Many, many schoolgirls are involved.
Unless the two of you happened to meet at an anime screening, there’s a certain amount of risk when you first tell someone what Japanese animated franchise you’re a fan of. Sure there’s a chance that revealing exactly where your passions lie will elicit an excited “Oh my gosh, I love that show too!” But at the same time, your declaration of anime loyalty could end with your conversational counterpart nervously laughing and saying, “Oh, I didn’t know you were into that sort of thing.”
To help pinpoint these potential pitfalls, Japanese website Shirabee polled 1,338 men and women between the ages of 20 and 69, asking them which anime would weird a person out to hear someone else is a fan of it.
Let’s take a look at the top ten responses.
10. Girls und Panzer (34 votes)
Despite Girls und Panzer being first announced with a promise from the director that it would have “no pantie shots,” it still finished high on the list. Professed chastity aside, the fact that there’s pretty much a tank or a schoolgirl on-screen at any given moment has pigeonholed Girls und Panzer as a show that only really speaks to lonely middle-aged men.
9. Bakemonogatari (42 votes)
Off-kilter visual perspectives and a steady stream of surreal dialogue landed this arm of the Monogatari franchise in the number 9 spot.
8. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (43 votes)
Yes, this was one of the most popular anime in its heyday, with a pretty broad fanbase. Still, if the fire of Haruhi fandom is still burning bright inside of you, some people might assume that you also still perform the show’s iconic dance or regularly rewatch its string of eight near-identical episodes.
6 (tie). Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions/Lucky Star (44 votes)
Really identifying with the cast of the first requires viewers to think (or have thought) a huge amount of anime tropes are super-cool. Enjoying the antics of the second requires viewers to think a huge amount of those tropes are hilarious. Either way, saying you’re a big fan is pretty much the same as saying you consume so much anime that some people might wonder if you ever do anything else with your free time.
5. To Love-Ru (48 votes)
They wouldn’t make life-size bridal lingerie statues for this series unless some of the people supporting it did so to an obsessive degree.
4. Cardcaptor Sakura (53 votes)
Cardcaptor Sakura’s presence here is kind of a surprise, since for the most part it’s a pretty wholesome magical girl show. Some respondents, though, said it’d be weird for a full-grown man to be into a story whose star isn’t even in her teens yet.
2 (tie). The Idolmaster/K-On! (57 votes)
Sure, they’re both about up-and-coming musicians. However, the bigger issue, in respondents’ minds, is that they’re also both about cute schoolgirls, and saying you’ve seen every episode may have people imagining you keep coming back for the skirts rather than the sounds.
1. Love Live! (84 votes)
Just as idol mega-hit Love Live! consistently beats out The Idolmaster in sales charts, so too does it surpass its rival in these rankings. In some ways, Love Live! ended up here for reasons similar to Haruhi. It’s the most currently successful series on this list, by far, which means that just about all anime enthusiasts have caught an episode or two. But the Love Livers, as the series’ most hardcore fans call themselves, are often seen as combining all of the obsessiveness of anime otaku with the fanatic fealty of real-life idol otaku. As such, their rather showy displays of devotion don’t sit well at all with some people.
Now before you go pushing your merch from these shows into a dark corner of your closet, it’s important to remember that Japanese is a very vague language. The way the survey’s question was phrased didn’t really specify if it was asking for anime that the respondents themselves would react negatively to, or simply for titles that they thought other people would be weirded out to learn someone is a fan of. Still, if you’re starting a new job, you might want to test the waters a bit before setting up your Love Live! figure collection on your desk.
Follow Casey on Twitter, where he’s still a little sad about the time he told a fellow anime fan one of favorite series is Escaflowne, only to have the person say “Never heard of it.”

One more time! Anime fans choose the series they’d most like to see rerun on TV
Same character, different animator – Fans compile comparison charts for anime’s biggest stars
The 23 most wonderful women cosplays at Summer Wonder Festival 2016【Photos】
Cosplay photo safari: Winter Wonder Festival 2016 edition 【Photos】
Drink vending machines disappearing in Japan as number drops to lowest in 30 years
Mt. Fuji decorated with a 500,000-flower pink carpet is Japan’s ultimate spring view
30 Pikachus want to share a Tokyo hotel room with you that has separate Grass, Water, Fire spaces
Pokémon store character meet-and-greet events to resume in May
Pringles Chocolate, but with a Japanese twist, is the snack hack you should be trying right now
New Travelling Bento pouches turn your luggage into a Japanese lunch box
A taste of Japanese curry usually only sold overseas, at Tokyo’s Curry House CoCo Ichibanya World
University of Tokyo announces new department with all classes taught in English
Japanese politician arrested on charges of accepting bribes to reduce number of monkeys in park
A Kyoto factory vending machine sells gourmet mystery meals at bargain prices
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Pokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration events
Starbucks Japan closing only Shinkansen platform branch for popularity-triggered renovations
You can assemble a well-balanced team of Pokémon, them eat them, thanks to Japanese cake chain
Two food hacks take Japan’s convenience store fried chicken to amazing new sandwich heights
7-Eleven Japan’s new baked-in-store sweet treat is only available in three parts of the country
Man bites woman at cherry blossom park in Japan, dies shortly after
Peanuts and Coke becomes a viral hit in Japan, but is it a trend worth joining?
Can a downtown Tokyo super sento bathhouse beat a hotel for a one-night stay?
New Japanese KitKats come in sakura flavour, with poetic symbolism for success
Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]
Famous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]
Uniqlo announces new T-shirts for One Piece, Naruto and more for manga publisher’s 100th birthday
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Krispy Kreme releases Super Mario doughnuts in Japan for a limited time
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Top 10 series that got Japanese fans hooked on anime
New preview video for Cardcaptor Sakura sequel anime avoids Sailor Moon Crystal’s missteps【Video】
Five anime scenarios Japanese fans are sick of seeing【Survey】
List of anime directors fans expect the most from topped by….Goro Miyazaki?!
New Cardcaptor Sakura makes world premiere at L.A.’s Anime Expo, two months before Japanese debut
Fans rate the top 10 backstabbing anime characters in survey
The top 10 manga/anime heroines from Shonen Sunday chosen by fans in general election【Survey】
Now you can rent an anime itasha in Japan for the authentic otaku driving experience
What’s the best Rumiko Takahashi anime of all time? Fans decide, pick best characters too【Survey】
New survey ranks top ten fan favorites among over 50 Kyoto Animation productions
Love Live! fan gets kicked out of event for wearing mountain of anime merchandise