Why have so many of you got anime profile pictures/GIFS?

[LoveTakesManyForms]

As per title? Sorry if that's a noob question. Are anime and suicide intrinsically linked somehow?
Sincerely, an anime noob.

 

[InezSerrano]

I assume many people enjoy anime as an escape from life. Or people who use the internet a lot are more likely to watch anime and more likely to be on internet forums.

 

[FuneralCry]

Anime is popular, I have seen many series in the past. I cannot answer the question though as I have never had an anime profile picture, both the profile picture I have now and my old one reflect how I feel and I see myself in them.

 

[LoveTakesManyForms]

Anime is popular, I have seen many series in the past. I cannot answer the question though as I have never had an anime profile picture, both the profile picture I have now and my old one reflect how I feel and I see myself in them.

Thank you.
For the record I like your picture, although it is sad.

 

[JinZhin]

I'd also second that anime is popular. I also have anime profile pictures everywhere because I watch/ used to watch a lot of it, and I find it's likeable to people who like escapism, fantasy, colorful animation etc. Could be anything
My profile pic is a screenshot from a song MV called Racing into the night by Yoasobi and it's based on a short story about suicide.
here is the link if you want to listen to it.

 

[Dot]

As per title? Sorry if that's a noob question. Are anime and suicide intrinsically linked somehow?
Sincerely, an anime noob.

Slf wndr hw old u r bcse anme = vry poplr w/ ppl in 20s & yngr

Slf sy ths as sm1 in md-30s

 

[KuriGohan&Kamehameha]

Most of the media I consume is anime or drawn a similar art style- for instance, I spent a great chunk of my life playing JRPGs. Until recently, liking anime probably meant you got bullied in school and was a relatively niche interest for westerners. Wearing an anime t shirt to school or something of that nature made you a flashing target as it signalled that you were a "weirdo." Lots of suicidal people find escapism with this flavor of media, I reckon.

 

[Wrennie]

I wonder if there's literally *any* part of the internet that's been untouched by anime…

Or anime *is* the internet itself.

 

[Snake of Eden]

Almost half people here are under 25 so that is a big reason I think. Plus anime style is just gorgeous. Who wont want their avatar to look like that?!

 

[gottago222]

i just wanted a pretty dp as i am a pretty bitch

 

[_Minsk]

Many people just love anime:)

 

[GenesAndEnvironment]

Because I'm autistic.

 

[Insomniac]

because suffering is the main theme of most animes lmao

also you'll notice that not a simple pfp of anime on here is an ugly character. anime characters are good looking.

 

[TheHatedOne]

Because I'm a Johan Liebert enjoyer.

 

[grungeCat]

Because I'm Lee Hoon kinnie

 

[Nanako]

Most young people like anime to some extent these days, regardless of whether they feel suicidal or not. And since this forum is mostly comprised of young people, there's naturally going to be many among our group who like anime. I don't think it means anything tbh.

 

[KuriGohan&Kamehameha]

Because I'm a Johan Liebert enjoyer.

tenma fans versus Johan enjoyers

(johan is a cooler kinnie than mine, kurisu is prolly a mid tier waifu to kin)

 

[Ringo]

I love rabbits, I like Reisen and there is a lot of cute fanart of her, an easy choice right? the usual thing is to use a profile pic of something you like, something you identify with or something you want to represent you. If anime/manga abounds a lot it's because it's just aesthetically pleasing and spread across more mediums like games, print or series, in other words, it's popular so more people are more likely to fit into any of those assumptions above.

 

[Manaaja]

Yes, suicide didn't exist before anime.

People like aesthetically pleasing things and people usually like people (whether 3D or 2D). Anime characters are often aesthetically pleasing. There are ugly anime characters and old anime characters and severely disfigured anime characters yet people almost always use young pretty boys and girls. I swear to you if every anime character looked like an old burn victim, almost no one would be using anime character avatars. People will say "I relate to that character" and while that is true, you pretty much never see people relate to those ugly or old or severely disfigured anime people no matter how much they resemble them.

That's like 99% of the reason, the last 1% is that there are so many different anime characters that it's easy to find one who resonates with you. People who are on the Internet instead of partying/socializing/exercising/etc. are often lonely or introverted or sad or depressed or shy or misunderstood or bullied etc. Those kinds of people really want to find someone, anyone - even just a character in an anime - who understands them. They most often have no or little meaningful/good social lives outside of the Internet, so they live through the anime characters or perhaps with them. And in anime/manga there are lots of shy or introverted or sad or bullied or lonely people with whom many Internet users can relate. And even if you had a bit better social life, you can still find anime characters that feel very dear to you.

And because people often bond with anime characters, people often remember them easily. The brain gives priority those characters. Most people when they are told to think of something they'll automatically think of their family/friends. For many people whose life is on the Internet, the anime characters are their family and friends (subconsciously often). And lots of people have the first or one of the first things that comes to their mind be their avatar. Most people don't give much thought to anything.

Remember that watching anime is often passive. For some people it trains the brain and activates it, but for many it just shuts down their brain. For those kind of passive people it's normal to just go with the first thought that comes to their mind instead of thinking hard "What kind of avatar do I really want?" and "How will people react to that avatar?" and "What would that avatar symbolize?".

Note: When I said "no or little meaningful/good social lives" I didn't necessarily mean "a complete basement dweller". A person can have three "friends", go to movies and restaurants and cafes with them three times a week and still hate it and seek better social life in an anime.

I feel like I could have worded this better, but my brain doesn't work.

 

[LastFlowers]

I don't have an anime avatar but my stupid little phrase under my username is some obscure reference to an abridged version of an anime I didn't even enjoy watching (but the parody is hilarious).

I think anime, like other forms of media and entertainment/fiction/story-telling is simply just another form of escapism and rare enjoyment for many who feel lost, depressed, rejected or ostracized in daily life, it may also be a nostalgia thing, as many of us have fond memories of shows we watched when we were younger (sometimes these are animes), and anime often has a unique blend of childish antics and very adult themes which can also make it feel particularly comforting and unlike anything live action/"real".
It's also become more acceptable and popular in recent years, so you're going to see more and more people advertise their fanaticism or love for the medium openly.
Not just here, but in plenty of other corners of the internet as well, even mainstream sites.

As for a link to suicide..there's plenty of anime that never address the subject, but I suppose anime (and cartoons) in general can address related topics (and taboos) more readily and freely than live-action series or movies where there's too many faces/names attached to a project and endless amounts of trepidation in getting too involved in controversy. (Being a voice or animator in a more esoteric field can mitigate high amounts of backlash, and there's more of a barrier between them and the public.)

As someone else mentioned too, most anime characters are "aesthetically pleasing" (and neotenous) but not too real to feel creepy in growing attached to them.
This is one of the more unfortunate possible reasonings..as it is indicative of the overall superficiality and shallowness of mankind, I rarely see anyone swoon over an anime character that is drawn to mimic an unattractive human being, even if their characterization is arguably superior to the characters who are "easy on the eyes".
Take the recent series "Demon Slayer" for instance, people go crazy over the character of "Nezuko", they are downright obsessed, some fans want to marry her, some fans want to BE her, all because she looks and acts cute, but really has no personality to speak of…besides the sibling bond with the main character, otherwise she's like a guard-puppy.
I can guarantee you that if she was drawn to be less attractive, I would have probably never heard of her character in the first place. (Even the anime itself makes a big deal of her beauty).
This upsets me, and sometimes I do become disillusioned with the whole thing, as well as the fandoms, just like I've become critical of the entertainment business in general and who they most often allow to grace our screens (and who they bar from doing so, and why).

Yes, suicide didn't exist before anime.

People like aesthetically pleasing things and people usually like people (whether 3D or 2D). Anime characters are often aesthetically pleasing. There are ugly anime characters and old anime characters and severely disfigured anime characters yet people almost always use young pretty boys and girls. I swear to you if every anime character looked like an old burn victim, almost no one would be using anime character avatars. People will say "I relate to that character" and while that is true, you pretty much never see people relate to those ugly or old or severely disfigured anime people no matter how much they resemble them.

That's like 99% of the reason, the last 1% is that there are so many different anime characters that it's easy to find one who resonates with you. People who are on the Internet instead of partying/socializing/exercising/etc. are often lonely or introverted or sad or depressed or shy or misunderstood or bullied etc. Those kinds of people really want to find someone, anyone - even just a character in an anime - who understands them. They most often have no or little meaningful/good social lives outside of the Internet, so they live through the anime characters or perhaps with them. And in anime/manga there are lots of shy or introverted or sad or bullied or lonely people with whom many Internet users can relate. And even if you had a bit better social life, you can still find anime characters that feel very dear to you.

And because people often bond with anime characters, people often remember them easily. The brain gives priority those characters. Most people when they are told to think of something they'll automatically think of their family/friends. For many people whose life is on the Internet, the anime characters are their family and friends (subconsciously often). And lots of people have the first or one of the first things that comes to their mind be their avatar. Most people don't give much thought to anything.

Remember that watching anime is often passive. For some people it trains the brain and activates it, but for many it just shuts down their brain. For those kind of passive people it's normal to just go with the first thought that comes to their mind instead of thinking hard "What kind of avatar do I really want?" and "How will people react to that avatar?" and "What would that avatar symbolize?".

Note: When I said "no or little meaningful/good social lives" I didn't necessarily mean "a complete basement dweller". A person can have three "friends", go to movies and restaurants and cafes with them three times a week and still hate it and seek better social life in an anime.

I feel like I could have worded this better, but my brain doesn't work.

Spot on, especially your first paragraph, I read your first two sentences as I was finishing my own reply and was glad someone else recognized that as a common reason people gravitate toward anime characters. They are often exaggerated versions of what we already find physically attractive in living, breathing human beings…then we project all these other relative and appealing traits onto them, whether they actually possess them or not.
Although this isn't technically an anime, even Zuko (a burn victim) in Avatar, is still drawn to be handsome despite his partial face burn, and so people are still likely to have him pop up as their profile picture as well.

Anime puts what would otherwise be seen as unattractive or easy-to-disparage personality traits and life circumstances all behind a cute little face and some of us see that and think "finally, an attractive representation of what I've been suffering with"…but this only happens because the majority of anime characters, by default, are attractive (even when they're a little off looking or drawn in a strange style).
Even the anime characters who refer to themselves as "ugly" are difficult to actually see that way, because, again, most of them are just as "cute" as all the other characters (so we end up having to take them at their word as an audience member, suspend our disbelief).
It's like seeing our torment and torture expressed by a plushy toy.
However in real-life, people who suffer to that degree don't usually resemble an anime character, so sympathy and empathy from others will wane.
I suppose this happens outside of anime as well, as I often see attractive actors/actresses given parts to play which come across as if a privileged person is wearing the disenfranchised's skin for a day, they are playing a part afterall.
I actually think it's harmful in the long-run, though I still appreciate the creative effort that goes into these pieces of work behind the scenes, and I am somewhat grateful for the escapism they have offered me in my times of suffering.
It's simply not without caveats.

Because I'm a Johan Liebert enjoyer.

Can someone explain to me the "fan versus enjoyer" meme lol..? I feel old.

 

[LastFlowers]

I wonder if there's literally *any* part of the internet that's been untouched by anime…

Or anime *is* the internet itself.

Exactly, this is far from the only place teeming with anime images.

I assume many people enjoy anime as an escape from life. Or people who use the internet a lot are more likely to watch anime and more likely to be on internet forums.

Yup, that's true, most of the anime I've seen was streamed via the internet, it used to be harder to come by any other way, especially the hidden gems.

 

[demuic]

As someone else mentioned too, most anime characters are "aesthetically pleasing" (and neotenous) but not too real to feel creepy in growing attached to them.
This is one of the more unfortunate possible reasonings..as it is indicative of the overall superficiality and shallowness of mankind, I rarely see anyone swoon over an anime character that is drawn to mimic an unattractive human being, even if their characterization is arguably superior to the characters who are "easy on the eyes".

You definitely have a point. I have never really liked the "generic cute anime girl" look and art style that is popular with so many people, I find it and franchises centered around that aesthetic boring in general, but there are some anime/manga that don't have that look and have more unique art styles and I tend to be drawn to those.

I think part of it is just demonstrative of a lack of skill or effort, for so many characters to have such a samey or generically attractive look. It is definitely possible draw varied looks under an anime style but I think that points to another problem in the industry which is just churning out as much as could appeal to a certain audience without much concern for quality.

The aesthetically pleasing-ness can be one of the downsides, but it's also one of the things that allows for so much escapism. Everything in anime is beautiful and highly stylized, everything every one does is cool and dramatic, it is removed from real life enough but also appeals to real feelings and heightened emotions.

The uniqueness of anime was what drew me to it at as a kid, the themes and stories were unlike anything in western media I had seen before, which was mostly stuff aimed at kids since I was 11, I was drawn to the more darker/brutal kind of anime because that was what felt real to me. Now, nostalgia is a big factor for me too. It is no surprise that it appeals to a lot of kids and young people, the mix of childishness and adult themes as you said does feel real and appealing to people.

This upsets me, and sometimes I do become disillusioned with the whole thing, as well as the fandoms, just like I've become critical of the entertainment business in general and who they most often allow to grace our screens (and who they bar from doing so, and why).

I can understand that feeling. I've grown weary of this kind of thing as well. While the kind of dramatization/stylization is part of the appeal, it can also be one of the greatest weaknesses. There is a lot of superficiality inherent to humans in general and it only seems heightened nowadays. I do dislike there is so much focus in the real world on being attractive/pretty/etc, and people deriving their own value and the values of others based on that, and that just bleeds into the things people create.

Of course this is all rather simplified and doesn't convey all my thoughts or the depths of the complexities at work in the clearest manner or the exact way I want but I felt I had to say I see what you mean.

 

[LastFlowers]

You definitely have a point. I have never really liked the "generic cute anime girl" look and art style that is popular with so many people, I find it and franchises centered around that aesthetic boring in general, but there are some anime/manga that don't have that look and have more unique art styles and I tend to be drawn to those.

I think part of it is just demonstrative of a lack of skill or effort, for so many characters to have such a samey or generically attractive look. It is definitely possible draw varied looks under an anime style but I think that points to another problem in the industry which is just churning out as much as could appeal to a certain audience without much concern for quality.

The aesthetically pleasing-ness can be one of the downsides, but it's also one of the things that allows for so much escapism. Everything in anime is beautiful and highly stylized, everything every one does is cool and dramatic, it is removed from real life enough but also appeals to real feelings and heightened emotions.

The uniqueness of anime was what drew me to it at as a kid, the themes and stories were unlike anything in western media I had seen before, which was mostly stuff aimed at kids since I was 11, I was drawn to the more darker/brutal kind of anime because that was what felt real to me. Now, nostalgia is a big factor for me too. It is no surprise that it appeals to a lot of kids and young people, the mix of childishness and adult themes as you said does feel real and appealing to people.


I can understand that feeling. I've grown weary of this kind of thing as well. While the kind of dramatization/stylization is part of the appeal, it can also be one of the greatest weaknesses. There is a lot of superficiality inherent to humans in general and it only seems heightened nowadays. I do dislike there is so much focus in the real world on being attractive/pretty/etc, and people deriving their own value and the values of others based on that, and that just bleeds into the things people create.

Of course this is all rather simplified and doesn't convey all my thoughts or the depths of the complexities at work in the clearest manner or the exact way I want but I felt I had to say I see what you mean.

Yea it's a shame the more worthwhile aspects can become sullied by those which echo the exclusivity and appearance-obsessed society we live in.
There are definitely some anime where the characters are drawn to be wayward and almost unappealing, but with some great narratives and things to say…what's sad is that these are the series that people most often turn their noses up at because they are not "pretty" or "cute" enough.

I'm fine with appreciating beauty which is not sentient (like landscapes, etc), because the harm from that type of appreciation is negligible, but once it starts to be associated with human beings (real or a mimicry) and creatures who have feelings and are severely affected by that type of mindset, I have a problem.
The dramatics are also perfectly acceptable to me lol, even the melodramatics (which I normally despise in live-action).
I noticed that I even like some romantic/comedy genre stories when they're in the form of anime…and I normally HATE those!

Like you, I also enjoyed watching anime for the darker (and honest/unwavering) themes that weren't as present in other forms of entertainment, I try to focus on the "internal" and cerebral aspects of what I'm watching, I can also admire the artistry but I still wish the talent and hard-work was used in a different way, more often than it currently is.
You're right though, in some ways anime is unlike anything else, and this means we can glean from it things that simply cannot be found elsewhere.

Of course this is all rather simplified and doesn't convey all my thoughts or the depths of the complexities at work in the clearest manner or the exact way I want but I felt I had to say I see what you mean.

*Also I wanted to say I think you outlined your thoughts in a very clear and concise manner, well-said.
Of course I know what you mean though..there is always more to say, and endless facets of a topic to be expanded upon.
That's probably why I'm so long-winded on here, and yet I'm still left thinking "Damn, but I should have also included this little tidbit" or "Ugh, I could have made that point more understandable if only I said it in a different way!"

 

[Angi]

Maybe it is also about blending in? There are already so many people with anime profile pictures, if you are looking for inspiration anime is going to hit you right in the face.

I find it difficult to choose a profile picture, since I do not want to use a picture to represet me in the first place. At the same time, I realized it is easier to see the connection between people's posts when they use a picture, so I will probably get one. It will likely be a manga character I like, who committed suicide torn up from emotional stress. I think this fits quite well.

Sorry for my tiny little answer, posted right after several long and well crafted posts. Just wanted to add a much simpler reason than the elaborate ones already detailed.

 

[Life sucks]

I just put one, new look

 

[Seiba]

My name is a reference to a visual novel character so having a profile picture of her for a while made sense. I've changed it since then to something else. It's just an image I like the look of, nothing more. I don't really watch anime often at all anymore but it's an aesthetic I'm used to using for profile pictures.

It will likely be a manga character I like, who committed suicide torn up from emotional stress. I think this fits quite well.

What is the manga and the character? It's been a while since I read some manga but I'd be interested in checking out it out if you're fine with sharing. I've rarely experienced media that has suicide have any degree of nuance.

 

[lostautist]

I'm not into anime, but I know lots of people are deeply connected to it, so why not put something that might lift you up or remind you of something you like?

I just changed mine to something that's funny to me... I love the idea of bunnies but their teeth scare me. It seems kinda fitting here in my own odd way.

 

[blueclover_.]

As a fellow anime noob, i have figured out the answer.

Animes are often idealistic, giving hope and child-like positivity which many suicidal people find comforting. Anime is one of the very few enjoyable things in life for many suicidal people.

 

[Seiba]

As a fellow anime noob, i have figured out the answer.

Animes are often idealistic, giving hope and child-like positivity which many suicidal people find comforting. Anime is one of the very few enjoyable things in life for many suicidal people.

Depends on the show really. Some of it like berserk, fire punch, texhnolyze, and so on can hardly be child-like positivity.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Garfield and Friends is my favorite anime.