We doujin readers have a bad rap, don’t we everyone? You won’t go long on the Internet before being informed that if you like anime, you probably wear fedoras, are overweight, and have a couple of katanas stashed away in the closet just in case someone challenges you to use 5% of your power by actually usheathing it and whispering “bankai”. Now take these ideas and jack them up by 11 in order to have the stereotypical idea of a doujin reader. Body pillows of naked anime girls covering the room. Naked anime figurines lined up on top of the desk. 500 lbs overweight instead of 350. 10 katanas, one from each of their favorite prefectures in Japan. And of course, a bookshelf collection of over 200 doujins. These are the horrific images that come to mind when I think of how the regular Joe perceives people who enjoy some sexy anime content.

Ah hell we even have breakdown charts now?

Interestingly enough, what made me write this article is what I perceive to be one of the biggest gaps in terms of stereotypical perception and the reality of the situation. For example, saying white people can’t dance. Well, I know a damn ton of white people in my life who can’t dance. Sure there are plenty that can out there, but the stereotype holds some weight in my experience. On the contrary, I don’t think I’ve ever met one person who loves doujins yet fills the criteria laid out in the previous paragraph. Most people I know who read them aren’t even overweight. If they do have Japanese merchandise a good portion of it is “ironic” or otherwise tasteful. In my life the doujin readers I’ve met would be hard to point out from their appearance alone. Some look a bit nerdy and you can guess they’d enjoy them but there’s no solid evidence, while many are almost completely undetectable.

This isn't the representation we needed.

Overall I think these stereotypes are the perfect example of a small portion of people being misconstrued to represent a larger amount of a population. I’m guessing that many people in the comments don’t fall into, and don’t know anyone who falls into, the stereotypes presented here today. But if you do know someone who ascended beyond a weeb and met the criteria listed above, do feel free to let me know. Did I miss some more stereotypes of doujin/hentai lovers? Do you think most of the portrayals are accurate or inaccurate for the most part? Don’t fat finger your comment below!