Danica Davidson
October 18, 2022 
Anime fandom is growing, but conservative political commentator Matt Walsh is not a fan. “[Anime] is really popular amongst teens and young adults. I think it’s all Satanic,” he declared.
And why would he make such a blanket statement, especially about art in a country where nearly everyone practices Buddhism and Shintoism, and therefore they don’t believe in the concept of Satan?
Apparently because he feels like it.
“I have no argument for it,” he admitted. “I have no argument for why it’s Satanic. It just seems that way to me. All anime to me seems weird, bizarre, creepy.”
He went on to say that with rare exceptions, he doesn’t think that adults should be watching cartoons, anime or otherwise.
A person who is clearly not a fan of Walsh shared this video, and responses from people in the anime community (or people who want evidence to back up statements) have been harsh.
Well i for one am glad the discourse has gotten to the point that things can just be labelled as satanic with no justification or reasoning
Extremely good and cool
— kevmotronic (@kevmotronic) October 17, 2022
Matt Walsh picking a weird fight with the anime crowd is a hilarious way to start the week
— Fall(out) Boi (@iansmith06) October 17, 2022
Walsh has been sharing this tweet and doubling down on his anti-anime rhetoric, though whether he actually believes the inaccuracies he’s saying or he’s being a troll to upset people is being debated online. He wrote, “I’m catching some heat because I said that anime is satanic. I just want to clarify that yes it will literally lead to demonic possession in upwards of 87 percent of cases, studies show.”
And: “Which discourse was more timely and urgent: translucent mermaids or satanic anime?”
He also brought Hitler into it, writing publicly, “74 percent of all serial killers have an anime habit. Hitler was also into anime, reports suggest.”
His fans responded on Twitter by posting images of Hitler with anime characters and of anime characters dressed up as Nazis. They seemed to get a kick out of associating the man responsible for World War II and genocide with anime, and continued to share connections of how Hitler liked anime and that’s why he teamed up with Japan.
Source: ANN
____
Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
