The once-low-key anime and manga subculture is now embracing a "painful lifestyle".
Written by | Deep Sea
Cover Source | Visual China
During the just-passed summer, Shanghai seemingly transformed into a "Pain City" for young otakus.
Since July, several major anime exhibitions have been held one after another. Many well - known shopping malls such as Bailian ZX Creative Fun Plaza, Jing'an Joy City, and New World City have already transformed into new otaku gathering places. Here, the flash - mob of the "Light and Night" theme concert took place; there, the limited-time pedestrian street on University Road was transformed into a "Pain Street" themed after "The King's Avatar". In Xuhui District, Shanghai's first "Pain Station" even emerged - the Tianlin Road Hongcao Road bus stop, paired with the "Pain Bus" themed after "Arknights" that operates for a limited time each day.
Arknights Integrated Exhibition Pain Bus, Image source: Internet
One has to sigh that the times have truly changed. In the past, the older otaku groups of the 80s and 90s always concealed their otaku identities, being ashamed to express their "attributes" to the outside world, fearing to be mocked as "rat people" or "nerds". However, the new otaku enthusiasts born in the 00s can often be recognized at a glance in the crowd. They no longer hide their love but boldly display their interests. "Pain Culture" (referring to displaying one's otaku hobbies in prominent places) has become a direct way for young people to express their love, and the "pain" way can seamlessly integrate into every aspect of daily life. On Xiaohongshu, the number of notes related to the topic "#Everything Can Be Pain" is close to 800,000, and the topic's reading volume exceeds 2 billion.
According to the "Otaku Creation Trend Report" recently released by Xiaohongshu, in just two years, the otaku track has become the third - largest content - posting category on Xiaohongshu, second only to fashion and food. Currently, the scale of the otaku interest group on Xiaohongshu has reached 137 million, and the scale of otaku content posting has skyrocketed by 175% within a year.
The new otaku culture has entered the mainstream of popular culture.
The Conspicuous "2.5 - Dimensional World"
When you encounter a grand celebration party in a coffee shop, it may not be prepared for you but for "My Fave".
The table is filled with birthday cakes themed after characters, carefully decorated badges, and acrylic stands. Surrounded by support banners and hand - written blessing cards, along with various materials sent by fellow otakus - this is a perfect birthday celebration for "My Fave".
In the otaku circle, "My Fave" refers to the favorite character that one whole - heartedly loves and supports without reservation. Every otaku may have a virtual character that they love to the extreme, and this profound emotion is not just buried in the heart. Young people increasingly want to express this love obviously in the real world. They call the support rituals of arranging, taking pictures of, and taking group photos with merchandise "Daily Life with My Fave". On Xiaohongshu, over 200,000 people have shared their "Daily Life with My Fave", and the related topic's reading volume exceeds 400 million.
The scale of China's general otaku users has been continuously growing, reaching 503 million in 2024, forming a large and non - negligible group. The new generation of otaku enthusiasts extends their love to the offline world, expressing their emotions towards characters in an explicit way in life. This love has given rise to a unique 2.5 - dimensional culture, which can be seen everywhere on Xiaohongshu.
For example, many people have shared their elaborately decorated "Extremely Fancy Otaku Rooms", placing merchandise around the house in the most prominent positions.
Over 100,000 people on Xiaohongshu have created their own exclusive Pain Cars, parading around with their beloved characters.
Not only in daily life, but also when creating a sense of ritual for important moments in life, the otaku culture is indispensable. @Qingliu from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology spent three hours making a "Pain Graduation Gown" before graduation, pinning all the badges collected over the years on it... "Pain Graduation Gown", "Pain Graduation Cap", and "Pain Bouquet" have become the new "Three Pieces of Pain - themed Graduation Items" for this generation of college students. During the graduation season, the number of related notes on Xiaohongshu has increased by 30 times year - on - year, and the exposure has exceeded 70 million.
Even for a wedding, a significant life ceremony, if a couple are both otaku enthusiasts, the wedding scene can turn into a large - scale "Pain Wedding". @Buhan, who is a player of "Honkai: Star Rail" with her husband, directly decorated the wedding as a large - scale "Honkai: Star Rail" fan - only event, walking into a new stage of life under the "witness" of her favorite game characters.
Xiaohongshu @Buhan, Liberal Arts Student's Entrepreneurship Edition
Anime pilgrimage has become a must - visit travel theme for otakus. Many young people check in at the same scenes as in anime on Xiaohongshu, hoping to trace the footsteps of anime characters in the real world, as if they had really been in this world.
These scenes and rituals that span the virtual and real worlds have become a new bridge for young people to connect the otaku world with the real world. Nowadays, otaku culture has penetrated into every corner of young people's lives and is deeply integrated into their important life moments.
From Sub - culture to Mainstream: Why Has the Otaku Culture Broken Through the Circle?
How did the once - marginal otaku culture, regarded as a niche sub - culture, break through and move towards the mainstream in recent years?
The change did not happen overnight. As the Chinese otaku market has gradually matured, the industry scale has exploded in the past decade, with domestic anime and games constantly gaining popularity. The new generation of otakus who have grown up in a mature otaku commercial system also have very different consumption behaviors from the older otakus.
In the past, otaku culture was equivalent to "idleness", and parents regarded it as a scourge. The term "otaku" was often misinterpreted as a small group of "nerds" who watched ACGN works. Even the otaku group itself was reluctant to be called otakus.
Now, many people born in the 80s and 90s have become parents. They grew up watching anime and have a natural affinity and understanding for otaku culture. Otaku culture is becoming a bond connecting different generations. Someone took his fifty - something father to a comic convention to cosplay as the father - son duo from "Ace Attorney". Unexpectedly, the father was extremely excited when he heard about cosplaying in a group. He was more enthusiastic than his son in taking group photos with cosplayers at the convention, while his son became the more reserved one.
Moreover, a trend of "Grandparent - Grandchild Cosplay" has emerged on Xiaohongshu. Many young girls have taken their grandmothers to cosplay as Sophie and Howl from "Howl's Moving Castle". In the original film, Sophie's appearance turned into that of a 90 - year - old woman due to the curse of the witch in the wilderness, but Howl discovered her kind and strong heart through her old face and eventually fell in love with her.
So, many young people, like Howl, use cosplay to record the unique beauty of their elders as a special gift for them. A user invited her 84 - year - old grandmother to do cosplay. Her grandmother was a "super homebody" who rarely went out and rarely wore skirts for the convenience of doing housework.
When she put on the Sophie cosplay outfit, the whole family was very surprised. "We've never seen this side of grandma. Although grandma kept saying she wasn't good - looking and didn't need to be photographed, I think my grandma is very beautiful."
Different from the previous generation of otaku enthusiasts, the new generation regards otaku culture as a social currency and an identity label and is more willing to "break through the circle" actively. Young people establish a social network based on common interests by cosplaying in groups, attending comic conventions, and taking group photos.
In the past two years, the offline scenes derived from this have witnessed an explosive growth. According to Xiaohongshu data, the number of notes related to fan - made exhibitions and fan - only events has increased by more than 18 times year - on - year, and the topic's reading volume exceeds 4.5 billion. Young people are not only satisfied with the large - scale comic conventions held a few times a year but also hope to visit the exclusive offline scenes of a certain work and enjoy it immersively without reservation. On Xiaohongshu, there are many posts soliciting public opinions such as "If there is an XX - only exhibition in XX (a certain city), will you come?" Many people may even become curators because of their love for a work and hold new fan - only exhibitions in their own cities.
While everyone is complaining about "Why are all the events in Shanghai?", county - level comic conventions in fourth - and fifth - tier cities are also quietly gaining momentum. Even in small counties, there are no shortages of interactions with cosplayers, autograph sessions, autograph - painting walls, and material exchanges at comic conventions, featuring all the necessary elements.
The various offline gathering forms of young otakus are emerging in an endless stream. For example, "Cosplay Photo - taking". One must have some achievements when attending a comic convention. During large - scale comic conventions, otakus are like marathon runners, taking group photos with their favorite cosplayers and then posting the results on Xiaohongshu.
