Becoming Japanese? Anime Fandom, Weeaboo Identity, and the Construction of an Imagined Japan

This article examines the relationship between anime, weeaboo culture, and cultural identity among Indonesian anime fans. Drawing on qualitative interview findings, the study explores how Japanese popular culture is incorporated into everyday practices, imagined cultural identities, and fan communities. Using the theoretical perspectives of Stuart Hall, Edward Said, Homi K. Bhabha, and Pierre Bourdieu, the article examines cultural identity, representation, Orientalism, cultural hybridity, and cultural capital. The findings suggest that weeaboo identity is not simply an attempt to become Japanese, but a hybrid form of transnational cultural identification in which Japanese cultural representations are selectively interpreted, adapted, and integrated into Indonesian social contexts.