Yes I have. by my sister. sometimes when I am watching anime I do the normal otaku thing, cry when awesome characters die, sigh or squeal when your favorite character couple confess and/or kiss, get pissed off at the annoying bad guys, and pull in an occasional fangirl scream. But whenever i do that she comes over and starts bullying me about how im such a wack-job. *sigh* she just doesnʻt understand. only anime fans (mostly girls i would think) would understand the scream of a fan when zero kiryuu takes off his shirt!!!! ;)

I have a very close group of friends (4 girls) who actually introduced me to the diversity of Anime and Manga out there, beyond the masterpieces of Miyazaki and Ghibli. So ever since I got into the hobby, I have been respected and helped them feel more secure about their passion at the same time.
One of my friends dislikes manga and finds it incredibly stupid. He thinks the only reason I got into reading manga was because of my gf, which is partially true. But he only messes around and it's sometimes quite funny to watch his face when he walks in on me watching Fairy Tail or some other fanservice-heavy anime.
Someone else from my class once pestered the girls about what kind of hentai they were watching. He thoroughly annoyed them, but nothing more than that.

I'll admit that I've probably been pretty lucky so far with regard to social acceptance of my hobbies and such... although I will be going to live in Brussels after the summer break-we'll see how people regard Otaku there : )

I was never really bullied for anime, but for something ells that doesn't matter. My classmate never made fun of me, they just tease me and say jokingly that I'm watching hentai.

Sure, you'd get teased in middle school for playing YuGioh, but they were enough card players that you found your niche and it wouldn't matter.
But otherwise, anime and manga was big in high school and middle school, and everyone who shared manga in class--it was also in our school library. Probably because everyone watched Toonami. There was an anime club in high school, and people openly wore Naruto Headbands etc. It really wasn't a big deal, if I'm remembering right XD

A classmate of mine "caught" me reading manga in class and he deliberately came up to me and said, "Are you reading that backwards?"
When I replied that yes, I was, he said, "Ew. Those are stupid."
Of course, this was one instance; there were quite a few other ones, in which people thought it was funny to tell me that "black people don't like anime" and/or "I knew you were an oreo (black on the outside and white on the inside)". I often get the occasional jab by "friends" when they don't think I'm giving them enough attention about how "this is kawaii" and "You can use dattebayo as a placeholder for any word".

@OnlyHitsuzen:

I've gone through something similar. You aren't alone, dude. <3

Oh man, don't even get me started. I'm still considered a freak in school because of the things I liked in elementary school. That, and because I'm not mainstream enough. I'm even an outcast among many anime lovers at my school. But that's because most of the people at my school are jerks. But I remember that this one tome, I was drawing something in my frencg class my freshman year and some girl said I wasn't good just because I could draw in the anime style. To be fair, I'm not that good, but it still hurt. And another time, I joined Japanese club, which was essentially just anime club, and at the time, I liked Durarara!!, and when I said that, everyone groaned. I think it was because I think they thought I was a yaoi fangirl or something. Nah, I just liked it because it was cool, had an interesting plotline, and it was made by the same guyvwho made Baccano.

But even so, despite all the bullying and teasing, anime has made me the person I am today. Most of my friends are now into it, my boyfriend's getting into it (it was only a matter of time XD) and I meet new friends because of it. So I'm not ashamed of going to school with a Madoka t-shirt on, or reading Manga in class. It's who I am, and I embrace it.

In middle school I was tortured by the entire class for basically being me. I wasn't really into anime then, but more obsessive with one show, Swat Kats. They were my life and when I used to draw them, I had people snicker and talk in whisper about me because of it. It was extremely hard getting through it, but once I got to high school, anime became pretty much the center of my world and I had a TON of friends for it. Even after graduating high school almost 8 years ago (holy crap..) I still have those friends and even more. Couldn't have asked for a better turn around :)

@cougarsama:

Aw, that's so sweet. *Hugs back.*

Bossman, I'm sorry for spamming this topic.

My fandom hobbies didn't really cause me to be bullied. Maybe teased, especially in a joking manner among friends, but never to the point of being bullied.

I guess it helped that during my time, anime was very popular among students. It was pretty mainstream in our society back then. It probably was more of the other way around; if you didn't jive with the latest trend (e.g. Magic cards, Beyblade), then you would be outcast instead. But I don't think it came to the point of bullying in my school.

I did notice others being outcasted though. But it appears that for some of them, it might be because they have not developed their interpersonal skills that well yet, thus contributing to the likelihood of being outcast. So it's more than just their fandom hobbies. Of course, the type of people who outcasted them can also be a reason.

I think wearing merch made me more of a target but I was never made fun of specifically for it.

Eh, other kids don't harass me for being an anime fan. However, I'm a bit of an outcast at school because I'm nerdy and I don't act like the in crowd. Which is fine with me, because I can't stand the in crowd and I want them to leave me alone. My family is always picking on me for being an otaku, though. My brothers, age 9 and 11, are what I think of as anime philistines. The 9 year old creeps up on me when I'm watching anime at the library, watches over my shoulder till I notice him, and gives me a sort of a disapproving look. Frankly, I don't like being criticized for my tastes by someone who thinks Captain Underpants is high literature.

At the risk of sounding like a bully, this artwork is by moonlit dream. As is the comic Something Impossible. Which hasn't been updated for roughly FOUR. YEARS. Get on that, neh?

I just laugh at them.

@silvershriek:

I don't see why people think anime fans are weird, there are a lot of anime fans in the world, it's no more weird that being a gamer.

We will gladly welcome you into the club

@CelestialSushi:

Ahhhh! That's the one I have. I got it from FYE.

@MewChero:

I was on vacation last year and I saw this one girl wearing the exact same Miku shirt I have :D That was a wonderful thing, even if it was technically insignificant.

Just out of curiosity, what's the image on your Miku shirt? Mine has her kind of chibi, singing, with musical notes and the like.

I hate to single them out but...let's talk about parents, shall we?

I grew up in a nice household. No problems, no poverty, just your average white bread middle class. As a kid, I got no flak for liking Pokémon or Sailor Moon because, in Mom's words, "I don't know what the show's about, but it keeps them quiet for a half hour." (this being me and my sister)

So I find myself in sixth grade or so getting into anime through Miyazaki, and they were definitely interested in what the messages were. They were certainly different than what they grew up with, as I recall the only animation they remember as children was Disney.

They were okay with anime until they learned of the *ahem* "h side" of anime. Granted, you're bound to learn about some time but they were a little more than on edge. I steered clear when it came to matters of such nature. Around this time, the house nearly became a Catholic sanctuary as my mother decidedly changed her life around, physically and spiritually. More power to her, except it brought anime into a new light. One day, she found out I was watching Death Note. What with a sinister name like that, she just about banned me from anime altogether without actually learning what the show was about.

One of the near final straws occurred when I, and this is my fault entirely, but you know when a manga is so good you can't put it down? That was a manga called Ai Kora, and I will admit it was ecchi but very entertaining ecchi. So, instead of homework, I was reading online ecchi. Mom flipped out on me and banned me from using the computer for a week, devoting my homework to paper only.

Now, I've learned my lesson and she's okay with the whole deal. She's actually encouraging me to write for theO, so bonus!

The point I'm trying to make is bullies and parents have the same mindset when it comes to the unknown: they haven't yet been exposed so they deem it foreign and detrimental. The course of action they take is viciously different, but the same principle stands. Help them find an anime they enjoy (if they're willing and open to it), because anime is a varied art. It's all about spreading the love.

As for bullying, I myself have yet to really feel the stigma that comes from being an otaku. Trying to keep secret I'm a 20 year-old brony... now that takes effort.

Thanks for using my picture! ;u;
I was briefly questioned by a random kid in my class in 6th grade... He asked "Why do you read those Japanese comics? They're stupid." or something like that. I just shrugged it off. Besides that, people don't say anything about me reading manga or playing video games.

@Kazamas-Keyblade:

Ouch. Yeaaahh....I still get that sometimes even now. I tend to roll my eyes and ignore it.
But I did get a kid who saw my Hatsune, Miku Shirt who was like, "I like your shirt" and then excitedly ran over to her mom and was like, "MOM. SHE HAS A MIKU SHIRT"
XD
That is exciting.

i haven't really been bullied but i'm shock at how many people look at my "backwards books" like it's from the future. also my friends tend to tease me about the genre that i like such as Slice of Life or Ecchi as opposed to Action stuff but we all tease each other so i can't call it bullying.

One time I brought a Pokemon related book with me to school and left it alone in the room for a few minutes. When I came back it was stolen. It was returned to me at the end of the week, but after that I never brought any sort of book like that with me to school again.

I hardly ever was bullied in school for liking anime and video games. The few instances I can think of were some jabs at my interest in Pokemon from middle school onward (mostly from my dad, oddly enough). And about two years ago, some kind who was 10 years my junior called me a "Narutard".

There were these guys who ganged up on me when playing Super Smash Bros in a high school video game club. I was the only girl in the club, and I remember at least one of these guys picked on me in grade school.

So, I didn't really get bullied for stuff like anime. However, I was constantly being bullied for being a "cry baby" (some kid threatened me with a non-existent gun and I burst into tears), a "fatty", an easy target, "special", and a mean [censored] 'cause I had no friends. While it's true that I'm a sensitive, overweight person with some mental and developmental issues, the last item on that list is outright slander.

I was also constantly being insulted for my musical tastes as well. I guess that kinda fits into being bullied for things I like. I'd give a long list of instances, but that would be getting off topic.

I will say this, though: it doesn't last forever. I wore my Pikachu shirt the other day and I didn't get insulted or stared at or anything. And I don't exactly fit the definition of "kid" anymore (physically, anyway). Once you graduate high school, bullying from your peers does drop significantly. You just have to worry about those anime-hating art professors. They're freakin' EVERYWHERE.

My brother is into the same stuff as me (anime and video games) so we watch and play a lot of stuff together.
My parents teased me a little for liking anime (mostly my dad) but now I've got them watching anime and they've openly confessed to liking Fullmetal Alchemist and Death Note (though my mom quit watching it when L died, I couldn't blame her). Now I'm watching Naruto with them. I've greatly enjoyed watching it with my dad simply cause he completely understands and agrees with my hatred for Sasuke, we can rant about how much he sucks together lol. And much to my surprise, my mom is a Gaara fan lol.

I've never really been bullied for liking anime and manga. I'd have people asking why I always drew guys' stuff ('cause I liked mostly shonen at the time and was drawing from Beyblade), but that was about it. Most people liked my drawings, and if anyone had anything to say about the few times I went around with my hair like Haku from Naruto, I never heard it.

In middle school I used to get a lot of "Why are you reading colouring books?" "Why don't you read regular comics?" and ENDLESS earfuls of "You're reading backwards! Why are you so dumb?" Luckily, around the same time I found an anime drawing club, so I had a circle of friends who liked the same things as me and we kinda helped each other out. And I was also lucky enough to have friends in school that were respectful towards my drawing and interests as well.

I find that now in my later teen years (I'm 17), I get a lot more flak from watching animated movies than I do reading manga or comic books or playing video games. I have a great community of friends on tumblr who have the same interests, as well as most of my RL friends, but I've gotten some weird looks/questions from people who I don't know that well concerning animated movies. Nowadays, when people ask about my interests, I just say that I am interested in animation. (It lets me dodge some of the more awkward questions, plus they assume I'm an art student).

Also, yay for Akioh's art. :)

EDIT: I totally forgot about this! I also have a Miku wallet, and a lot of the time when I pull it out people go "Oh, I love Hatsune Miku!". So that's kinda cool.

I haven't been openly bullied for liking anime or sporting such merchandise (such as my wonderful PSYCHO-PASS travel mugs I recently acquired in the mail c;). However, I do get those awkward stares from people who are trying to figure out why I'm 18 and still into "kids cartoons." It honestly doesn't bother me anymore. I don't worry about what others have to say.

Maybe it wasn't bullying, but I was scared out of my wits by some guy who saw me playing my 3DS and saw it as an opportunity to HIT ON ME @_o (I was sitting, all alone, in a hallway minding my own business) I feel like now, unless I'm with my brother, I can't play my 3DS in public anymore TT_TT

The worst part (aside from the grandiose gesturing, bowing, and use of flowery language) was that this guy was apparently a fan of geekery, too... but looked like what you'd imagine the stereotype to be (on the larger side, oily-looking hair, etc.). I mean, I'm a geek myself, but... o_o I felt super-uncomfortable.

But I certainly have been called weird by my peers before. Just not for liking anime, manga, or video games.

I find it funny that 'game controller' and 'couch' are actually written on these objects and ironic that 'love' that is written on the t-shirt of that rude girl. I know, it is not that important. xP

About bullying, hmm... We had a different society and views just after the war. One can say that there were groups and they all protected these in between, like me who was not in either group, but helped them all.
Personally grew up with video games and anime and also influenced those around me, so I also grew up with friends with the same or similar interests as me. But I do know that I was not so open about those, because here is the thing. Not many actually knew what that all was, so they can't judge you upon something they see the first time. There were some bad things now and then of course, but it is all gone now and when you get older and more experienced you get to know how to treat others and how to make them treat you.

@MewChero:

I had a similar experience.
I wore a "Code Lyoko" shirt and my friend spilled yogurt on it (By accident).
On the bus, there was this big jackass who said "What's that on your shirt"? I said "Yogurt."
He sneered back "No, that retarded shit on there."
the way I snapped back was a bit weird, though. I couldn't be blamed, though, I was in 3rd grade and had no control over my reactions.

Yeah. I wore my first and only anime shirt to school once,(it was a Naruto shirt btw) and had a boy go, "You watch Na roo toe?" in a mean tone. :I and I proudly said yes. And I used to get made fun of for reading "backwards" books.