How Did Anime Go From Geek to Cool? | Subcultured

[@pbsvoices]

Every episode of Subcultured has audio descriptions! Go to Settings - Audio Track - English Descriptive.

[@cmilkau]

[@jackdoesgaming6921]

TF IS THIS IM JUST TRYING WATCH DBZ (good vid

[@CRINGECKILLER]

Let's get one thing. Straight anime was always cool

[@picklecaterpillar]

@@CRINGECKILLER 👍👍

[@lawrenceiverson1924]

I've been an Anime fan since Akira I'm 71 now and still love it!!

[@Literallyhim-2]

@Px Coffee what’s to “Lol” about?

[@drainedeyes4268]

Whoaaaa, that’s awesome!! I’m 29 and been a lifelong fan. I have to say, even after all these years, Akira is still one of the best pieces of animation I’ve ever seen - if not the best still. One of the things that bothers me about modern anime fans is the lack of respect for the incredible pieces of work that inspired and helped define what we have today. I love some new stuff, but a lot of my favorites are old or forgotten. It’s cool though. But massive respect for your age and respect for the medium! It’s very rare I find an elder in the community. Awesome stuff.

[@lawrenceiverson1924]

@@drainedeyes4268 Yeah,I like a lot of the weekly TV series. Shonen bat ,I think, is one name.And anything by Miyazaki,of course Death note is very cool. Love Porco rosso w/ all the cool airplanes.

[@mangoaddicto7717]

I’ve never met an anime fan that’s a senior. That’s very cool!

[@JodaroKujo]

Dang

[@marcianoacuerda]

Fansubbers were the unsung heroes of that time. Imagine all the effort needed for a subbed vhs to reach our hands.

[@InktoEcho]

I remember when they had them at cons😭

[@MoreColtraneChanges]

I feel like an old man, but kids these days truly don’t understand how much they take having good subs for granted. I don’t even think most of them would understand jokes about Translator’s Notes and the like. Times have truly changed.

[@jebus6kryst]

It became cool because animes do have great animation and storylines. The geeks in the 90s were just the first people in the West to notice that.

[@chinafuture6484]

Not necessarily. Many anime, like Naruto and Dragon Ball, are shallow and poorly written.

[@Caterfree10]

@@chinafuture6484 Tbf, the early stuff for both of those are pretty damn good. They’ve just been milked to hell and back at this point, alas. Ah well, at least the fanworks breathe new life into them that canon will never.

[@jebus6kryst]

@@chinafuture6484 They were deeper and better written than most stuff coming out of the US in the 90s.

[@whathell6t]

@@jebus6kryst Paradoxically, they were familiar due to the previous exposure of the another Japanese cultural entertainment export, tokusatsu. Anime and tokusatsu are heavily linked.

[@pbsvoices]

@@chinafuture6484 uh oh, opened a can of worms -josef

[@argella1300]

You can’t discount American anime and manga distributors *finally* wising up and making their content more accessible. For ages the only way to stay current with a series was to pirate them because the American release was so far behind, often by months or even years. It wasn’t until streaming services like Hulu blew up in the 2010s that the distribution and dubbing companies realized that if they offer a free way for the public to watch their content, people will go out and buy their other stuff.

[@pbsvoices]

It's true streaming has really changed the game for anime's accessibility. I agree that services like netflix, hulu, of course crunchyroll have helped get a lot of people into anime.

[@MinionNumber3]

I don't agree with you there. It wasn't an issue with American companies pushing back on distribution. As early as 2000, Media Play stores featured Anime DVD sections as large (and by 2004, larger) than any specific genre section of mainstream DVDs. There were multiple companies who were each dubbing anime; Geneon (Pioneer), ADV Films, Funimation, Manga Entertainment, and Bandai Visual were all churning out multiple DVDs per quarter. The sheer volume they were putting out at the time was enormous, and in many ways outpaces the current environment. Also something to be said that before Netflix's online streaming and Hulu came into existence, streaming was virtually nonexistent. Blaming distributors for not inventing a form of distribution in common use today is like blaming pioneers for traveling across the western US in covered wagons instead of flying coach. As someone who routinely pirated everything from the first Cardcaptor Sakura movie to Utada Hikaru's Deep River album, I can promise you the frequency of pirating was about the distributors at the time being unable to justify the expense to meet the community's demand and had nothing to do with a lack of vision or intent. And the concern of investors was at least partially right, with the near-fatal collapse of the industry in 2008-9 that saw the end of a number of those distributors, like ADV Films, and the rest consolidating into what few companies we still have today.

[@XChaoticDestiny]

So true. I remember having to search up the episodes after going onto Wikipedia to make sure I was on the correct order. Haha

[@ShionWinkler]

Not to mention the American versions had a bad habit of changing HUGE chunks of shows in order to make it more "kid friendly". Shows like One Piece and Cardcaptor Sakura were totally rewritten by 4kids to make it more "kid friendly"; things like taking out Sanji's cigarette and replacing it with a lollipop, removing Ace all together because he "promoted playing with fire", and completely removing any mention of a character being homosexual like Li and Touya from Cardcaptor.

[@uss_04]

It still feels weird to see Netflix and Hulu carrying anime. Admittedly it’s a much better experience than the ways I used to get my content. The other day I saw an Anime movie ad at the mall. It was both surreal and a sign of the times

[@tttITA10]

The main reason for anime newfound coolness is that the generation who first had widespread access to anime on television (and anime-friendly videogames, like Pokémon) is now made interely of adults capable of building a huge market for anime stuff, both as consumers and as producers. And then, widespread fast internet made anime accesible. Meme culture got people curious. Anime-influenced KZbinrs gave hype and voice to anime fans. The increased politization and the louder cries for individual liberties in social media made anime acceptable. And, lastly, streaming services like Netflix made anime mainstream even for the uninitiated public.

[@pbsvoices]

Yes that was Cristal Marie’s biggest point. That we all grew up with it and now they get to make anime content everyday as influencers, producers, hosts.

[@watchforever1724]

Yeah I agree

[@mashrien]

And here I am one of the lucky ones, now pushing 40 years old, that HAD an anime subscription (mail service) in the 80s/90s.. Lodos, Akira(obviously), Wrath of the Ninja, 8-Man, Vampire Hunter, Dirty Pair, Demon City, god the list just goes on and on. I *grew up* loving anime, one of the early ones. Also; SpaceTime sent me.

[@pbsvoices]

That’s so cool! You’re an og -josef

[@mashrien]

@@pbsvoices ironically I didn't discover dragon ball, bebop, any of the long-series until I was an adult. I still say DBSuper is damn good. Edit; I *still* have the majority of the 80s/90s VHS collection that I received via the mail-order service, btw. ;)

[@diGritz1]

Gotcha(man) beat by 20 years. Still remember the first anime I watched Marine Boy in 68. Granted the shows were both few and far between as well as way too Americanized and dumbed down until the 80's. Few stuck with it for as long as I have. Also; From SpaceTime to "0_o"

[@TheBenignSeraphim]

You sound old enough to remember watching anime movies on the Sci-Fi channel at 3am on the weekends.

[@sarahb.8175]

I can’t believe they had a mail subscription device on the 80s?!? I would love to watch a video on that, I had no idea that even existed. How did you find this service?

[@HelgeMoulding]

As someone who worked putting on fan conventions in the 90s, I'd say the reason why anime became popular is because it filled a void in Western culture. The people who came to our conventions had many specific reasons for enjoying the shows and manga, but they had in common that Western media was missing what anime provided. We had animation and graphic novels, but not the novel point of view brought by these Japanese media.

[@neji7070]

Could you elaborate on what exactly this novel point-of-view is? Are you giving reference to the vastly different storytelling in anime?

[@2FINE4YOUBABYGIRL]

This! I’m a fan of anime and western animation too (DC and Marvel) but anime blows them out of the water in terms of heart, fight scenes, character development and world building.

[@desu38]

I'm so used to "weeb" that "otaku" feels oddly archaic now.

[@Caterfree10]

Same tbh. I’ll still claim otaku, but I’ll more readily say weeb nowadays lmao.

[@всемпривет-и1щ]

@H - weebs are just weeaboos with a brain. You don’t worship japan you appreciate it 👍

[@uelld.8371]

Weeb

[@honeyswann]

I luckily grew up in a household where anime was watched constantly . My mom is from Mexico so she would watch Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac , Gundam, the secret garden, Minki Momo and of course, Candy Candy and Dragon Ball. I grew up watching these shows and wanted to know more. It’s how I ended up watching Pokémon, Dinosaur King , and some other anime as I grew. It’s been an integral part of my life that reminds me of how international media can have such an effect on someone.

[@uss_04]

Found Anime in the 90s, and got to see it grow in popularity. Crazy to think how more “mainstream” it’s gotten. My 15 year old relatives felt like they always had it growing up.

[@pbsvoices]

i also feel like i've always had it grown up! but it wasn't until high school that I could watch it on netflix. then it really took off for me. -josef

[@justinamakwe6187]

We have. They’ve been there since before we were born

[@patrickwhipple3097]

I am never going to like the fact that people that bullied us are the ones enjoying it without any risks that used to come with it

[@walterwhitecookingchannel8912]

I know what you mean but that's the same mentality old people have when the newer generations don't suffer as much. I'm just relieved tbh

[@patrickwhipple3097]

@@walterwhitecookingchannel8912 why? It was more fun when it was people that legit liked it and not just hype beasts

[@XiaoIsMyHusbandBTW]

@@patrickwhipple3097 who says there “hype beast” it seems like you’re assuming things because I’ve never met someone who watched anime for the trend

[@divasargentè]

I remember being in school they made fun of people who watched anime I really loved anime and only would disclose that with friends or others who watched it and they were called “weird” or “nerds” now everyone wants to be anime lovers I miss when you were a different kind of bread if you watched animes

[@shaekelley6500]

Got into anime thanks to my father actually. He grew up with stuff and now that I’m much older I am introducing him to shows that I watch growing up as a kid and he’s experiencing them for the first time with me right now. Even after going blind I still enjoy anime

[@angelaguilar9222]

I think one reason is when I lived in Mexico as a kid anime was more mainstream and embraced. I watched pokemon, Yu Gi Oh, blade blade, Digimon, and other anime that I had never seen in the USA. I used to watch DBZ with my dad. Chip bags in Mexico had a toy about pokemon or Blade Blade. And like me, a lot of people emigrated to the USA and brought that out look here and didn't see anime as bad as people did here.

[@james.w.banks.iv.]

I love awesome the host is! He is so passionate it about explaining these subcultures, he should have his own channel!!! 💜

[@kukki.kosplays6324]

I've loved anime and Japanese culture for as long as I can remember. My mom is from Peru and she grew up with many Japanese media such as shows from Osamu Tekazuya and hello kitty! So she showed it all to me! In elementary school, I met my Japanese friends and they introduced anime to me! So in middle school, I became so "obsessed" with anime and even started cosplaying. I did get bullied in school for my interests and many kids would always tell me how weird anime is and how I am weird. I didn't listen to them ofc and now I am still cosplaying and my room is the typical "otaku room" but now I see "popular normal kids" wearing anime shirts and talking about liking anime while back then wearing those things would get me bullied. I definitely think it's because of celebrities endorsing anime and many hip-hop street style brands having anime items so many consumers will buy the shirts even if they don't know the show, thinking it's cool. (similar to how someone might wear a band shirt but not listen to the band). But it's such a shock to me that now It's hard to know who likes anime or not because when I was in middle school I would know if the person likes anime based on their appearance (like otaku stereotypes lol) so many anti-social kids in my school liked anime. But now I see people who look "normal," say they like anime and it always shocks me because I was so used to being known at school as "the weird girl who likes anime" so as much as I'm gonna miss the old days of liking anime being like a secret club for me. I'm glad that many anti-social people can find others who like the same things as them!

[@animeevergreenathena]

Anime, especially anime clubs, was my last hang-on to my life in Maryland before my family and I moved to Tennessee in 2015. When I found out that my school at the time didn't have any clubs that catered to Anime and Asian culture nerds, I decided to take initiative and start my own club. Fast forward to 2022, while anime is more of a bonding activity between my older sibling figures now that I work a fulltime job as a production assistant at a news station, I still appreciate it for teaching me that it's okay to be a hardworking, socially awkward nerd. To quote Steve Jobs, "The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." With the case of socially awkward, hardworking people, I still believe that is the case. To quote Naruto himself, "BELIEVE IT!" :D Thanks for making this video, by the way! ;)

[@impactframes6514]

Yay Maryland squad! Props to you to making your own anime club! 💪( ¨̮💪) In middle school we also had an anime club which got me hip to movies like Origin: Secrets of the Past and Princess Mononoke

[@emerymyers964]

This is so cool! The host is incredible too! Can’t wait for more episodes of this series ! 😀

[@AndrewLaSane]

Shout out to those of us who lived through the first wave of Pokemon cards and dubbed DBZ in the 90s. By then, I feel like it wasnt weird and new anymore. The bullying in the US must have restarted in the mid 2000s?

[@adamthompson4072]

If you were still into that stuff after a certain age, you'd get bullied over it. By kids who were just as into as you a couple years before

[@Caterfree10]

It absolutely did pick back up in the 2000s. Granted, I went harder and found the transformative fandom so I was an even bigger geek in that pool, but yeah, it got rougher in middle and high school to be into anime still.

[@projectx7453]

Naruto was getting really popular back in 2014 where I’m from. And then everything changed in 2017 when a bunch of rappers came out saying that they like anime too.

[@Steezealways]

@@projectx7453 yup now there’s a bunch of posers running around claiming they love anime when they can only name one piece dbz and naruto or some random Netflix anime

[@sarahb.8175]

Yeah after Pokémon when kids were a little older, the bullying was pretty severe where I lived if you liked anime.

[@fh5926]

I remember seeing anime at Science Fiction conventions in the 80s. It was called Japanimation back then. I fell in love with it instantly.

[@pbsvoices]

What anime did you see back then ?

[@erikinmanhattan7775]

I'm 80 years old now and still watching anime to this day...anime will only get bigger

[@kingslayer6753]

Yeah I used to get bullied from it now everyone loves it it’s crazy

[@pixelander]

It’s insane

[@Eatdatpoopoo445]

Same ;-; The same ppl who picked on me for it are now "been there since day 1" fans

[@ldbarthel]

So much depends upon when you grew up... In the 1960s, when there were 3 broadcast stations available in my area, I could count the number of Japanese shows I knew on one hand without using my thumb: Speed Racer, Johnny Socko, Ultraman, and "Skinny and Fatty" (a frequent Kukla, Fran, and Ollie rerun). Only 1 anime in that list. (I had heard of Astro Boy, but had never seen it, so OK, maybe we'll include the thumb.) So for most of my life, thanks to bad dubbing and the animation style, I considered anime to be akin to Hanna-Barbera (which used the same explosion cloud sequence on every episode of Jonny Quest). It was OK, but I preferred the high frame rate character animation from the old Warner Brothers cartoons. When my wife and I started dating, she took it upon herself to correct my opinion. She made sure I saw the "foundational" shows from the 80s so I would know the tropes and conventions. Learning that anime style owes its roots to the Fleischer Betty Boop cartoons also improved my appreciation. So yeah, I can't count on one hand anymore. I have to use a spreadsheet or simply point to the stack of DVDs...

[@silentsmurf]

I didn’t know Ultraman aired in the US! I’ve never heard anyone here non-Japanese reference it.

[@whodafox]

@@silentsmurf I think it was a pretty popular show, kinda like Power Rangers (but obviously less popular), since even my dad used to watch it as a kid and so did i.

[@alhypo]

Wow... I remember borrowing a box set of Cowboy Bebop from my friend about 20 years ago which I really enjoyed. But I didn't get into any other Anime titles. The thing about Cowboy Bebop that grabbed my interest where other series could not was the music. Seatbelts is a killer band and I still listen to them to this day. Even though I don't share the same love of anime as you all, you Otaku are nice people and I'm glad you have something that can bring you so much enjoyment.

[@casir.7407]

im so happy for this modern generation for having access to so much culture and art from different places, and for it to be so much more accepted and mainstream.... but good god i cant deny that it also makes me extremely bitter that, if i had been born more or less a decade later, i would have probably been a *lot* less bullied than i was growing up during the 2000s/early 2010s

[@StraightcheD]

Ah, the early ascension as a common mortal. It comes at a price.

[@Cafeminette]

This host is super young. You guys need to talk to us, the pioneers of anime in the US from the 80s and 90s. We swapped bootleg subtitled VHS tapes, started these conventions, and brought cosplay to the US.

[@pbsvoices]

We worked with Kumiko Saito Ph.D and Satoko Kakihara Ph.D on this episode who have been involved with anime for a long time. But thanks for saying I look super young, the skin routine must be working :) -josef

[@SnowAnayathatweirdgirl]

@@pbsvoices I just wrote a comment thinking you were young and my god... Tell me your secret cause your skin is flawless *bows down in envy*. Thanks for getting their opinions their very insightful!

[@noondayfair]

I remember staying up to watch the torrented, fan subbed anime in college (early 2000s). Thank God for Crunchyroll etc. now 😘

[@raseaces]

A screencap of Macross 7 being shown for the Macross shout-out makes me believe whoever edited it had to be deliberate. Excellent!

[@cjthibeau4843]

Cry, beyond the bot just announced their hiatus too 😭😭😭😭😭 I hope they come back one day

[@ryantoussaint7873]

I think one of the main reasons that are not mentioned in the comments is AMVs created around bands like Linkin Park, 3DG, drowning pool, etc. The music just matched the action and for those who didn't like the action they were able to carve their path through animes based on romance and real-life class drama. That's my two cents to throw in✌️🏾

[@ayaansabirabbasi5370]

heyyy came here from pbs spacetime. loving the show. u go boyyy

[@EpicVideos2]

Idk, if it's cool for the younger generation, but when I went to school (3 year ago) it really wasn't cool. However there was no negative connotation and it was no weirder to enjoy anime than it was to enjoy any conventionally Western media.

[@EpicVideos2]

Though, being a weeb was definitely weird.

[@pbsvoices]

that's great perspective thank you! when i went to school it was definitely very weird, but now on tiktok i see a lot of people really embracing anime. -josef

[@heyamberray]

It wasn't really weird when I went to school (in the 90's) or when my brother's went to school (in the early 2000's.) What was "weird" was the over-hype some people showed, which is still considered weird now. Anything, at any time, that is not "mainstream" is considered weird to someone. Heck, I consider mainstream weird, so... But also the same, it wasn't cool either. I'd attribute the "coolness" of it being that it's more mainstream so more people are into it.

[@Insertia_Nameia]

It wasn't weird, it was just a normal interest to have: like football, hockey, or music.

[@XiaoIsMyHusbandBTW]

The anime was in a weird area a couple of years ago

[@snowqueen_8958]

This is a insightful documentary and when I was in highschool anime wasn't that popular....hell I was a JoJo fan back in 2008

[@pbsvoices]

Jojo is sick good choice -josef

[@johnnycripplestar5167]

Wow..... now that's a true jojo fan.

[@nightcat7741]

The good folks at PBS space time sent me here, and this video has sealed the deal for me also coz im an anime fan. Subbed!!

[@pbsvoices]

that's what up! glad you found us -josef

[@DangerDan64]

My only gripe with this was basically ignoring other heavily sensational animes to exist, like Death note for both better and worse. But one of the biggest game changers was the existence of Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyogen. That made a huge presence to the western world to the point that it had a cross over with Marvel of all companies. Then there came in another heavily influential anime like SAO. (Influential dosen't mean good BTW) There are other factors that took part in this, but it's not anime related so I don't to bring it up unless asked.

[@Francois_L_7933]

I find this quite amusing as when I was a kid growing-up in Canada back in the early 80's, we had a LOT of anime on TV. Every kid watched the French version of Astro Boy, Grendizer, Captain Future, Demetan, Harlock and so on. When they stopped showing these, it instantly became something to make fun of. And now, we've all grown-up and many of us have very fond memories of these shows. And yes, we can still all sing the intro to most of them 😁

[@jcwt_pdx]

Little did I know back when I was a younger teenager, that some of the cartoons I watched as a kid turned out to be Japanese animated cartoons, anime. I still love anime. There’s some even based on the Bible. 😍😎✝️💜⭐️🌹🕊

[@shaynellmesadieu]

Oh yea. Superbook.

[@zelrius8714]

but one thing that irks me is how I literally got hated on when I was younger for liking anime and watching it, and now all people like is anime. Like all I would do is post anime on Snapchat once and I remember one dude cussing me out and saying “it’s Chinese shit” and just flat out being rude, I couldn’t believe it. Of course I’m not claiming everyone was like that but seriously it was an issue. love that anime is becoming way more popular nowadays tho, it’s crazy to see how much it has changed though

[@walterwhitecookingchannel8912]

Bro if I posted anime on my story I already have some homies that come to mind that'd clown on me. Those people will never leave brah

[@aaronmyers871]

I came here because I was watching PBS Space Time. I don't know much about anime, but my daughters (11 and 4) both have their favorite shows. Thanks for the knowledge! The host did a great job. 👏 👍 🙌

[@7Alberto7]

The nostalgia is REAL...

[@pbsvoices]

Yo Alberto what’s your favorite anime? -josef

[@7Alberto7]

@@pbsvoices i was a kid back in the late 80s early 90s,Saint Seiya,Dragonball,Hokuto no Ken,Macross discovered all Go Nagai super robots from the 70's Goldrake Mazinga ect,in the 90's Gundam wing,Ranma,Evangelion changed me deeply,Hunter x Hunter,and after One Piece,Naruto and so many more...how can I choose one...i'm 40 now and I watch anime everyday with my son,everything i want him to know from them is to be real to pursue dream to make friends to love to never give up and yes to be a hero and a good person in his life...much love to everyone

[@clockworkgnome]

PBS Space Time send me here, and I’m impressed as usual with PBS.

[@veggieboyultimate]

It's insane how fast anime has grown and in a country that used to be America's enemy.

[@ponyote]

Here from SpaceTime, happy to be here.

[@pbsvoices]

Happy to have you!

[@ciaranchew]

Hello from Ireland, Spacetime recommended you, so here i am, subscribed and enjoying the content :)

[@pbsvoices]

Hello Ciaran from Ireland! Thank you that means so much

[@alexandrekan8589]

A few days ago I helped out in a sociabilization exercise for an international preparation class in a german shool. These classes have been set up in order to accommodate recently arrived foreign children (very often refugees) with the german education system and are thus potentially even more heterogenous in regards to age and background than a normal class. What surprised me was the fact that they ALL loved anime, no matter the religion, the nationality and to a certain extent even the spoken language (in that class it was mainly Spanish /Castellano). Being an otaku was one of the things they all could agree on.

[@Naruto-ef1ct]

People might think that "anime is cool" now, but this statement depends on which kind of otaku culture aspect and region you live in. You will never see something like OreImo or Senran Kagura becomes popular in the West. For example, even these days, there are so many elements in otaku culture that are considered extremely niche, to the point they simply do not release them globally to avoid cultural backlash. You can see why Netflix's Japan catalog is entirely different from Netflix's global. Not to forget, interpretation of culture is often too different: Doraemon or Gegege no Kitaro is considered as anime style in Asia, but not in the West. Fans in Asia are accustomed to manga-to-live-action adaptation in cinema and TV premieres. Even these days, I often saw online comments like "why this manga has live-action adaptation, no one wants it" but there's a huge demand for that in Asia. One last example is Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbou live-action. Anime-manga community (English international), ACG community (East Asia ex JP), Jejepangan (Indonesia), all of them integrate different otaku culture aspects.

[@JurassicLion2049]

Like how everything goes mainstream: people realized there was money to be made in anime series, films, & merchandise. Which was always a thing in East Asia but took time for the west to really figure out. Started a bit with nostalgia to bank on fans who grew up with works like Pokemon and Dragon Ball but eventually moved to the currently airing anime. And merch moved beyond “lets sell nerdy fans posters & toys” but to “hey here’s comfortable clothes, here’s screenings of major anime films, and lets treat yall like actual human beings”. The last part especially I think definitely is what led to major change.

[@imbuffysummers]

Not just that. But look at super heroes. All the kids who grew up treated as nerds obsessing over their precious comics turned into CEOs and producers and filmmakers who were in positions where they could influence media culture with their creations that were able to introduce new generations to their passion. Surely the kids who grew up reading manga and watching anime then went on to go into fields of business where they had the power to dictate what kinds of projects were implemented and took inspiration to do so from their own interests

[@MinionNumber3]

Claiming anime as a viable product having been "always a thing in East Asia" is wildly inaccurate. The rise of anime as a culturally accepted art only predated its rise in Japan a very short time before it happened here in the US, and a lot of that drive happened as a result of the wider Japanese culture noticing how anime was starting to garner US attention. It should also be said that a lot of the US's modern zeitgeist has its roots in the anime of the 80s. James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, the Wachowski siblings have all specifically named the Ghost in the Shell OVA as a main influence of their various films. A large swath of the sci fi movies we hold highly in the American mainstream culture have strong influences back to those original shows, and was influencing us all long before we were ever aware of it.

[@wowman542]

I'm surprised anitubers weren't mentioned as something that brought Anime to the mainstream as anime video reviews, memes, debates and podcasts blew up on youtube letting otakus connect online via discord/reddit/tumblr which ramped up the interconnectedness of the community.

[@pbsvoices]

shout out to beyond the bot

[@korvatusklok4059]

Anime is a unique phenomenon in Space-Time.

[@mascadadelpantion8018]

............... We've come a long way baby 💪💯 #otakuforlife

[@pbsvoices]

thanks for watching at launch! you're a real one. -josef

[@mascadadelpantion8018]

@@pbsvoices I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED ANIME FROM THE VERY BEGINNING EVER SINCE I'VE HEARD OF IT COMING TO AMERICA IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND I LOVE PBS EVEN MORE BECAUSE IT'S SO DEEP ROOTED IN MY CHILDHOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WILL ALWAYS LOVE ANYTHING PBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ShionWinkler]

😎😎Former Fan-sub Subtitle sync-er, used to spend hours matching the translated subtitles to the anime, so the right subs appeared when the character was speaking😁😁

[@_goopho]

thank you for your work ♡

[@Crazycoyote-we7ey]

The late 90s was the last decade of Goofball Comedy, slapstick Comedy, Anime brought that back in the 00s, 10s and now

[@KenronTheGamer]

Basically back then the only anime you can say you watch was DBZ or you'll get bullied. And now the same people who did the bullying are trying to join... 🙄🙄🙄

[@poppinmms8980]

Yeah that’s what I think too; the reason why there’s a sudden spike in anime popularity and it’s become a bit more mainstream is because, somehow, liking and watching anime has become trendy.

[@GowthamV07]

Animax ,CN toonami played a huge role in my childhood anime . DBZ and pokemon and beyblade. Those were the good old days of anime quality.

[@SnowAnayathatweirdgirl]

It would have been cool to also get the Gen X and Millennial opinion on how anime has become mainstream. We really went through it in the 90's to 2010's. You'd either be outcasted or get your ass beat for liking anime. To now see it be so popular you hear even anime openings on the radio (Referring to SiM's "The Rumbling") and seeing people out everyday wearing anime merch it's so amazing and yet bittersweet cause I kinda wish I could experienced being an anime fan out in the open as a teenager. I mean don't get me wrong at 34 I wear my anime merch loud and proud and don't care if anyone see's me watching anime or reading manga, but there's something to be said about having to hide something you love for so long only for it to turn around and become popular when you're out of your formative years. It just would have been nice to hear people my age and older talk about it and what the change has done for us. I'm so happy that kids now can go out and love what they love and not be bullied or beaten for it. It's more refreshing and amazing than anything else. Just... damn wish I could have worn my CLAMP and One Piece merch back when I was a teen cause I had some nice stuff. Sadly cause of moving I have it all stored away. One day hope to give it to my daughter or maybe WAAAY later on down the line my grandkids.

[@pleiadesstarr453]

Every generation has their Anime moments and that's a cool experience 👍.

[@OatmealGrillBlazer]

fun fact Norway and the Netherlands were the two main countries that got me interested in anime

[@jyoats7959]

To be honest I think it really depends on what kind of anime you match. Mainstream shonens are typically seen is pretty cool but more niche types such as romance or mahou shojo are still seen as quite nerdy. I also feel like certain things such as T-shirts that show toned down aspects of Japanese culture, or accurate cosplays during Halloween are celebrated. Other things though such as more out there costumes or clothing as well as anime posters and figurines in your possession are still seen is pretty nerdy. I myself am I really big Hatsune Miku fan and I still get picked on for it since she’s my wallpaper and I have a hoodie with her on the back. I get called a weeb all the time or a nerd. I’m not really bothered by it but it just is how it is. I also like a lot of anime with a smaller or more niche following so it’s hard to talk about with people. I definitely see a shift happening but I still think it’s a long way to go before all of anime is seen as completely normal. One thing my brother said that stuck with me is that it’s cool like anime, but it’s still pretty weird to love it.

[@XiaoIsMyHusbandBTW]

Anime will never be completely normal until they stop making characters literally want to date pre schoolers, I mean tbh most of the reason anime was looked down on was is own fault

[@sbrocoli6950]

@@XiaoIsMyHusbandBTW facts

[@eclipse_2169]

I believe one of the big reasons is Covid. I mean, you can’t go outside at all and is bored staying in home, and start watching anime to feel better. I mean this is how I started watching anime

[@TheHollandHS]

Anime was like a garden with no flowers of itsself , only its valuable seeds inside. Today they are the entire grassroots of the field. The big flowers of other cultures like Hollywood may always look higher , but the grass keeps growing everywhere

[@nemandali]

I’m happy that people are able to be open about liking anime and not have to hide in the shadows anymore but it’s pretty annoying the same people who tormented others about liking anime like anime now

[@Mohammad__M__]

7:54 She's wearing a HOLOLIVE Council T-shirt! Nice! oh and PBS Spacetime sent me here!

[@HeliosKou]

Lots of us older fans (born in the late 70s early 80s) only had access to anime via copy of copy of fansubbed tapes from your local Chinatown/Koreatown (anywhere there was a large east asian population), you were lucky and able to buy dubbed tapes at the mall OR you were super lucky and managed to get stuff directly from Japan one way or another Anime got popular when internet access got cheaper and easier to get into people's hands. People now had a way of viewing things and sharing it with others. The "cool guys" loved anything with fighting in it. Some guy super strong and tough and alot of them got that with DBZ So with DBZ gaining popularity from the "cool click" more anime started to get views. Today's anime fan doesn't know the struggle the older generation went through. We're the ones who paved the way and begged Japan for merch and to release more shows to us One of the issues today is that weebs are more entitled. Some make anime thier whole personality and that will drive people away and cause the whole Fandom to going back to being labeled as "weird nerds"

[@wisono7857]

Alright esteemed senior otaku, my greetings (weeb) to the senior otaku generation.......

[@StraightcheD]

I think we're way past the point where weirdos drive people away, in a traditional sense. A critical mass of people claim ownership of Japanese pop culture now and have internalized it to the point where weirdos just form their own subculture on the side. For everybody else, it's just a matter of having a right chance encounter which is true for all hobbies.

[@HeliosKou]

@@StraightcheD it's still seen a weird to the general population. If you've looked at threads about Anime NYC last year, in general people still see being a anime fan as being weird It doesn't help that weebs really go around making it thier whole personality and just generally being obnoxious while doing it.

[@sukmykrok3388]

My first exposure to anime was something called Urotsukidouji. Not gonna lie, I loved it, lol! It was so raw and outlandish

[@pbsvoices]

Tbh I’m about to watch this after work -josef

[@sukmykrok3388]

@@pbsvoices be warned for extremely graphic content, lol!

[@pbsvoices]

@@sukmykrok3388 thanks for the warning, it was great tho

[@marceldawn0_o]

The moment I saw the word anime and saw saiki k in the thumbnail I INSTANTLY CLICKED

[@JJerseyGirl]

Speed Racer was my first "anime" back then it was just a new cool cartoon. We would run home after school and turn the tv to the UHF channel to WLIW21( I think) in the NYC tristate area

[@stevenmiller4329]

I searched “why is anime so popular” and this vid came up

[@Deoxys911]

I remember back when I would watch things like Voltron and Ronin Warriors simply thinking they were cartoons with cool art styles and animation just like Batman or Transformers, never having heard the term "anime" before. Looking back on that time now seems a bit surreal given the modern landscape of anime and general animation fandoms.

[@epocalypsefilms]

Came here from the beyond the bot fam! Much love to Curt, Dorrie, Adrian, and Cristal!

[@epocalypsefilms]

Yo, reader: if you’re lucky enough to have not seen BTB and their predecessor GITR’s videos, you have their entire back catalog to get through.

[@pbsvoices]

Gonna kiss beyond the bot :( -josef

[@user9391]

I definitely agree with the woman saying that it’s the millennial/90s kids generation grown up making it popular! Obviously they’re adults now and don’t care as much for being “uncool” now, maturity and nostalgia being a factor. I remember when I was in middle school both adults I knew in real life and content creators on KZbin would talk about animes they liked back then which really peaked my interest since these were people I thought were “cool”, and I kept seeing the hype everywhere coming from these people. Kinda like how Stranger Things made Dungeons and Dragons cool for a little bit. A lot of nerd culture becoming cool comes from nostalgia.

[@robloxqueenhumblesquad655]

Honestly when I was younger I would see my mom or my older cousin watch anime and I hated it because of the way it was animated and how they would speak a different language but now that I’m older It has gotten better I still prefer not watching anime’s honestly but I can actually enjoy and sit down and watch it with my mom and other people now.

[@MrMatty227]

Awesome video and awesome host! That was my arm and my friend by the kurama cosplayer at the 8:39 mark btw lol

[@pbsvoices]

Hey loved your cosplay! Thanks for watching and we should get a picture together next year :) -josef

[@SkinnyEMedia]

This is the strangest video I've ever seen on a PBS segment. PBS is for the older folk like BBC4. Happy to see anime is getting discussed on a wider scale. It even fomented my musical side- MXQ stands for 'Macrocosmic Expansion Queries'. The 'M' is a reference to the Great Will of the Macrocosm from EXCEL SAGA.

[@0neAutumnLeaf]

This could have been made better by providing actual evidence of how popular anime has gotten in the west, like the number of anime conventions held in the USA across the last 30 years, number of attendees, etc. instead of just people giving their options

[@Silverwing_99]

ive been a huge anime fan from the 90s, akira, spirted away blew my mind when I was a kid, I remember 3x3 eyes was awesome. Whilst I wasn't a fan of dragonball, I loved the more dark and nihislitc stuff, even as a kid Then again, as brown, gay kid in a 95% white britsh area, anime allowed me to be myself and offered an outlet in an environment that I didn't fit into, it allowed me self-realise a lot of ethical, spiritual and philosophical axioms.

[@cmilkau]

Fascinating channel! Found it via recommendation by Spacetime.

[@cireratnacla993]

Dragon Ball was my first anime in the early 90's, follow by Ronin Warriors, Sailor Moon and Yuyu Hakusho.

[@ILoveAnchovies334]

being a 47 year old who was picked on in high school for being “different” I’ve seen this happen with other subcultures; namely skateboarding but there are more. It’s probably got to do with being a creative person, whom are typically ostracized but also are the creators of culture. First the hate you then they accept yu then they join you.

[@heavenbounddeath32]

What changed was that the normies were quickly becoming the outcast when the internet began to boom and weeb culture began to grow the more we got connected and learned we were not alone.

[@mayaedmond2609]

Love the episode!!! 💗💕💗

[@diGritz1]

Been watching anime since the late 60's. Fortunately I didn't get picked on. Though to be honest, that was probably because no one knew what anime was...... Including those of us that watched it. I love anime and always will. It's unfortunate that most my age look upon it as nothing but cartoons. "0_o"

[@JohnnyVee007]

going to miss Beyond the Bot!! thanks for this!

[@pbsvoices]

I know I’m so sad about the end of btb:( -josef

[@xioniyxz]

Weird in the USA that anime fan is being bullied, meanwhile here om southeast asia watching anime is the norm.

[@pluspiping]

Fansubbed VHS tapes of Trigun were among my first experiences with anime outside of TV broadcasts. It's impossible to overstate the importance of fansubs in growing the fandom (read: market). As soon as we were able to buy official VHS or DVDs or merchandise, we did, with gusto, for the series we already loved. Now you can stream anime, and have gobs of official merch, but physical copies of the anime itself are getting rarer and rarer. This is a danger to the fans, because the streaming service will not always be there, and even after paying hundreds of dollars for it over time, at the end the fan still owns nothing. Crunchyroll only wants your money, and is not your friend. Meanwhile I still have my official release Trigun DVDs and I'm in the middle of another rewatch. Fansubbing put people at legal risk, but it was the right thing to do. Keep that in mind as streaming companies treat you worse and worse.

[@TheHollandHS]

I honestly asking for years what does it take to become something popular, to lose popularity and return ...

[@MoralTruth]

What a time to be alive for anime 🙏

[@terryhere1464]

Impressive documentary, even for 9 minutes it's got just as much quality as any 45 minute one. Josef is good at this, has a certain charm

[@pbsvoices]

Thanks Terry, any subcultures you'd like to see me explore next? -josef

[@terryhere1464]

@@pbsvoices I'm not sure of the correct word, but the interest in crystal/charm collections that lead to "positive energies", which I believe is a branch of the astrology/zodiac signs (metaphysical?) seems to be growing rapidly, and I live in the deep south which seems to make it extra noteworthy. I think that would be considered a subculture, and definitely seems to be a growing one - maybe something worth your time down the road?

[@animewarrior9303]

I grew up watching anime and I was picked on by watching anime but now anime is cool now

[@donmccullen1973]

I don't expect PBS to mention Superbook or Flying House, but what about Voltron or Robotech which were the biggest Anime adapts for American audiences?

[@tanithrosenbaum]

Spacetime sends their regards :)

[@jonpedz3862]

PBS space time shared the good word about this channel. So automatically I subscribed, of course

[@pbsvoices]

Bless Space time for sharing the good word

[@fatcat1399]

AHHHHH I Love beyond the bot!! They’re awesome. 💜💜💜 Also anime is art and I love a whole lot of it. 💜

[@BlackVoidsRevenge]

It's interesting that he mentioned being make fun of for liking anime in school, because I'm older than him and anime was pretty mainstream when I was in school in the late 90's and early 00's. I didn't realize that it's popular was so regionalized, but I guess it makes sense.

[@pbsvoices]

It was well known when I was in school in the 90s and 2000s but when I got to high school it was seen as childish and uncool. High school had that popularity hierarchy and the anime fans were low on the chain. -josef

[@watchforever1724]

Yeah I know

[@Lazarosaliths]

Cool series. Matt over from space-time brought us here 😍

[@carlontesvito]

i seee at 4:48 hololive council shirt, nice!

[@BIGcompany2000]

Woh I didn’t expect to see Kurt in this video

[@orangesite7625]

Pbs space time sent me here😊

[@IsaacKuo]

Yeah, I fansubbed anime with an Amiga and good old JacoSub. I had both an Amiga 1200 and an Amiga 500, networked together with PARNET...

[@watchforever1724]

Cool

[@skylinefever]

As a car guy, I'm going to suggest that the USA made some dud products, so someone else decided to fill in the space. I'm not saying everything that gets here is a winner, some products were best left in Japan.

[@alexchanyehenara5566]

This is great, the more talk about anime culture will turn it from subculture to mainstream culture

[@alexchanyehenara5566]

@PBS Voices I think one of the main reasons why anime and cartoons are popular is because of music. There's a lot of great music in them especially for the opening theme. I feel that if the opening doesn't catch the viewer's attention, they've lost that viewer