Introduction

Animes (commonly referred to as animated films and series produced in Japan) and mangas (commonly referred to as comics produced in Japan) are not only important in Japan, but are also enjoying increasing popularity internationally. According to the Association of Japanese Animations, the market volume of the Japanese anime market by revenue worldwide equaled about 2.93 trillions of Japanese yen (which equals about 17.86 billion Euro or 19.30 billion US Dollar) in 2022 (The Association of Japanese Animations 2024). They are also an important pop-cultural phenomenon in Germany. For example, manga sales have risen from 38 to 106 million euros in Germany between 2018 and 2022. The popularity of manga in Germany was largely due to series such as "Dragon Ball", "Sailor Moon" and "Pokémon" in the late 1990s and early 2000s (Seigo 2011). Anime of the cyberpunk genre (often combining advanced science with an urban, dystopian future) such as “Akira” or later the cyberpunk work “Ghost in the Shell” are particularly responsible for the popularity of anime in Germany since the 1990s (Seigo 2011). The works of Studio Ghibli (such as “Spirited Away”, which won the Oscar for best animated film in 2003) have further fuelled the worldwide success of anime. There are now many events (around the world, including in Germany) taking place where anime and manga fans can come together such as certain cinema events or comic conventions where individuals can dress up as their favourite characters (so-called cosplay) and exchange ideas with like-minded people about their hobby (Seigo 2011).

In Japanese, the term "otaku" became common (Ito et al. 2012)—in the past rather pejoratively. It describes a person who particularly has a strong passion (or obsession) for, among other things, anime and manga, which was more of a niche culture. While it used to be assumed that otaku was associated with social isolation, the term now seems to have a more positive connotation – particularly outside Japan (see also: (Hinton 2018)). For example, adults in Germany show their interest in anime and manga in public and have outgrown the "niche" phenomenon. However, of note, for example, older people in Germany in particular are sometimes unfamiliar with such phenomena (such as cosplay)—and may perceive them as strange or peculiar (Reysen et al. 2021). Other social groups might also dismiss such interests as too nerdy.

The field of research on how others and corresponding individuals with an interest in anime and manga perceive themselves and the state of their health and subjective well-being has been shaped primarily by the research group of Reysen, Gerbasi, Plante and Roberts – with many exciting studies (e.g., (Reysen et al. 2021, 2022a, b, c, 2018a, 2024, b, c, 2016)). For example, a former study among non-fans showed that such individuals perceive anime fans as individuals who are introverted, creative, socially awkward and often feel detached from reality, find solace and refuge in anime, manga and computer games (Reysen et al. 2016). Some fans of subgenres (e.g., hentai fans who are interested in sexually explicit anime or manga content) feel particularly discriminated toward themselves (Leshner et al. 2018a).

Factors such as perceived introversion eventually predicted greater desired distance from such anime fans and factors such as detachment from reality and social awkwardness predicted prejudice against fans of anime (Reysen et al. 2016). Such stereotypes are important how others treat individuals with interest in anime or manga (Reysen et al. 2016). For example, such steretypes could lead to embarrassing moments, e.g., when anime and manga fans are dressed up as their favourite character on the way (on public transport, for example) to comic conventions or other meetings. So it could be that people make fun of them. It may also lead to maladaptive coping strategies to handle stigma such as concealing their identity (Reysen et al. 2021). Former research also showed that anime fans have some experience with bullying in the past, interestingly with more bullying when age increases (Reysen et al. 2021). However, former research additionally showed that particular direct interaction with other fans of anime and manga can have positive effects on subjective well-being (Reysen et al. n.d.).

However, the studies to date are unified by the fact that they mainly use data from very selective groups of respondents (e.g. visitors to a comic convention or students); often without a control group of individuals with no interest in anime or manga. Such studies thus cannot usually be easily generalised to the general population. Thus, our aim was to examine how interest in anime and manga is associated with health (with a particular focus on mental health), social disconnectedness (factors such as loneliness or social isolation), subjective well-being (e.g., life satisfaction or purpose in life), and joy (e.g., the frequency of laughter) based on a large sample of the general adult population aged 18 to 74 years with access to the internet in Germany. In addition, this is the first study to investigate associations such as interest in anime and manga and their relationship with the frequency of hugs or laughter. This knowledge is important in order to be able to characterise this ever-growing group reflecting important phenomena of popular culture. Eventually, this is of great relevance since factors such as adverse mental health can contribute to sucidial ideation and measures of social disconnectedness, low joy and low well-being predict mortality (Sareen et al. 2005; Zhou et al. 2023; Zhu et al. 2023; Sakurada et al. 2020).

Although negative associations are also conceivable (see above), we generally assume rather positive associations with the analysed outcomes, especially in view of the growing, presumably increasingly accepted anime and manga community in our society in Germany nowadays. Being part of a larger community, and the direct exchange with them could in turn have numerous positive effects for the outcomes examined (Reysen et al. n.d.). Although these shared tastes do not automatically lead to the development and maintenance of other types of relationships, cultural preferences in anime and manga can foster connections with like-minded individuals according to the principle of homophily (McPherson et al. 2001). Moreover, it has been suggested that anime fans deny their personal discrimination (because they report greater discrimination against their fan group compared to themselves) (Leshner et al. 2018b)—which could possibly even have a positive effect on the outcomes examined as a protective mechanism.

Methods

Sample

Data from a large study of 5,000 individuals aged between 18 and 74 living in Germany was employed. The data collection took place in August and September 2023. The recruitment of participants for this study was supported by Bilendi (an ISO 26362 accredited market research company). Selection was made from an online pool using quotas to ensure a balanced representation by age, gender and federal state, reflecting the demographic composition of the general adult population in Germany. Thus, this quota-based online sample represents the general adult population (with access to the internet) in terms of age, gender, and federal state. Of note that a very large proportion of the adult population in Germany has access to the internet in principle (Bundesamt 2023).

The final analytic sample equaled n = 4,716 individuals when interest in anime served as key independent variable and it equaled n = 4,738 individuals when interest in manga served as key independent variable. Thus, 284 individuals were removed in the first case and 262 individuals were removed in the second case since they did not know (at all) about anime or manga, respectively.

Before participating in the study, individuals gave their informed consent. The study was approved by the Local Psychological Ethics Committee at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (LPEK-0629).

Outcomes

With regard to (mental) health, we used as outcomes: depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, health-related quality of life and hikikomori symptoms. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) (Kroenke et al. 2001) was used to quantify depressive symptoms. It has nine items and the resulting sum score ranges from 0 to 27, whereby higher scores reflect more depressive symptoms. Anxiety symptoms were measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) (Spitzer et al. 2006) which has seven items. The final score ranges from 0 to 21, with higher scores reflecting more anxiety symptoms. Health-related quality of life was measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of the EQ-5D tool (Rabin and Charro 2001) from the EuroQoL group [www.euroqol.org] ranging from 0 (worst imaginable state of health) to 100 (best imaginable state of health). Hikikomori symptoms (referring to extreme social withdrawal) were measured using the validated (Hajek et al. , 2024b) German version of the 25-item Hikikomori Questionnaire (HQ-25) (Teo et al. 2018). The final score ranges from 0 to 100, whereby higher values correspond to more severe social withdrawal (or more hikikomori symptoms).

With regard to social disconnectedness, we used as outcomes: preference for solitude, loneliness, objective social isolation and perceived social isolation. The established and validated German version (Nestler et al. 2011) of the Preference for Solitude Scale developed by Burger (1995) was used to measure the preference for solitude. It consists of twelve pairs of items. The final count score ranged from 0 to 12, whereby higher values reflect a stronger preference for solitude. Loneliness (perceived discrepancy between actual and desired social relations, either quantitatively or qualitatively (Perlman and Peplau 1981)) was measured using the De Jong Gierveld tool (6-item version) (Gierveld and Tilburg 2006). The resulting score ranged from 0 to 6, with higher values corresponding to higher loneliness levels. Objective social isolation was measured using the Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS-6; 6-item version (Lubben et al. 2006)). The original sum score ranged from 0 to 30, with higher values reflecting lower objective social isolation levels. To ease the interpretation, we reversed the scoring, i.e.: higher values reflect higher objective social isolation levels in this study. A tool developed by Bude and Lantermann (2006) was used to quantify perceived social isolation. This tool has four items and the final score ranged from 1 to 4, with higher values indicating higher perceived social isolation levels. Of note, while perceived social isolation refers to a feeling of not belonging to the society (Bude and Lantermann 2006), objective social isolation refers to a lack of actual social activities (see also: (Hajek and König 2021)).

With regard to subjective well-being, we used as outcomes: ikigai, life satisfaction and happiness. Based on the validated German version (Hajek et al. 2024a) of the Ikigai-9 (Imai 2012) (so-called: Ikigai-9-G), ikigai (referring to a purpose in life) was quantified. This tool has nine items. The resulting sum score ranged from 9 to 45, whereby higher values indicate higher ikigai levels. Life satisfaction (cognitive evaluation of life as a whole) was measured using the German version of the very established Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al. 1985) consisting of five items. The final score ranges from 5 to 35, whereby higher scores indicate higher life satisfaction levels. The established Subjective Happiness Scale (Swami et al. 2009) which consists of four items was used to quantify happiness (state of feeling good, with positive emotions such as pleasure). The final score ranges from 1 to 7, whereby higher values reflect higher happiness levels.

With regard to joy, we used as outcomes: frequency of laughter (find something funny enough to laugh at) and frequency of hugs (reflecting a frequent form of human touch). In line with former research (Hirosaki et al. 2021), the frequency of laughter was assessed using a single-item (frequency of lauging out loud; with four response options: almost every day; 1–5 days per week; 1–3 days per month; almost never). Moreover, following previous research (Packheiser et al. 2024), the average number of individuals being hugged per day was used to quantify the frequency of hugs (continuous score from 0 to 99; based on this, we generated four categories: 0; 1; 2; 3 or more).

Key independent variables

The interest in anime was quantified using a rating scale ranging from 1 (not interested at all) to 7 (very strong interest). Only the endpoints were labelled. The exact wording was: “How much interest do you generally have in anime (animated films and series produced in Japan)?” There was also an "I don't know" option (see the sample section above). Likewise, the interest in manga was assessed. The exact wording was: “How interested are you in mangas (comics produced in Japan) in general?”.

Covariates

Guided by previous research (Reysen et al. 2021), it was adjusted for several covariates in regression analysis. As sociodemographic covariates, we included age group (five age groups: 18 to 29 years; 30 to 39 years; 40 to 49 years; 50 to 59 years; 60 to 74 years), sex (three categories: men; women; diverse), marital status (five categories: single; divorced; widowed; living together: married or in partnership; living separately: married or in partnership), education (CASMIN-classification (Brauns and Steinmann 1999) was used which has three categories: primary education; secondary education; tertiary education), employment situation (three categories: full-time employed; retired; other), having a migration background (two categories: no or yes). Moreover, a count score for chronic conditions was included as covariate in regression analysis encompassing 14 chronic conditions (in each case: 0 = absence, 1 = presence) such as asthma, stroke or cancer.

Statistics

The characteristics of the sample are first presented. To get a first impression of the associations of interest, Pearson correlations between interest in anime/manga and the outcomes are calculated. Afterwards, the association between interest in anime as well as interest in manga with the different outcomes was examined using linear or ordered logistic regressions, as appropriate. In further analysis, quadratic terms of interest were added to the main model to investigate potential non-linear effects. Of note, interest in anime and interest in manga were entered separately in the regression models because they were highly correlated (β = 0.89).

Apart from the aforementioned missings due to the “I don’t know” option in the key independent variables, no more missing values were present for reasons of forced-choice format. Stata 18.0 (Stata Corp., College Station, Texas) was used in our study. The statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results

Sample characteristics

In Table 1, the characteristics of our analytic sample are shown. In our analytic sample (n = 4,738), 50.7% of the respondents were female and average age was 46.4 years (SD: 15.2 years, from 18 to 74 years). More details are presented in Table 1.

Table 1 Sample characteristics
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Pearson correlations (with Bonferroni-adjusted significance levels) between interest in anime and the outcomes were as follows: r = 0.23, p < 0.001 (with depressive symptoms), r = 0.22, p < 0.001 (with anxiety symptoms), r = -0.003, p = 1.0 (with health-related quality of life), r = 0.15, p < 0.001 (with hikikomori symptoms), r = 0.03, p = 1.0 (with ikigai), r = -0.001, p = 1.0 (with life satisfaction), r = -0.05, p = 0.08 (with happiness), r = -0.13, p < 0.001 (with preference for solitude), r = 0.08, p < 0.001 (with loneliness), r = -0.10, p < 0.001 (with objective social isolation), r = 0.23, p < 0.001 (with perceived social isolation), r = 0.06, p < 0.01 (with frequency of laughter), r = 0.15, p < 0.001 (with frequency of hugs).

Moreover, Pearson correlations between interest in manga and the outcomes were as follows: r = 0.23, p < 0.001 (with depressive symptoms), r = 0.22, p < 0.001 (with anxiety symptoms), r = -0.02, p = 1.0 (with health-related quality of life), r = 0.16, p < 0.001 (with hikikomori symptoms), r = 0.02, p = 1.0 (with ikigai), r = -0.001, p = 1.0 (with life satisfaction), r = -0.05, p = 0.08 (with happiness), r = -0.14, p < 0.001 (with preference for solitude), r = 0.09, p < 0.001 (with loneliness), r = -0.11, p < 0.001 (with objective social isolation), r = 0.24, p < 0.001 (with perceived social isolation), r = 0.06, p < 0.01 (with frequency of laughter), r = 0.17, p < 0.001 (with frequency of hugs).

Regression analysis

Findings of multiple regressions are shown in Table 2 (with interest in anime as key independent variable) and Table 3 (with interest in manga as key independent variable).

Table 2 Interest in anime and various outcomes. Findings of multiple linear and ordered logistic regressions
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Table 3 Interest in manga and various outcomes. Findings of multiple linear and ordered logistic regressions
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After adjusting for several covariates, a higher interest in anime was associated with several adverse mental health (e.g. with more depressive symptoms: β = 0.41, p < 0.001) and some social disconnectedness outcomes (e.g., with higher loneliness levels: β = 0.05, p < 0.01). In contrast, a higher interest in anime was associated with favorable subjective well-being outcomes (e.g., greater life satisfaction, β = 0.12, p < 0.05), and favorable joy outcomes (e.g., greater frequency of laughter, OR: 1.04, p < 0.05). Please see Table 2 for further details.

Similarly, regressions showed that a higher interest in manga was associated with several adverse (mental) health (e.g. with more anxiety symptoms: β = 0.43, p < 0.001) and some social disconnectedness outcomes (e.g., with higher perceived social isolation levels: β = 0.08, p < 0.001). Contrary, it was associated with lower objective social isolation (β = -0.11, p < 0.05). Moreover, it was not significantly associated with subjective well-being outcomes, but significantly associated with the joy outcome frequency of hugs (OR: 1.14, p < 0.001). More details are shown in Table 3.

In a robustness check, the “I don’t know” option in the key independent variables were interpreted as 1 (not interested at all). The results are displayed in Supplementary Tables 1 and 2. Of note, the results remained virtually the same in terms of significance and effect size.

Moreover, differences between men and women were considered in a further analysis. To this end, interaction terms were included (sex x interest in anime; sex x interest in manga). The findings are shown in Supplementary Tables 3 and 4. The great majority of interaction terms did not achieve statistical significance. Of particular note that sex significantly moderated the association between both interest in anime and interest in manga and frequency of hugs. This indicates a stronger association among men compared to women between the key independent variables and the frequency of hugs.

In further analysis, quadratic terms of interest were added to the main model to examine potential non-linear effects. Some non-linear effects were observed. Details can be found in Supplementary Tables 5 and 6.

Discussion

Our aim was to investigate the relationship between interest in anime and manga and their association with (mental) health, social disconnectedness, subjective well-being and joy using a large sample of the general adult population in Germany. Key findings: A higher interest in anime/manga was mainly associated with adverse mental health and social disconnectedness, whereas it was mainly associated with favorable subjective well-being outcomes and favorable joy outcomes, with some interesting differences depending on the independent variable used. By using data from a large quota-based sample, our findings add to our current knowledge which is mainly based on studies using with rather selective samples.

The association between an increased interest in anime/manga and negative mental health as well as loneliness and perceived social isolation could be explained by several factors. Firstly, excessive immersion in anime/manga culture could contribute to social withdrawal or social isolation, particularly if individuals prioritise virtual relationships over real-life interactions (Williams et al. 2011). A prolonged engagement with fictional narratives may hamper the development of meaningful interpersonal relationships (apart from relationships with like-minded people with an interest in anime and manga) and may contribute to feelings of loneliness or isolation. Furthermore, a potential stigma associated with anime/manga consumption in certain social circles may contribute to further marginalisation and increase feelings of not belonging to the society (Reysen et al. 2016) (see also: (Schultz and Breiger 2010). Moreover, elitism in fan groups (Plante et al. 2020) may also contribute to feelings of exclusion. In addition, certain themes which are depicted in anime/manga can represent upsetting or nihilistic content (Olivier 2007) that may exacerbate depressive symptoms or trigger anxiety sympoms (Forsythe and Mongrain 2023) in susceptible individuals.

Interestingly, a former study showed that anime fans reported lower prevalences of mood and anxiety disorders compared to the general population (Reysen et al. 2018a). However, it should be noted that anime fans were recruited via an anime convention (Dallas, TX, USA) and from online websites related to anime and message boards in this former study (Reysen et al. 2018a). This restricts the generalizability of the results. Furthermore, the participants were asked whether they had “been diagnosed by a licensed practitioner with one or more psychological problems” in this former study (two spaces were provided to type their diagnoses) (Reysen et al. 2018a). Thus, the comparability to our current study is somewhat restricted.

Interestingly, a greater interest in anime and manga was associated with a lower preference for solitude in this study. Given the fact that such individuals tend to be a bit introverted (Reysen et al. 2022b), these are quite surprising findings. As noted, the anime and manga community provides opportunities for social interaction and socializing (e.g., conventions, online forums); and anime fans who cosplay had higher levels on extraversion than non-cosplaying anime fans in a previous study (Reysen et al. 2018c). This offers opportunities to share their experiences and long-lasting and meaningful relationships (Reysen et al., 2024). Such individuals may find satisfaction and fulfilment in these communities which may decrease their desire for solitary activities. Moreover, such communities (and their associated benefits (Reysen et al. 2022c)) may also explain why interest in manga was associated with lower objective social isolation in our study.

The positive association between a strong interest in anime/manga and favourable subjective well-being and joy outcomes could be explained by several factors. For example, engagement with anime/manga narratives may provide individuals with a sense of escape which may help to cope with stressing situations in daily life – which eventually could increase subjective well-being. Moreover, such stories often emphasise themes of resilience, friendship and personal growth (Born 2010; Cooper-Chen 2011). Such themes may inspire viewers or readers (who often strongly identify with their favorite characters (Reysen et al. 2022b)) to tackle their own challenges with improved determination and optimism (Ramasubramanian and Kornfield 2012). Perhaps most importantly, the anime/manga community often provides its fans with a sense of belonging and acceptance (Reysen et al. 2024). They commonly do this by creating supportive online or offline communities where individuals can share their interests and experiences without fearing judgement (Krishnamurti et al. 2023). This sense of camaraderie and mutual understanding may contribute to increases in wellbeing and joy by meeting like-minded people who share a passion for anime/manga (Reysen et al., 2024).

Of interest, while the interest in anime was significantly associated with more favorable subjective well-being, an interest in manga was not significantly associated with such outcomes. One potential explanation may refer to the fact that an interesting in reading manga may sometimes reflect a more solitary activity compared to watching anime, which can be more often a shared experience among friends or in social communities (e.g., anime events in the cinema). One may argue that streaming services have simplified the process for individuals to consume (anime) content on their own. However, we would assume that streaming offers (regarding anime) can also be used well with friends (see also: (Evens et al. 2024)).

Based on a non-generalizable sample of anime fans, a former study also showed that cosplayers reported higher well-being levels compared to non-cosplayers (Reysen et al. 2018b) – which may emphasize the importance of being fully immersed in the hobby for well-being (see also: (Ray et al. 2018)). Moreover, a former study showed that fandom (social component of fan identity) predicted psychological well-being (e.g., purpose in life) (Reysen et al. 2024). This former study additionally found that fan friendships mediate the association between fandom identification and psychological well-being (Reysen et al. 2024). Furthermore, they showed that taking part in fan events also mediated this association, whereas online engagement or consuming media did not (Reysen et al. 2024). Consequently, we overall assume that particularly the social aspect in real life associated with anime interest and resulting consumption may lead to higher levels of subjective well-being.

Some specific strengths and weaknesses of this study must be recognised. Our study is the first one examining the association between interest in manga and anime and various outcomes in the general German adult population. Established and validated tools were used to quantify the outcomes. A large quota-based online sample was used to ensure representativeness in terms of age, sex and federal state. However, it may not be fully representative in other terms (e.g., migration background) since the questionnaire was only available in German language. Due to the cross-sectional design of our data, it is difficult to establish directionality (e.g., changes in loneliness may also cause interest in anime or manga). Furthermore, our current study did not explicitly differentiate between connections with similar and dissimilar individuals in its measurements, and thus does not reflect the composition of respondents' social networks. However, it should be noted that subjective outcomes such as overall loneliness leave it up to the individual to decide which relationships they consider important (both, quantitatively and qualitatively).

Conclusion and future research

Our present study provides evidence regarding the relationship between interest in anime and manga and their association with health, social disconnectedness, subjective well-being and joy. A higher interest in manga and anime was associated both with negative (e.g., mental health and social disconnectedness) and several positive outcomes. Particularly a higher interest in anime was associated with more favorable subjective well-being scores, laughing and hugging. In this respect, this topic needs to be approached in a very nuanced way. Due to the great lack of research, further studies (e.g., cross-country comparisons) would be highly desirable. Moreover, upcoming studies could differentiate between constructs such as fandom (e.g., “I love the manga community”) and fanship (“ I love manga”) when examing their association with such outcomes. In this context, one should also look at how the preference for solitude is related to loneliness or isolation in upcoming research. In additional, future research, more complex models could explore mediating and moderating factors. For example, watching anime may have negative effects on mental health since it may cause social isolation in other areas of life. Moreover, factors such as loneliness can predict mental health and subjective well-being.