Where Do Waifus Come From? - A Taste of Database Animals by Hiroki Azuma

[@RogerSmith2004]

I definitely would consider myself a database viewer, as I tend to understand things pretty much through the other things I have seen prior to it. I do often question myself what is the value of this repetition and seeing the same things over and over in different forms. It's still not something I understand very well, in fact I find it kind of overwhelming and maddening to think about how many times I've seen the same ideas in stories (not even in just anime itself, I think back to literature studies I did in school, too, and how many "coming-of-age" titles alone I had read). While I do respect Azuma's viewpoint considering I do think it worked as a good blueprint for what came after it, I can't see it as a negative. Mostly because the market has never proven itself as too small to fit all sorts of ideas within it, and in general most things are based upon something that came before it, nothing is completely original. Thinking back to the waifu in particular though, I think you can pretty much make anything moe. We can look at say, the train otaku, and how they are able to find moe in the idea of a steam engine trying its hardest. And it has gone so far: the Platelets in Hataraku Saibou, the whole premise of Akikan!, moe Afghanistan as described in The Moe Manifesto, etc. So I think the limit to something like that, is near unlimited in that regard. The feeling can still be fresh, and yet also familiar.

[@Flugmorph]

great comment, finding myself in these words.

[@osemu1697]

The thing about literature though is that it's enmeshed into a hierchical nod to other works of art, the "tropes" or similarities in stories and storytelling form a grand narrative, the story. Database consumption is different however, it lacks a grand narrative and it lives in a simulacrum, a self-sustained product with no original. By participating in database consumption, all you're doing is acknowledging that you are staring at a patchwork of arcs/tropes/character design for the sake of consumption, participating in a market of markets, "self-contained booru".

[@HidinginPublic]

Every time I see Urban edit it makes me mad that he doesn't post more. Good video

[@Kamimashita]

Hey everyone, we're about to hit 14K subscribers! As I've said before, we're doing subscriber milestones, and the first one is a Q and A! If you have any questions you'd like for me to answer, about my process, what I feel about certain shows, or really anything, leave a comment below this pinned comment.

[@brokePC]

Will you do more (favorite) scene analyses?

[@Sasbekt]

Racheal (tog) or myne (shield hero) who do you like more

[@LGOKUL2303]

What drew you into the world of anime? And, What's your favourite one so far? P.S Loving your vids, keep it up! ^_^

[@monsoonofthememesofdestruc5449]

Who's your favorite anime/manga villain, and why?

[@BlueMatty]

Firstly, congratulations :). Secondly, how important do you personally find atmosphere in anime? Mushishi and Haibane Renmei are some of my favourite anime for example, and atmosphere is a large part of why.

[@baronvonbeandip]

"What makes a waifu a waifu?" Man's out here asking the real questions.

[@takeruinae]

Database, database, just living in the database... woaaaaah!!

[@efhi]

I can't help but see this in a negative light. Anything that can break the impression of such database fishing would be perfection by such thinking. Also, great video. Added to favourites.

[@BacoLouco]

Another great video my dude, I totally agree with what you said about EVA, it's also one of my favs, but I couldn't care less about the "plot". In the end art is about pressing your inner buttons, and yes anime has innovated, but it's still incredibly incestuous. Would love to see more Meta analysis of these concepts, particularly connect to certain genres, like cute girls doing cute things and Magical Girl shows

[@Sasbekt]

A vid on waifu *Clicks faster than the speed of light*

[@NothingToNipahAb0ut]

Amazing video! The entire part about the "evolution of the waifu" in the context of creators refining them more and more to otaku's interests (sometimes at the expense of plot, going for a pure character appeal) makes me think of VTubers. They are basically still waifus, being a collection of character types and parts picked from the DB, who have stripped themselves from things like "plot" and just exist to perform for their otaku audience, with the added benefit of interactivity. They've been gaining so much popularity these years, and otaku being the DB animals they are, each and every one of them has a wiki article of their own, which catalogue their individual traits (tsundere, onee-san, catgirl, etc) as well as the type of content they tend to stream. It really feels like the next step of waifu evolution, especially in these streaming-leaning times

[@shira_yone]

_"creators refining them (waifus) more and more to otaku's interests"_ I think it's not that they're catering to other people's (otaku) interest, it's just that the creators are commonly otaku themselves and are creating things that they personally liked. Of course, influenced by existing works (the database) that have shaped their preference.

[@SocraTetris]

I think some aspect of this can be seen in any serialized, visual medium for telling stories. In American comics, the affect of a long history surrounding a single IP / Character acts as a short hand for themes and narrative that can be explored further in comica outside of any notion of "continuity." But without that foreknowledge, the stories arent meaningful to anyone outside of comic-fandom. In anime (manga too, but perhaps less so), the affect is split further between appealing character design traits, but only for the long standing "otaku" who is a high volume consumer. New fans and long-time fans will be more interested in setting, story, and character development over character design once they live the middle, high-volume consumption phase. I think we are seeing anime enter a phase that is beyond the Moe-Boom, as features of moe became mostly synonymous with anime as a whole. We are more in the early stages of a Cartoon-Boom, where, just as early anime was inspired by Disney, and modern cartoons are inspired by anime, anime is diversifying away from its norms to find new ways to re-adapt the fundamental principles of animation.

[@bdinh3130]

Decent enough take. One important correction though. Azuma was very careful to distinguish "postmodernism" and "postmodernity". The former being a very specific line of thought based on structuralism and Marxism that you can argue, like many have, could have only emerged from the rupture of postmodernity. And the latter being as Azuma states it plainly, the cultural world since the 1960s/70s. The significance of this period in history which we broadly consider the start of postmodernity being that " the fundamental conditions that determined the constituents of culture changed within late -capitalist societies". To quote Azuma himself. So this notion of "popcornification" that you allude to isn't "a result of postmodernism". You can say it is a symptom of postmodernity which is what Azuma argues for. But it isn't because of the French ruining everything forever lol. Despite what youtube skeptic sphere like pajama Watson and the amazing ass bannana would want everyone to believe. Don't mean to "ackshually.png" you but it is an important distinction because of how it can be so misinterpreted like this. It's also important to understand that Azuma is from a line of Japanese philosophers that of course engages with western thought. One of those being Marxism so his dialectic on consumer behavior and the "animalization" of otaku within postmodernity is very much influenced by that. So it is useful to be somewhat familiar with Marx before reading database animals. I recommend you remove any hesitancy you have on engaging with Marxist thought until you read at least some secondary literature on it.

[@erejnion]

Haven't seen the video yet, but well. Design language. The manga style has a really clear aesthetic that practically telegraphs things like gender and personality. You've learned how to identify the aesthetic hooks that the manga style uses, so even randomly generated image in that style will randomly generate hooks that you can use to built a character in your mind. This is just a function of the highly stylized and idealized art style.

[@erejnion]

Haruhi is a great example: most of the influence that created Haruhi is in fact Western fiction. It doesn't have much to do with the school slice of life genre in its inception. It actually uses the school life genre to ground the ideas and to gather them all in one place. It also does characters really well... but it was the ideas that were first. Isekai also is moved by ideas, not by characters. Every author uses isekai in a different manner. FUNA uses it to leave her characters go unhinged by the shackles of modern society. Stuff like Overlord or Maou-sama Retry use it to show your love for the characters you yourself have created. And then there's just the idea for making a comedy. It's the idea first, and only then devising a character to present this idea. Of course, there's also badly done isekai, like Honzuki (I still have no idea what the idea for that was). But there's badly done anything.

[@Flugmorph]

This video went places I never expected based on the premise layed out in the first few seconds, kept me on my toes and was constantly interesting. Also loved the use of music and editing here. Fantastic job! also kokona is love

[@RinInABin]

This channel deserves way more love Love your shit my guy Always looking forward to your next upload

[@PrimoItoko]

Kamimashita: I also can't count how many of those were FGO characters. Me: Gacha Hell flashbacks intensifies

[@madao7865]

Appreciate the clip at 3:36 being in the video ;)

[@eruu]

Hey Kami, thought you'd want to know that this was actually used in my school's class on anime academia to explain Azuma's ideas. It was surreal to hear your voice in a college lecture. Keep up the awesome content!

[@mcha226]

I donno, I consume EVA for its grand narrative

[@daniellehowell4339]

Love you content, but your outro is what I live for.

[@TheSpeedlion]

KZbin gave me this video in my recommended section and, man... I think you're on your way to become a powerful force amongst the anime youtubers. This video was a strong one in a lot of aspects and if you're able to emulate in future videos, you'll only grow. Keep it up! I recommended you to a few of my friends and they seem to like your content too! Eagerly awaiting your next video in two weeks!

[@Second_ace]

This is a good video and I recommend it to anyone

[@zomfgroflmao1337]

On one hand that is why these copycat studios that reuse character designs over and over are so annoying, but on the other there is still a lot of room for fresh styles and expression, even if you take those more formulaic designs. There are artists that create distinct but category fitting designs you will learn to associate with certain artists over the archetype even though they are a certain archetype.

[@jaggers-6220]

So the title is simply Waifu Instrumentality Projekt

[@manuc.260]

I'm here to tell you that this industry, under Haruhi, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that anime of the otaku, by the otaku, for the otaku, shall not perish from the earth But for real, great, profoundly interesting and thought-provoking video

[@Wavyles]

Super late haha but I really liked this video. I wish he spoke on school-live since there was a lot of shots with them in the video. I loved that anime. The concept of why we have waifus is pretty interesting to explore.

[@SecretIdentityStudio]

I know that's not the point of the video, but WaifuLabs is so fun. I've been contemplating for ages doing a video just reconstructing actual characters in it. Seriously, though, great thesis! No one wants to be told the things they love are generic and meaningless, but I think that's the wrong message to take. Of course there's a collective of ideas forming stories, and that's fine.

[@eugenefindit]

For me, when it comes to waifu preferences, somehow hairstyle is an aspect that strikes me first and foremost. To put it bluntly, I tend to favour girls with straight hair rather than curly hair, which honestly doesn't account for much. But I guess the major determining factor is their personality. And I am a huge sucker for the shy but caring character trope. On the other hand, I found out that I kinda have a thing for girls with 2 extreme personalities (as long as they are not mindless killers that is). It's crazy how many times I have been so invested in an anime just because I want to see more of a girl that caught my attention. 😁

[@OtakuBox]

Such an interesting idea and a really cool concept being explored here, didn't expect the questioning of our existence as anime consumers to be brought up on a Sunday afternoon. But I also agree that there's so much more that's not just scouring the database and especially because I think a lot of people are tired of being fed database archetypes which is why so many different and unique shows are garnering attention, though like you said, we can also just have both and enjoy it all in different ways which is the beauty of an expansive art form.

[@octosquid8.107]

HOLY SHIT I ACTUALLY SAID "NOT REALLY" WHEN YOU RESPONDED

[@asianjesus9813]

Lum is the mother of all waifus

[@fernandadp94]

Thsi was indeed different. But interesting, thanks : )

[@animeking17]

Great video!

[@happyfushoku815]

7:14 Now this is a true message of peace

[@LuizFelipe-lk1hs]

I thought you would be throwing broad elements of common waifus so most people would think "yeah, he is definitely talking about my waifu" I wonder how my waifus, which usually are more independent characters, would be fit with more common waifus.

[@GilLiesHere]

👀👀👀

[@Elitist]

holy fuck that waifu site is terrifying i got one that looks like a fucked up psychotic nightmare version of an anime girl and it has triggered every flight or flight reaction in my body instantly. jfc.

[@MegaRad666]

MIO HONDA TOMBOY AAAAAAA

[@BlueMatty]

"Evanfeet0" why

[@Flugmorph]

goteeeem

[@animeking17]

Lol

[@saintyoo]

Database Animals brings up some interesting points but I always seem to miss the point when it's mentioned. The character design intro is exactly like describing someone's personality by thier "resting bitch face". Sharper eyebrows make someone seem more intimidating. A wide open stance can be profiled as confidence and outgoing-ness. It's just kind of obvious that a lot of it just boils down to natural biology. Pop music, kpop, western movies all have communities, tropes, archetypes and languages of thier own. A lot of the marketing is driven towards an audience's demand for popular archetypes and stories. So in the end, I just don't get it. Why is Database Animals so widley discussed and sited? Why make the term "database" when other similar terms already exist in other mediums? Was it so widely brought up because of the anti-moe counter movement in anime communities? I don't remember if I've talked to Joe or Roger about it but I've talked to others in the TA server but it still hasn't really helped me understand it much.

[@Starwarp02]

i think alot of it does have to do with the anti moe movement. but yea your right everything has tropes movies games whatever. Ex: Generic action movie or shooter.

[@yutakeda9979]

woah.

[@wangminzhi9652]

Waifu evolution

[@wangminzhi9652]

Waifu metamorphosis

[@unkindledasha7309]

Kaiji best waifu

[@npc6817]

F

[@baronvonbeandip]

F

[@suppeeps7492]

Finding the waifu simulator was so... surreal. Like you can easily make a cute waifu; does that devalue mine? But when I thought about it, my waifu wasn’t necessarily dictated by her design, rather it helped extenuate her characteristics. CRISIS AVERTED.

[@Jackisboy]

Evanfeet0

[@realkingofantarctica]

Nah fam, my waifu's Senjougahara.

[@theMoporter]

I'm pretty baffled by that last comment on post-modernism. All anime is post-modern.

[@hitori3667]

Woke

[@CaseNumber00]

I blame idol anime.

[@Hanzel06]

BRO WHERE ARE YOUR 100K SUBSCRIBERS?

[@megamcee]

With all this talk about the *database* you have a critically low amount of Log Horizon OP.

[@carlosanthony4972]

I don't really understand the point of this video. How exactly are waifus born from the database different from characters in any other form of fiction? You say that they're different because they are made first and then the stories written around them but that's a thing that has been happening since before Anime has existed. You talk about how you can't trace a character's influences back to individual other character but you absolutely can if not the entire idea of character design signaling characterization wouldn't work. The only reason it is even possible to guess what a character is like off of their character design alone is because of their influences from previous characters. Also Evolution isn't inherently linear.

[@FishSkeleton-]

I don't think I agree with the argument of the video. Everyone has their type(s) when it comes to romantic partners or what we find attractive in other individuals, and given that it's hard to find genuinely unique people with wholly original personalities, yeah, when said personality types are portrayed in media there will be a lot of overlap in how they are written. Art mimics art, yes, so it's fair to say that many of these character archetypes have been lifted from older works, iterated upon, refined over time by the anime industry as a whole, and so on, but art also imitates life, and a real life happy-go-lucky person doesn't need to be inspired by an anime genki girl to act that way. That's how millions, if not billions of people have acted throughout history, and that's just one personality type. Any generation could have come up with that archetype by observing real life and making fiction based on it, whether we're talking about that genki girl, a 'tsundere' girl who's really just shy romantically and hides their affections with brusqueness, or some other one like the cold, analytical megane character. That's why these types of characters have always existed and always will exist so long as humans do, even if society collapses and we somehow lose all known media. People will just observe the quirky ways those around them behave and then we'll have the same characters sprouting up all the same. But, that's just my two cents. The video has a fair take, I just don't agree with the opinion presented.

[@Vraelf]

Seasonal waifu people: 02, Nezuko, Rem Real people of culture: Revy, Balalaika, Hanekawa Tsubasa, Noi, Holo What can i say, i love the kind of women that can kick my ass.

[@npc6817]

Senjougahara best girl fite me

[@baronvonbeandip]

If you think you can come into this snail-borhood and not give the 2x bow, 2x clap, bow and monetary offering, you are gonna provoke a gang war.