It’s been a bit of a meme for years now that anime fans and fans of anime adjacent hobbies don’t know how the hell to take a shower. Well, at least I thought it was a meme. I’ve been to a couple of conventions in my lifetime and while I was surrounded by fellow weebs, I don’t remember any pungent smells drifting their way into my nostrils. I was more put off by the clearly lacking social skills than anything else, such as when a couple of people would try to say references to me that I’m supposed to know and bounce off, when I’ve never met this person or watched said series in my life. Regardless, while my social battery was indeed assaulted, my nose stayed unharmed. Apparently though this stereotype is still much more than fiction as I saw a story a month ago detailing where a Japanese card shop had to put out a Tweet to warn customers they will be cracking down on pungent patrons.
The Akihabara store declared that employees will be actively keeping a nostril out for those who didn’t remember to shower in the past week, and if you’re stopped you will have two options. Either consent to being sprayed with either some Febreeze (for free) or some perfume (ranging from 10-20 yen), or be forced to exit the premises. I must admit, the idea of some card playing neckbeard being hosed down with some Febreeze, like that’s going to solve his odor issue, was quite the humorous scene in my imagination. Unfortunately for many conventions and shops apparently that scene is nothing short of reality itself and it continues to paint anime fans (and by proxy doujin readers) in a negative light. I can’t imagine showing up to a convention without showering the night before or the morning of, so it’s still hard for me to wrap my head around these people’s thought process, but I guess there’s simply no concern in their minds for what consequences there may be for others if they don’t shower?
"So you see... that's why I use body spray instead of showering. It saves so much time!"
What is it about nerdy hobbies like this that can account for the correlation between a lack of hygiene? Is it because these people are often socially reclusive and thus the idea doesn’t even cross their minds? Or are they so focused on collecting the latest card pack or whatever that they say “I’ll be 20 minutes late and might miss an Ultra Rare pull if I shower… I’ll just do it later” and then later is too late? I’m simply fascinated by the logic (or lack thereof) that leads to us weebs having this repulsive reputation. Hell I’m scared to go more than a day without a shower if I’m headed to a public place. Are a few fans causing this, or is this a common issue for the community? Have you ever dealt with horrible body odor at a convention or geeky place? Why are nerds the repeat offenders associated with this offense? Put on your cosplay, stuff up your nose plugs, and take a shower before heading to any sort of convention in the comments below!
