Animeunites many people worldwide, yet it also contains some of the most divisive echo chambers of any fandom. It’s not surprising, as fans are very passionate about these stories. Authors usually concentrate on telling their own stories for the joy of their audiences. Still, fans get the luxury of mixing scenarios, universes, and the skills of the characters they love to create endless sources of debate.
Over the years, some of the most divisive opinions have made their mark in the cultural zeitgeist, earning their place in pop culture as ongoing discussions that never seem to end. Anime fans wouldn’t have it any other way; otherwise, what’s the point of enjoying these stories? These debates' originsrange from aesthetic choicesto imaginary rivalries that will never be solved in real life. These are some of the biggest fan debates about Anime that still rage to this day.
15Piracy: Justified or Not?
In the early days of the internet, Anime started to reach a worldwide audience in many ways that were less than legal. Before the big Google buyout, many people followed their favorite shows on YouTube, where rampant piracy was unchecked. Many encoder teams were in place to localize new anime episodes as they went live. It was a road to maturity and a learning process for networks that tried to fight these efforts to no avail.
These days things are different. It took nearly 20 years, but many of the piracy networks of yore have gone legit. Crunchyroll, the beloved streaming platform, was a member of the high seas until they partnered with most anime studios to distribute their works legally. Funimation has also evolved, becoming Anime’s second most popular streaming service.All these legal platforms offer same-day releasewith subs in nearly all regions on Earth, making piracy a thing of the past.
14Dubs vs. Subs
One of the fiercest debates in the Western world poses the never-ending trend of imposing subs over dubs and vice versa. Both sideshave their reasons in place of their preferences. Sub-people state they like Anime much better with the original voices, as the original dub conveys all the emotions intended for the story; plus, reading subs doesn’t take away from the experience, making it more enjoyable, especially regarding certain cultural elements of Japanese society.
Dub people, on the other hand, stand on their hill, pointing out how multiple dubs have accomplished making specific stories way better. Just as sub people, dub fans feel more immersed in the story, especially when certain shows have great dub work. Fans can convey the story’s nuances, especially since they cannot tell when a Japanese dub feels off for some characters.
13Localized Scripts: Justified or Not?
This debate has ruffled quite a few feathers online recently, as both Crunchyroll and Funimation have been caught by fans changing the intent of the dialog in certain characters to reflect Western culture. Somehow, these networks have deemed it acceptableto slide identity politics or Western social commentaryin both subs and dubs, sparking outrage among many fans, especially from purists who are well aware of authors' intentions when portraying specific scenarios.
It’s important to understand that Anime is a Japanese product for Japanese audiences. Most Japanese authors and studios will gladly embrace Western society as part of their fandoms, but they are not bound to change their works to appease Western sensibilities. Japan has a longstanding fan base in Europe and Latin America, and these regions were consuming Anime as intended before it became mainstream in Canada and the USA.
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12Ranking the Big Three
Now this is a debate for the ages among Shonen Fans. The big three is the top ranking for the three most popular stories published in Shonen Jump. Back in the 90s, when Anime started to become a thing in the USA, Dragon Ball was the show that started the conversation. As fans learned more about Manga publishers, it was quickly established that the big three were the longest-running Shonen stories of the early 2000s:Naruto,Bleach, andOne Piece.
Twenty-three years later, Naruto stories are done but continue in the spinoff Boruto.One Piece is entering the last arc of the Manga, and Bleach has been finished for quite some time now. Newcomers to the hobby are looking to establish the new big three, with many contenders such as My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, and Jujutsu Kaisen making the cut fandom-wise but never quite achieving the same status as these works.
11Goku vs. Superman
This debate has been an unending source of discussion among many fans, especially since both characters have similar traits (both were sent from a dying planet to live on Earth, and they become the planet’s protector due to their unique skills). Even amateur animation studios have dared to illustrate the conflict to appease fans. To this date, neither Shueisha nor DC has commented on the debate.
While it’s not our intention to take sides in this fierce debate, it’s always important to look at the feats of both characters to understand why the fandom can get so passionate about it. Goku derives froma race with the power to destroy planetsat will, but he can only do so with training. Superman’s unique biology makes him a living solar battery, and his nearly endless arsenal of powers are part of him, unlike Goku’s Chi which has a limited set cap.
10Saitama vs. Everyone
This debate is probably the most pointless ever, yet everyone in every social network seems to want to pit Saitama against every Shonen character out there. People spend hours arguing about the merits of a fight between Saitama and the likes of Goku, All Might, Gojo Satoru, Anos Voldigoad, Rimuru Tempest, Shigeo Kageyama, and many more. So we’ll take a stand on this one and make our case with our take.
The thing with Saitama is that he’s a gimmick character. He’s supposed to be the embodiment of a Gary Stu on purpose. Although the Manga has further explored this idea, the Anime has made it clearin the two seasons that have aired, particularly in the second one. In the Monster Association Arc, every hero is beaten to a bloody pulp until Saitama enters the conflict and beats every monster he faces with a single punch.
9Anime vs. Cartoon
This pointless debate still rages on across social media, online forums, and every other corner where Anime is discussed. Fans tend to label Japanese animation as “Anime,” and they won’t take any substitutes for the word, while Cartoon is a termreserved for American-produced animation. Then there’s the other side who considers Anime “cartoons” as well since they follow the same narrative principle: telling a story using animation as the medium of choice.
While it may be impossible to quell both sides of the discussion with a compromise, we can do our best to point out the obvious: The kanji for Anime in Japanese (アニメ) is an abbreviation of the word “Animation” (アニメーション) which is a synonym for “Cartoon” or animated features. In short: both terms mean the same, and people keep arguing online over a simple cultural difference.
Related:20 Best Anime Series for People Who Don’t Like Anime
8Waifu Wars
Anime fans have been fighting over Waifu supremacy since the dawn of the internet. Some people take this concept way too seriously and go on to express their love for these fictional characters in the form of physical figurines, body pillows, action figures, and other shows of appreciation. Hundreds of Discord servers are dedicated to discussing the virtues of one’s Waifu over another character.
Most of these appreciation shows are harmless and fun to watch, but more than often, some behaviors are somewhat concerning. Some fans will take the extra step and do some crazy stuff, like Hatsune Miku super fan Akihiko Kondo, who married the character and had software developer Gatebox AI issue a marriage certificate, which they did for the hell of it.
7Fan Service: Good or Bad?
To be clear on this point: the only part of fandom that seems to have any issues with fan service are Western countries such as the USA and Canada. Fan service in Anime is served on two plates. One is the fulfillment of fans' desire for a character regarding a specific plot point like two characters being shipped hard by the fandom or aparticular character fulfilling a goaleveryone desires them to reach.
The other side of fan service, and the one that is often frowned upon by Western audiences, is the overly sexualized portrayal of women in many shows. (Male characters often get the same treatment, but no one seems to have an issue with it). When a character is seen wearing a raunchy outfit or animated with particular anatomy physics, people tend to lose their minds over it. Is this good or bad? Japanese studios don’t care; they keep doing it for their primary audience.
6Old Animation vs. New Animation
There’s no denying that many old anime shows are more charming and better animated than modern shows. This has a lot to do with the ability of studios to pump out content frequently and keep costs effective. It also has a lot to do with the property’s long-term value. MAPPA and Ufotable are two of the most popular studios right now, and they make some great shows for popular IPs, such asDemon SlayerandAttack on Titan. These properties can be licensed to multiple networks to secure more income.
Popular shows get large budgets, hence why they look great. Other studios don’t have that luxury. Toei Animation has the rights to many popular IPs, but they are known for cutting a lot of corners andmaking a lot of filler to keep the shows running, as fans of One Piece and the originalSailor Moonshow can confirm. Smaller studios have to make do with what they are given, which usually results in a cohesive show, spending most of their resources on action sequences.
