollywood stars announcing their love for anime (such as Micheal B. Jordan, Dylan Sprouse, and even her husband, Kanye West), the appearance and status that Kim tends to uphold seems to be what is troubling many longtime anime fans. She is known for her modeling, reality TV, and for some people.....her assets, as for loving anime, it is a recent thing it seems.
Kim K's recent visit to Japan showed she died her hair a bright pink with some black roots. Soon, several people began to compare the style to most anime characters, some as far as Sakura Haruno from Naruto (though I do not see the resemblance in that one). Though she posted on Instagram on March 5, 2018 that she drew her hair inspiration from Zero Two, a rising popular character in the new anime, "Darling in the Franxx".
While some anime fans are accepting and welcoming to the newly outed fan, others have begun questioning her authenticity. Some have begun calling her a "fake anime fan" and accusing her of doing it for publicity. Some have even continually asked her to name five series on Twitter.
Like stated before, Kanye has a long history with anime, namely the movie Akira, which scenes from the movie "Akira" can be seen referenced in his music video for Stronger back in 2009. So it would not be a stretch for him to show her some of his favorite series, as many couples will share their interest with each other. Does this really make her a "fake anime fan" even if she may enjoy a few series here and there?
The backlash from many of the hardcore fans seems to stem from being bullied through middle school and high school for enjoying and showing their love for anime. I experienced this at times since I proudly wore my Sailor Mercury shoulder bookbag through most of my high school career. Even now in college, I will mention I enjoy or watch anime and every now an again I get the "Isn't that for kids?". Boy, do I wish I could sit them down to a nice episode of "Elfin Lied" or "Parasyte". That is beside the point though, these longtime fans have gone through some tough times with the shows they love.
Now, anime has become more and more mainstream. With the live-action movies of "Ghost In the Shell", "Death Note" and "Fullmetal Alchemist" and even the use of streaming services like Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Netflix, anime has become more accessible to everyone than ever. Gone of the days of hoping to catch a series on Toonami, now it is a simple click and you can watch a vast amount anime we could have only dreamed of as a kid. We can even watch new series sometimes an hour after they air in Japan instead of waiting for a year or more (That "Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card", am I right?).
While some fans do not want to see anime become more and more mainstream, I am actually excited about what possibilities that could bring to the fandom. As long as new people finding interest in the world of anime do not come in swinging and causing a mess, I would love to see growth. I have gotten several of my friends into anime and have met people I would never have guessed was into.
Though due to its rise in the mainstream world, people are becoming more open about it, and are now battling their own issues of trying to be accepted into a very established community. Maybe us longtime fans need to stop accusing people of being fake fans and try to encourage people's new found love of Japanese animation.
We all started out somewhere in the beginning, and these people are too, don't go after them and test how "real" of a fan they are. Encourage them, I am sure we all had someone that encouraged us to continue watching, or else anime would not be where it is at today.
