What is a Weeaboo?

What is a Weeaboo? Have you ever been called one but don’t know what it means? Find out here, and god help you!

Weeaboo, also known as Wapanese, is an English slur given to people who obsess over Japanese media, and often dismiss all other cultures.

Often confused with Otaku because of their similar interests, Weeaboo often prefer Japanese media (Anime, Manga, etc) over the actual Japanese culture, and believe Japan to be a magical place that can do no wrong.

Weeaboos are not usually Japanese or Asian, and curse their true heritage. They often overly use and misprounce common Japanese words in every day English sentences.

otaku-vs-weeaboo-chart

No matter the term (Weaboo or Wapanese), they are not looked at in a good light by anyone. Otaku constantly try to distance themselves from Weaboo.

otaku-vs-weeaboo-anime-meme

According to Know Your Meme, the term Wapanese was introduced in the early 2000s. It was used as a slur on 4chan and various other websites against those who loved Anime and Manga. More from Know Your Meme explain the introduction of Weeaboo:

“At the peak of its abuse in mid-2005, 4chan moderators devised a creative intervention using the word-filter, replacing every instance of Wapanese with “Weeaboo,” which was a fictitious term originally coined by Nicholas Gurewitch in his Perry Bible Fellowship comic strip (date unknown, comic #62)”

weeaboo-comic-origin

And that’s the basic explanation to “What is a Weeaboo?” You can find more information on subculture terms just like this in my growing Otaku Encyclopedia.