I've felt like that but the rare times I've tried to escape my neetdom I've come back very quickly.

I'm 32 and I have to remind myself that my life is radically different from others, therefore I cannot reach their objectives. I have to have my own.

It can be a real bitch if you have no passions or interests, but if you do, it isn't so bad. In a way, it is better than being normal, because you get to do what you actually care about, whereas the others have to pretend to care about what they do. But I generalize.

I'm a Ford Driver, I'm just on TC for the anime

(USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)

I'm feeling so old I no longer feel 'I'm too old for this' because I first started feeling 'I'm too old for this' so many years ago that the effect wore off.

>>28515
Drive Foreign.

i"ve just started the journey.

>>28500
I thoughr you died, Natsume.

I'm somewhat young and I already feel like I'm too old for otaku stuff. I enjoy it on rare occasions but bright colors, wacky games, outlandish stories and all of that just feels... childish at some point.

>>30943
>I enjoy it on rare occasions but bright colors, wacky games, outlandish stories and all of that just feels... childish at some point.

>>30943
There's a lot of variety in all that you mentioned. Why not go for opaque colours, serious games, realistic stories and so on?

>>30945
Maybe. A real shame it has to be that way for me.
>>30946
From what little of that I have tried I found it just kind of depresses me which is why I preferred lighter stuff in the first place up until now.

"i'm too old for that kid stuff" said the very mature respectable adult
i forget which one

Damn near everyone gets too old for this shit. Make all the jokes you want but how often do you come across 30+ year old anime fans? Lets be real here, it gets awkward trying to fit in with these communities when you're nearly twice as old as the average fan. Doesn't help when anime/manga almost all takes place in school these days or is centered around teenagers. The older you get the harder it is not to feel like a creep. I can't see myself living any other way and might end up being the rare 50 year old weeb myself, but that thought scares me.

>>30952
>Make all the jokes you want but how often do you come across 30+ year old anime fans?
I don't come across anime fans in general.

>Lets be real here, it gets awkward trying to fit in with these communities when you're nearly twice as old as the average fan.
I can speak only for myself and my experience with anonymous communities but since the persons themselves don't matter in those, I don't see why the age should while discussing otaku-related stuff.

>Doesn't help when anime/manga almost all takes place in school these days or is centered around teenagers.
That has nothing to do with the target group (also almost all is a little bit exaggerated in my opinion). A lot of anime is about cute girls doing cute things but the audience they are pandering to actually is older otaku.
Even when the target audience is little girls (not cute because 3DPD) like with a lot of mahou shoujo anime there's still a ton of older people liking it. You can see a lot of middle-aged anime otaku in the audience on events. There's also a nice senryuu about it (and despite the guy who wrote it being in his 20s, I'm pretty sure that there are plenty of similar cases with older guys):
プリキュアを
娘卒業
父現役
Which is about a father who still watches Pretty Cure despite his daughter already having been grown out of it.


>The older you get the harder it is not to feel like a creep.
That's also pretty subjective, dude. If you really like it, there's nothing wrong with it. Being self-confident or at least accepting what one likes is pretty important, I think.

>rare 50 year old weeb myself
They aren't that rare. You can see quite a few of them in otaku-related events in Japan.
I'm pretty sure there's around the same amount (in relation to all anime otaku of course) in other parts of the world, it's just that there are not a lot of events in the western part of the world.


There's also plenty of grown-ups who are still into western-made children stuff.

I'd even argue that if there is something you really/truly like, you just can't "grow out of it" whatever it is similar how you can't grow out of loving someone (maybe going a little too far here but still)

tl;dr sure a lof of people's taste changes throughout their years but "being too old" alone is not a good reason since there are a lot people who are old still liking it.

>>30949
That's a pity. Maybe give 3D series a try. I personally wouldn't recommend it otherwise, but ultimately you should go for content that entertains you.
>>30952
>Damn near everyone gets too old for this shit.
There is no such thing as "getting too old" for any hobby that isn't overly physical.
>how often do you come across 30+ year old anime fans?
Why is this relevant? Do you watch anime or read manga for the sake of others?
>it gets awkward trying to fit in with these communities
>The older you get the harder it is not to feel like a creep.
Why are you trying to fit in with communities that places value on age being an important gate for the enjoyment of a medium? Maybe you should stop relating your hobbies and interests to a sense of community? If "not fitting in" makes someone stop doing things they like, they're no different than a normal.
>that thought scares me.
It shouldn't.
>>30953
>Being self-confident or at least accepting what one likes is pretty important, I think.
Indeed. I quote it because I do find it very important myself, and I have encountered dozens of people who are or end up being miserable because they're unable to think for themselves and can't avoid submitting to peer pressure, even if it's just thought-based (as in, no actual peers, just the notion). Great post overall.

>>30953
> since the persons themselves don't matter in those, I don't see why the age should while discussing otaku-related stuff.
Younger people tend to speak in very different ways using differnt lingo and phrases you might not be familiar with, making it challenging to relate to them or discuss things with them.
Just imagine if all your friends were five or six years old, Imagine trying to hold conversations with them. Do the same for 12 year olds, then late teens if you're in your mid to late 20s. Everyone feels like they're still a kid on the inside until they actually interact with some. People gravitate to like minded people, that's why we're on this site after all. It's only natural to like being around those such as yourself and find it awkward to be around those who aren't. I've met my share of people half my age I could get along with, but they're typicly a poor representation of their age group. Besides, it takes more than a shared interest in anime to make for kindred spirits.

It's hard enough to relate to characters and stories when it's set in a different country with a different culture, but then you add on that media targeting a different age demographic too and it becomes that more alienating. You could claim it doesn't matter but chances are most of the stuff you watch was made for people in your age bracket or gender. If not, good on you for challenging norms but exceptions don't make rules.

"in Japan" being the keywords there.

>>30954
You tell me what "this" is then in OP's post if not referring to this life style rather than just watching anime or reading manga. If this was only about watching anime and reading manga, wouldn't this have been posted on one of those boards? I'm talking about the life style, culture, and community, not just a type of media. That includes unsustainable stuff like being a hikki or NEET, sorry if I didin't mention the life style specifically. I forget sometimes how careful I have to be with my choice of words here.

And because I can see where this is going, I'd like to inform you and >>30953 that I'm not judging you or saying you can't enjoy weeb shit when you get older. I was just offering my two cents about why so many people get "too old for this shit" (and they do, deny it if you want but they do). There's no need to take this personally, like what you like, watch what you want to watch. Just don't blame kids for getting too old for Barnie, teens for getting too old for power rangers, or 30 somethings for getting too old for anime. That's life, chewing me out wont change that.

feel like i can't fit in or relate with the people who share my interests anymore, like an old man skate riding with a bunch of teens.
but there's nothing out there for me, so whatever

>>30955
>Younger people tend to speak in very different ways using differnt lingo and phrases you might not be familiar with, making it challenging to relate to them or discuss things with them.
Makes sense, I guess. Wouldn't know because English isn't my first language, I only communicate in English on the Internet and I don't really talk with people in real life.

>It's hard enough to relate to characters and stories when it's set in a different country with a different culture,
I don't think the country or culture matters that much for relating to the characters. Sure there's some culture-related stuff that might be confusing but I think most of it is pretty global, else there'd be way less people enjoying media from countries with different cultures.

> but then you add on that media targeting a different age demographic too and it becomes that more alienating.
For people who don't share the taste of the majority of the target audience but that doesn't mean that a lot of people outside the target demographic can't enjoy the work too.
Also the target audience of anime isn't only young people, there's a lot series who are for older people. Almost everyone reads manga in Japan regardless of age and even in western countries (I think) quite a few old people read comics.

>If not, good on you for challenging norms but exceptions don't make rules.
The majority tends to be part of the target demographic (since they obviously try to make it appealing for the target audience) but I wouldn't call people outside exceptions since they are not few and it's also common for good fictional works to not only be appealing for people inside their target audience.

>"in Japan" being the keywords there.
Like I said those events don't really happen anywhere else but I can imagine older people showing up on western events for western child-associated media stuff. Don't know since I'm not familiar with most western stuff let alone their events.

> I'm talking about the life style, culture, and community, not just a type of media.
Most of what I wrote still applies. Community shouldn't hinder your enjoyment. If you stop being a "weeb" (however you define that), then that lifestyle/culture is not for you, I guess. But I also doubt it's something limited to age or rather I doubt you stopping living that life style/culture being caused solely by you getting older.

>that I'm not judging you or saying you can't enjoy weeb shit when you get older.
I actually didn't feel judged, it felt to me more like you're judging yourself with stuff like
>being the rare 50 year old weeb myself, but that thought scares me.
which I gave my two cents about why that's not necessary. If you stop liking this shit, it's fine, but don't try to force yourself to stop liking it only because you're afraid to be a 50 year old weeb.

>about why so many people get "too old for this shit" (and they do, deny it if you want but they do)
>Just don't blame kids for getting too old for Barnie, teens for getting too old for power rangers, or 30 somethings for getting too old for anime.
Like I said I don't blame them for their tastes changing but my whole point is that it is not caused only by them getting older.
The lots of 30+ anime fans prove that (even if you argue that it's only limited to Japan which I doubt but can't disprove since I haven't seen old people on western events/generally am not interested in them, it still shows that "getting too old" is not a valid reason since they are "too old" and too many to say they are an exception).

If people always like the stuff which targets their demographic that just means they have generic taste (no offense) and for bunch of them you could wonder if they really like it or just let themselves get influenced by society/community. There's probably more people that aren't honest with their preferences only because it's socially looked down upon to like stuff in their demographic.
To add on that I believe that part of the reason why "normal" preferences are normal is the leading society promoting it and not because it actually is something liked by the majority but that's just a conjecture on my part.

>>30954
>3D series
Do you mean 3D as in live-action tv or anime that uses 3d models?
I'm assuming the former in which case, I actually did watch those for a while until I got bored of them. One that I used to like was the show Monk. I hate to sound like the difficult sort who doesn't take any advice but what I've said so far was true for me.

>>30976
Not only live-action tv series, but shows in general, including news-casting, documentaries, contests, etc. Maybe you have fun subliminally-learning and just haven't noticed it or something like that. For example, a week ago or so I stumbled upon a youtube clip with a Japanese show of people trying to climb stairs drenched in slime. It was a hilarious, none of the contestants were mocked and the spirit of the show was innocuous. i.e. good fun at nobody's expense and it was noticeable how the participants were enjoying it.
>I hate to sound like the difficult sort who doesn't take any advice
In your defence, it's not like you asked for advice either.