[Guest Blogger] Why Are We Attracted to Anime Bishounen & Bishoujo?

Hello Heroes and Travelers, today we have a special guest post from the lovely, Arria Cross from over at Fujinsei!! Arria approached me about guest blogging here a little while ago and I was more than happy to oblige! Also be on the look out for my guest post on her site soon!! So join me in welcoming her to Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!! So without further ado, I’m gonna turn things over to Arria!!

Hello, folks! My name is Arria Cross, blogger of Fujinsei, an entertainment blog featuring anime, manga, Japanese & otaku culture. Big thanks to my friend Naja for allowing me to guest post here in Nice Job Breaking It, Hero. Yay!

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“Husbando” and “waifu” are now very common terms within the fandom to refer to fictional characters in anime, manga, or games that you would like to be your husband or wife. Many fans, however, use these terms interchangeably with anime crush.

Non-fans may view us as weird, obsessive freaks. Viral news about a Japanese gamer marrying (not legally) a game character back in 2009 and a Japanese company offering marriage certificates with 2D anime brides just strengthen misconceptions about us. Before anything else, I would like to clarify that these examples are extreme and do not apply to all fans. Most of us may call our 2D crushes “husbando” or “waifu”, but this does not necessarily mean that we’ll go as far as actually “marry” them in real life. In our fantasies, maybe.

Here are some of the most common misconceptions about us:

• We turn to 2D characters because we’re unable to get “real” boyfriends or girlfriends.

Others think that we’re so much of a failure as human beings that we can’t attract “real”, breathing, flesh and blood lovers, so we fantasize about 2D characters instead to ease our frustrations. Or they think that perhaps we are too far gone into our fantasy world that we no longer feel any attraction to “real” men or women.

• We don’t have any social lives.

Others think that we’re anti-social outcasts who don’t know how to function like normal members of society; loners who don’t have any friends. So we, according to them, turn to 2D characters to fill the void in our relationships.

• We are not right in the head. We can’t distinguish between fantasy and reality.

Others think that we must be mentally, er, challenged to be attracted to fictional characters instead of real, breathing, flesh and blood human beings.

Just like how there are different kinds of people in the world, there are also different kinds of fans like us. It’s ridiculous and unfair to generalize us into one big, ugly case of weirdos. Granted, some of us fit into these misconceptions, but certainly not all of us. Besides, even if we are attracted to 2D characters, it doesn’t mean that we’re not capable of forming normal relationships with “real” people.

Why We Are Attracted to 2D Bishounen & Bishoujo Characters

1. They look hot.

Well, duh. But of course, “hot” is subjective. What’s hot to one may not necessarily attract another. Others prefer the beautiful, elegant, and seemingly perfect types; some the clumsy, absent-minded but cute types; while others are attracted to the bad boy or bad girl types. Kudos to the character designers for creating such attractive characters!

2. They have the sexiest voices.

The credit, of course, goes to the amazing seiyuu for breathing life to these 2D characters and multiplying their sex appeal levels. How many of us squeal or have our hearts skip a beat whenever we hear the sexy voices of our 2D crushes? There are just voices that are too sexy that they strum the deepest strings of our ovaries or testicles. Ahem!

3. We grow attached to them.

For many anime, manga and even games, we are able to follow the life stories of the characters. As a result, we sympathize with them and learn to understand their motivations. We feel as if we share their sufferings and triumphs. We start cheering for them to succeed and overcome challenges.

4. They provide us with a means to escape reality.

Escaping reality is not altogether a bad thing. Life can be very stressful; that’s a fact. Some pour themselves a glass (or two) of wine to unwind. Some go for out-of-town vacations or to shopping sprees. Some practice deep meditation. Some read books. These are all legitimate forms of escapism. Ours is the same. We immerse ourselves in the world of anime, manga, and games where our favourite characters live, in order to escape reality for a short period of time. It’s the same concept.

5. Ideal partner or guilty fantasy?

To some of us, our 2D crushes have the qualities we are looking for in our ideal partner. It’s like saying “My ideal man is someone like Usher” or “My ideal woman is someone like Angelina Jolie”. But instead we fans say, “My ideal man is someone like Victor Nikiforov” or “My ideal woman is someone like Hatsune Miku”. We imagine how loved and cared for we would be with our ideal partners by proxy of these characters.

There are some cases, however, where we find ourselves attracted to a character who we would never ever consider liking in real life. An example of this would be the character of Sangwoo from the Korean webtoon Killing Stalking. Sangwoo is a psychopathic serial kidnapper, rapist and murderer. Heaven forbid that there is actually a person in the world who would want someone like him with them in real life. But look at the number of squealing fan girls (and fanboys) who gush nonstop about how hot Sangwoo is, completely disregarding the atrocity of his crimes. Some of us consider characters like Sangwoo as our guilty fantasies. After all, we are free and safe to fantasize as much as we want.

6. They inspire us.

For some of us, our 2D crushes are people we aspire to be. They may have qualities that we wish we ourselves have. For example, the shy ones may be attracted extroverted characters. Or perhaps the character underwent so much pain and setbacks in life but endured and persevered, ultimately succeeding triumphant in the end. These, in turn, inspire us to improve…or attempt to improve ourselves.

7. They make us happy.

Personally for me, this is the most important. We just feel happy with our 2D bishies and bishoujo. Period. Happiness itself is not a sin. As long as we’re not harming others, we’re free to feel happy with our bishie and bishoujo crushes.

Don’t Be Ashamed!

It’s unfortunate that others think negatively about us for finding bishounen and bishoujo characters in anime, manga, and games attractive. This forces many of us to hide our feelings and think that nobody could possibly ever understand us. But you know what? What others think about us is none of our business. What’s more important is how we think about ourselves. If we accept who we are, who cares about what they think? The most important thing is that we’re happy.

Also remember that you’re not alone. There are people like me and Naja who can fangirl and fanboy with you. No shaming. Just fun, passionate, unadulterated fangirling and fanboying.

Finding 2D characters attractive does not make us social invalids. Not at all. On the contrary, it makes us open-minded and more accepting of the unorthodox. Besides, many of us have healthy relationships in real life, in addition to our beloved 2D crushes. We get the best of both worlds! This makes us unique. Don’t be ashamed and be proud!

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Thank you very much for reading my guest post. Once again, special thanks to Naja. Finally, please don’t forget to check out my blog, Fujinsei. You can also find me on Twitter (@ArriaCross), Facebook, and Google+. Have a great day. Cheers!

/Wild Arria Fled/