Culture Shocks Every Anime Fan Had To Get Used To

Japan is a weird country, especially to westerners. Any person who is really interested in Japanese culture or anime has come across a lot of new things and had to accept it is what it is. Some may come to love and adore some aspects but they may still find other things weird or cringey.

As an anime fan since childhood, and a Japan fan since middle school when I found out that’s where animes originated from, I’ve certainly been exposed to my fair amount of culture shock. However, I’ve come across it so much that it doesn’t make me weird or uncomfortable. I also had the privilege of only watching anime meant for kids so I got to slowly ease myself into newer, weirder, or more mature concepts.

However, thanks to social media and Netflix, anime has gained a lot more exposure and that means a lot of new fans are getting into it….but nothing can really prepare them for what they may see, and they may spend some time questioning if something is normal in Japan or just an anime thing.

I also recognize that there are many animes that are super popular and well loved that may be pushed upon newbies without any consideration to the concepts and scenes that may be a little weird to them.

Thus, I have published a starter anime list as well that took into account the culture shocks listed below. (Listen to me, if you ask someone for recommendations, and they tell you Foods Wars or Boku no Pico, ignore them). Everyone deserves a chance to ease into it as they get more comfortable with the various concepts that anime has to offer.

So what are these new and weird concepts that may take a bit of time and exposure to get used to? Let’s explore!

Older Women acting like kids

The west tends to push maturity. Kids are exposed to adult content early on and are expected to mature into adults early on. After a certain age, playing with stuffed toys or wearing cute dresses is frowned upon. If you’re a grown woman, you better act like it.

Japan, however, tends to embrace childishness, innocence, and cuteness. Woman even in their 30s or 40s may still decorate their phones, or add stickers to their photos, and act adorable and ditzy around men. Women in east Asia are adored for looking young and acting cute, and there doesn’t seem to be an age where one must cut it off.

That’s not to say all Japanese women act like kids, but rather, it is not uncommon to see adult women being idols, cosplayers, working in maid cafes, and generally being more energetic and excited, even expressing shock and amazement at the smallest things. This is especially true in anime.

While there are some strong, serious, mature, capable, badass characters in anime, there are probably more female characters who could fall into the ‘moe’ category. According to Wikipedia, Moe “refers to feelings of affection, adoration, devotion, and excitement felt towards characters, usually in anime, manga, video games etc.”

While a strong independent women may inspire or intimidate a viewer, a moe character would make you want to support them or take care of them, because they tend to be more innocent, naive, clumsy, pure hearted and sweet.

While one could just use young children, it seems more common to have teens or adults dress and act like kids. Sometimes, you won’t even know they are much older until later in the show. Japan is a country that embraces youthfulness and cuteness, as opposed to the west that pushes women to be more bold and sexual, and this is often taken to extremes in animes.

Fan Service

Not all animes are guilty of this, but it isn’t uncommon at all for most animes to have a scene or two of fan service.

What is fan service? It’s a scene or individual intentionally added to please the audience, usually in a sexual manner.

For male audiences, this can be a girl with unusually big boobs, a scene where her skirt flies up and her panties are visible, or a lady eating a popsicle. For girls, it may be a scene with fit guys in swimsuits, or an accidental kiss between two male cast members, which we’ll get into in a bit.

Beach Episodes

There is often a joke in the community that it’s not a slice of life or romance if there is not a beach episode, and I concur. I almost forgot to include it because it’s so normalized in anime, but I forgot its really not a common or regular thing in western media.

What we must remember is that Japan is an island, so there’s going to be a lot of beaches, and it’s going to be a place many people go to, like those who live in the Caribbean.

A lot of the time, the beach episode is meant to be a fun, casual filler. Sometimes, the trip was meant to be like a training camp, and other times it’s meant to bring a romantic couple closer together in some way. While the characters may be in bathing suits, perverted situations aren’t that common, unless the series was made for fan service.

Taking Baths Together

The thought of being fully naked around anyone who’s not your parent or lover is definitely not something Westerners are used to…or would want to get used to. But in Japan, onsens (hot springs) and public baths are a big part of Japanese culture.

At these places, you will have to strip completely in the change room. No bath towels (only a hair wrap) are allowed in the bathing area! So yes, the goods are exposed, but genders are separated.

Just like the beach episodes, these are sometimes meant as a filler episode, or if the onsen is part of an overnight trip, it may be a chance for romance. Sometimes, it is meant for comedy as someone will probably enter the wrong section by mistake or guys will tackle each other in the water etc.

And before anyone goes on about dirtiness, they all know that a thorough shower is done before soaking in the bath. In a bath house, they may even help clean each others backs.

In anime, you’ll often hear the mother getting the bath ready and then members (and guests staying over) will take turns showering and soaking in the same bath water. The tubs are quite deep and are often built in a way to keep the water warmer than other tubs.

BL (Boy Love)

Boy Love can be as subtle or obvious as you want it to be. It can simply be two guy friends who get along well or are actually quite close and jokingly tease each other, or it could actually be a romantic relationship between male characters.

There are shows that are directly labeled BL or Shonen-ai which means it is the focus of the series, but then there are shows like Yuri on Ice which is labelled as a sports anime, but ends up having a gay relationship between the main characters.

After watching Given, (a series I started as it was about a band, but it turned out to have multiple gay relationships), I got curious about the psychology of BL and remembered a series my friend recommend years back, “Kiss Him, Not Me”.

In this show, the main character loses a lot of weight, and now various guys are attracted to her…but she is a fujoshi, a girl who is obsessed with BL series and ships guy characters together, so she would rather the guys who are interested in her date each other instead.

She puts it best, “if you like guys, what’s better than two guys?” She especially loves seeing guys get along and have close relationships with one another. I could also understand noting wanting to see a male character you like have romantic relationships with another girl.

Harem (Multiple romantic interests)

Adding on to the last example, Kiss Him Not Me is a great example of a Harem. What is a Harem? It refers to a series where one character, usually the main character, has many potential love interests, similar to the Bachelor or Bachelorette. And no, we’re not talking about love triangles, we’re talking about 3, 5, 7, even 10 or more people loving a single individual for whatever reason.

Usually, each of the potential prospects will have different personalities and characters, such as the shy one, the romantic one, the protective one, the cold one who hides their feelings, etc. The viewers will have different opinions on who they feel is best for the main character and root for them throughout the show. Examples of shows include Uta no Prince Sama, Ouran High School and The World God Only Knows.

If you’re curious about the origin, it started with Otome games, where you are the main character and have multiple love prospects. Depending on how you act and respond, you will follow a different path and hope for a good ending with the character of your choice. A very popular otome phone game is Mystic Messenger.

Respect & Bowing

One thing that is common in east asian culture but not in the west is levels of respect based on age and authority. In Japaanese language, you will use different terms to address a teacher, an adult, an older student, and so on. Not only way you address them, but the level of speech you use and how far you bow to greet them also differs.

In Japanese culture and anime, you will address someone by their last name, along with an honorific like ~san, ~kun or ~chan. Only if one is close or has permission can they use a different honorifics or use their first name.

Just like how holding hands are a big step in a relationship, using each others first name is enough to get them blushing too. In the same way, not using certain honorifics to address someone is a direct way of disrespecting them and can be a way to challenge someone or start a fight.

Many anime fans are used to these terms and level of respect, but I’m sure it may seem weird or even unfair for non-fans to feel comfortable. Just cause someone is a year older than you doesn’t mean they are smarter or deserve to be treated like a figure of authority, but it is what it is.

Costumes (Especially Maid Outfits)

Dressing up isn’t rare in Japan. In the west, people may only dress up for Holloween or conventions; however, in Japan, dressing up can be done on Sundays in the fashion district, it can be part of a uniform for a cafe or unique store, and you’ll even see girls dressed up to advertise or hand our tissues on the street.

Every district has a mascot. Public figures like firefighters have a mascot. Sports teams have a mascot, so on and so forth. Sometimes, even cartoon characters like Hello Kitty and Gudetama become so big that cafes are made after them. That all goes to say that dressing up and cosplaying is a big business! If you visit, you could even rent a full outfit to take photos in!

But in anime, since it tends to feature middle and high schoolers, you’ll see characters dress up for their school’s culture festival. Around October or November, schools will host a big event on the weekend and members of the community can visit, buy some food, enjoy some activities and watch some performances.

Despite the class having full freedom to choose what they host, I find 90% of the time, the main character either ends up in a maid cafe or would be a character in a play. And during their break, they’ll make a visit to another class’s haunted house. Regardless, the main character and/or their love interest will dress up.

This is all to say, that dressing up is a completely normal thing, especially dressing up as maids. It may be seen as a fetish thing in the West, but over there, it’s something cute. While the maids do their best to serve their ‘masters’, consider that as something real maids would do, and not as an invitation for some scandalous rendezvous.

Cross Dressing (+Traps)

As an extension to the above, it’s not uncommon for characters to dress as the other gender for an event or as a disguise. The characters are rarely ever cross dressers, but just dressing as the opposite gender for a moment.

There are sometimes maid cafes where the girls dress like butlers and the guys dress like maids. If there is a weaker or more feminine male character, he may get bullied by classmates to dress as a girl for an event or a play.

There are some animes where the main character does have to stay in disguisde like Ouran Host Club to prove a point, similar to Mulan pretending to be a man to take her father’s place in the war.

Under this category, we also have the famous “Trap” character. These are people who look and portray the other gender so well, that you, along with other characters in the show, would assume they (usually men) are females until it is revealed. Some of these characters are intentional and want to trick others, while some were just born with more feminine features and love beautiful clothing.

Kids Roaming Alone

I know many parents in the west can’t imagine letting their kid out of their sight for a minute, let alone allowing them to walk around their neighbours or travel on the subway alone. But thanks to Japan being literally one of the safest countries on the planet, and their community mindset, kids are actually encouraged to go to school on their own and run errands at a younger age.

There’s been a show where Japanese stations will record a young kid’s first errand and I would see a few clips on Facebook, but Netflix recently released that under the name “Old Enough”. So cute, check it out!

Thus, in anime, many young kids may stay out with their friends or go on adventures, and it’s not that their parents aren’t around, they just don’t think much about it. Usually nothing bad ever happens when they go out and about. Maybe they’ll get lost, but that’s about it. Out of all the animes I’ve seen, the only time a young kid is abducted and murdered was in Erased. And no, that is not a spoiler. The concept of the series is that this man has a chance to go back in time and try to prevent that from happening.

Extreme Colds & House Calls

Outside of Covid (if you got it), when was the last time you recall getting a cold or fever so bad that you could barely stand up, let alone leave your bed? And here’s another question…have you ever visited a friend who came down with a cold or fever?

In the west, a lot of people catch colds throughout the year, but they are quite mild so people would still go to school or work with their coughs or sniffles (not saying that’s a good thing). If you did get really sick with something like the flu, you would probably be in bed for a few days at least.

In anime, you’ll notice that generally, characters are fine and dandy. However, something as simple as getting caught in the rain can cause them to catch the cold which often comes with a fever, and they are bedridden. Others will notice they’re absence when they don’t show up as usual.

Usually in the story, friends may visit to check-in on them as a filler episode. For romantic stories, as shy and awkward as the romantic interest may be, they’ll go to check up on them. Sometimes classmates may even set them up and assign the love interest to drop of schoolwork for them. If the sick character lives alone for whatever reason, the visiting character may even cook for them.

Two magical things happen by the end of the episode. For one, despite spending hours in the sick person’s room, the visitors never seem to get sick. And two, the sick individual is usually perfectly fine the next day.

I did do a bit of research to see if this was just an anime trope or a real thing in Japan. Some comments say that Japanese people rarely get sick, but if they do, the cold is quite serious and can knock them out. However, Japanese medicine is really strong, thus leading to the fast recovery!

Very Awkward Romantic Situations

Anime doesn’t shy away from romance…but at the same time, they do?

Compared to American media where people may make out on the first date or even have sex within a few weeks, East Asian media tends to be a lot more innocent and pure. Both parties are a lot more shy and awkward, and even things like eye contact doesn’t always happen.

Holding hands is a big step, and sharing emails/numbers is an even bigger deal! Even if the show is romance focused and the two characters get together, they may not even kiss! (Cough**Kimi ni Todoke**, everyone was pissed when that was finished).

Part of this is due to Japanese culture. Personal space is highly regarded and respected, so hugs are quite rare in anime. Characters standing next to each other can have em blushing, and that Kdrama moment where a guy trap you against a wall is so intimidate even though the characters aren’t physically touching. That is the kind of life these characters live.

A lot of the time, the beach episode is meant to be a fun, casual filler. Sometimes, the trip was meant to be like a training camp, and other times it’s meant to bring a romantic couple closer together in some way. While the characters may be in bathing suits, perverted situations aren’t that common, unless the series was made for fan service.

Thus, sometimes animators will create these awkward opportunities or ‘accidents’ where the two characters actually get to touch or interact in a private setting. This may be a guy tripping and falling over the girl he likes, or getting locked in the ball room when they were helping pack things up, or them going through a school festival’s haunted house and being so scared they hold on to each other.

While some can be quite awkward and definitely embarrassing to the girl (a common phrase when a girl is revealed or touched inappropriately is that she won’t find a husband anymore), it is definitely a plot used to push two characters closer if they wouldn’t have a chance to otherwise. Get used to it.

Idols & Net Idols

Now, this trope isn’t that common outside of actual idol animes like Love Live and Uta no Prince Sama, but it’s still around, sometimes in more subtle ways, like a character being so popular and beloved by their peers that they may as well be an idol.

If you didn’t know, just like there are Kpop idols, Jpop Idols are just as big. Correction, they’re actually bigger since idol culture started in Japan, and these groups are bigger, last longer, and make way more money than a lot of Kpop acts ever would.

But unlike Kpop idols, training isn’t as strict and dances aren’t as sharp. A Jpop idols job is to entertain and spread love and joy to their fans. A lot of them don’t get training at all and learn on the job with each performance. You can learn more about Jpop idols and the differences form Kpop in this article.

Again, this is something so common in Jpop idol, just as common as cosplay and maid outfits. But ontop of entertaining fans, idols are often meant to be an image of perfection. They are kind, sweet, hard working, and completely innocent. Dating is off the table so that they can remain available to their fans. They also better keep their record clean before people turn on them.

All this to say, in animes, idols may appear for different reasons. Some are a love interest, some are just a loveable character, some act innocent but are evil and bitter, etc.

“IT’s Not WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE!!”

I have to wonder how much of these were made intentionally or just by chance, but this is exactly why many Otakus will watch shows in private and/or with headphones on so people near by don’t think they’re watching the dirty.

Along with grown women who sound much younger due to Japanese voice ranges, other situations like exercising, complaining, or screaming can sound quite dirty if someone would overhear. The first scene that came to mind was this one from Love Live.

Pretty much all of Food Wars can go under this. You better make sure someone isn’t looking over your shoulder cause it’s going to take a lot more explaining than an actual dirty video would.

Different Celebration Of Holidays

What do you think of when you hear the words Christmas or New Years? Probably a different vision from what’s common in Japan. Christmas here is a big deal. Lots of shopping and families reunite for a bigger dinner and gift exchange.

In Japan, Christmas is not even a national holiday! But, if people have it off, they’ll spend it more casually with friends or lovers. They may throw a party, do karaoke, or some other fun activity.

Japan’s dinner of choice, KFC! That is not sarcasm. You can consider Colonel Sanders their Santa in a way, and buckets of fried chicken are ordered weeks in advance for Christmas. You can check out this short video for the history on how it came to be.

As for New Years, temples are visited by almost everyone to give their thanks, make wishes, and see their fortunes. While it is usually a family tradition, groups of friends will meet up and visit the temple in animes.

Conclusion

I hope you learned a lot about Japanese culture, but also learned about certain tropes in animes. I find it’s always interesting to see how different countries can be through their media.

For some older anime fans like myself, we’ve gotten so used to these concepts that we sometimes forget to consider how weird, awkward, or unusual this could be for someone new to Japanese animations.

That also goes to say that I’m sure a lot of Japanese people face the same kind of culture shock when they watch American shows and teenagers are hooking up and having sex on the first date, or just how paranoid parents are about their kids being outside, or how students celebrate Spring Break, or just how desensitized we are to crime.

And never jump to conclusions that everything is dirty or perverted either. While short skirts may be common, cleavage isn’t. I read one person’s argument that ‘everyone has thighs, so why should it be sexualized’. Just some food for thought!

Don’t be too quick to judge. Every country has things that are normal to them. What may be strange to you is normal to them and vice versa. Be open and you may find many new things you love from them 🙂

If you’re interested in learning more vocabulary and kanji so you can watch anime and dramas, read manga, sing J-pop at karaoke, or play raw Japanese video games, check out my 250+ Kanji for Japanese Media (+Sentences) article and my Japanese Study Guide!