Caught a guy at a con ranting about how 'anime discussions' are just people arguing over waifu wars now

I was waiting in line for a panel at Anime Expo in LA last weekend and this dude behind me was on a total tear about how this subreddit and other forums have gone downhill. He said every thread he opens is either a My Hero Academia power level debate or someone defending why their favorite character is objectively better than mine. I started thinking about it later and honestly he had a point. I remember when people would talk about themes or animation techniques or even just share obscure recommendations. Now it feels like half the posts are just bait for petty squabbles. The vibe has shifted hard toward competition instead of conversation. Does anyone else miss when we just gushed about the stuff we liked without needing to rank everything?

3 comments

3 Comments

rileygarcia1mo ago

Three years ago I would've rolled my eyes at that guy (I was deep into waifu wars myself, honestly), but now I see his point after scrolling through this subreddit for an hour. The shift from "hey check out this cool animation in episode 5" to "my favorite character could beat yours in a fight" feels real and kinda exhausting. I miss when we shared obscure recommendations without someone jumping in to argue why their show is better.

the_max1mo ago

God the tier list thing hit home hard. I still have a Google Doc from 2020 where I ranked like 40 characters with "evidence" for why Asuna was S+ tier and anyone who disagreed was wrong. Looking back now I realize I was just using those arguments to feel part of something instead of actually enjoying the shows.

drew_jones311mo ago

Wait, you were actually deep into waifu wars? Like you had a whole tier list and arguments saved somewhere? That's wild to me, I thought people just joked about that stuff. Three years is a long time to carry that kind of emotional baggage over fictional characters.