Anime: I Want Harem

Chapter 24 - 24

Upon first hearing that Kitahara Sosuke was one of their own kind, Kato Megumi didn't have much of a reaction, but the others, more or less, developed a bit of interest in the person in front of them.

This was probably the so-called sense of belonging that otaku feel for each other due to shared hobbies. However, they couldn't let their guard down yet. Tomoya Aki and Eriri, these two veteran hardcore otaku, went without saying.

But Kasumigaoka Utaha was a master who could casually throw out anime references from unknown ancient times with just a few words. So, they had to deal with him carefully.

Fortunately, the upperclassman didn't seem to intend to make things difficult for him, after all, they weren't very familiar yet.

"So, Kitahara-kun, do you usually watch anime and read light novels?" Kasumigaoka Utaha rested her hands on the table, striking a pose that resembled Commander Ikari.

Those alluring wine-red pupils had a huge and unparalleled attraction for ordinary men, like the celestial body called a black hole in the universe. Her beautiful eyes reflected his figure, and Utaha carefully sized up this unfamiliar junior who had sparked a little curiosity in her.

"I only watch the types I'm interested in." Kitahara Sosuke replied with a smile. He didn't mention that he had read Koi no Beat.

The best time to win her over had already passed, and mentioning it now wouldn't have much effect. Besides, that was a work she had completed with Tomoya Aki's help, containing some of the upperclassman's personal preferences. Because of this, Sosuke also disliked this novel, which was honestly not bad.

Perhaps because of his frequent meditation practice, he was able to skillfully control his body movements and changes in mood, and the others couldn't see through Kitahara Sosuke's little thoughts at all.

"Then, what are your favorite works?" Eriri, also very curious at this moment, leaned forward and asked Sosuke.

"'Berserk,' 'Claymore'... 'YuruYuri,' 'Sakura Trick,' and many other anime and manga." Kitahara Sosuke told the truth. This world largely shared the same historical trajectory as his previous life, for example, Giant Soft, Great Law, Toothpaste Factory, Farming Enterprise... whatever existed in his previous life existed here too.

The memes about protecting Uncle's smile and Farming Enterprise's 360-degree turnaround also existed. But on the other hand, this world also had significant differences from Sosuke's previous life in some aspects.

For example, there was absolutely no light novel called Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata (How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend). In contrast, Kitahara Sosuke's previous life didn't have Koi no Beat, Kasumigaoka Utaha, Eriri Spencer Sawamura... This was a very simple principle.

Therefore, if he wanted to plagiarize in this world, the preparatory work for research would be very troublesome.

"I really can't tell that you're also an otaku..." Eriri said this in response to Kitahara Sosuke's answer, sounding like a sigh.

"Sawamura-senpai is the same, right?" Unlike Tomoya Aki, a rare existence who could completely ignore other people's opinions, this little girl was just an ordinary person in terms of personality. She would feel uncomfortable because she liked anime and was criticized by others, and she had suffered considerable hurt because of this hobby.

She had even broken off her friendship with her childhood friend because of it. Kitahara Sosuke could understand this; humans were inherently social creatures.

Tomoya Aki living in his own world, self-absorbed and disregarding others' opinions... was something that ordinary people couldn't do.

"A primary school student can possess such mental fortitude, should I say she deserves to be the protagonist?"

"Speaking of which, what was I doing back then? Going to a bunch of cram schools every day and staying up until midnight doing homework? I really envy those bastards with childhood friends!"

Kitahara Sosuke thought wildly in his heart, but his face remained completely unchanged. He felt that he had reached a new level of hypocrisy.

"Anime, in the end, is just a very ordinary hobby. I don't think there's anything special about it." Kitahara Sosuke smiled and casually answered the blonde girl's question.

He wasn't trying to persuade her of anything; he genuinely felt that way. After a pause, Kitahara Sosuke continued to share his views with the others.

"It has boosted many industries such as tourism and toy manufacturing, and also contributed a large amount of tax revenue."

"Even so, it still suffers discrimination in society, and when certain things happen, it has to bear the responsibility of being the scapegoat."

"In my personal opinion, this country is a bit too harsh on two-dimensional culture..." In Sosuke's eyes, the Japanese attitude towards anime was almost the same as the social opinion in his hometown towards the internet, treating it as a dangerous flood for children.

Although not exactly the same, it did bear a lot of blame that it shouldn't. The fact that some Japanese otaku were disliked was their own problem. Even if these people had other hobbies, the result would be just as bad.

There were many young people in the neighboring Countries who liked anime, but he hadn't heard of many extreme hikikomori (socially withdrawn) groups like the Japanese otaku. Blaming all these responsibilities on anime was clearly not very accurate.

"That's right! Those guys are clearly just looking for excuses for their own mistakes. It's not anime's fault, it's those guys themselves!" Kitahara Sosuke's words unexpectedly gained Tomoya Aki's approval. He suddenly became excited and started shouting again.

Kitahara Sosuke was noncommittal about Tomoya Aki's words. Well, whether what this guy said was right or wrong, he actually just found this person really annoying. Too noisy, couldn't he see? The other customers were all looking over here.

He had no awareness of being in a public place at all, causing trouble for others.

"It's because there are terrible otaku like you that otaku are misunderstood by everyone." Sosuke sighed inwardly.

"Have you ever been to the other Country, Aki-kun?" Kitahara Sosuke suddenly threw a completely unrelated question at the bespectacled otaku in front of him.

"No, is there a problem?" Tomoya Aki replied, baffled.

Kitahara Sosuke didn't answer immediately. He took a sip of black tea, his throat bobbing as he slowly swallowed, and then slowly continued with a sigh.

"Nothing..."

"It's just that, as far as I know, the tolerance for anime among young people in the place across the sea is much higher than in the country we're standing on." Because he had an older cousin who liked watching anime, Kitahara Sosuke had been exposed to anime very early in his previous life.

He had almost watched bit by bit how the so-called two-dimensional culture had gradually moved from something extremely niche in the to the mainstream public's view.

It wasn't just works that were hugely popular worldwide like Attack on Titan and Death Note... Once, Sosuke saw Rem actively displayed on the computer screen of a male normie friend who supposedly didn't watch anime at all.

Also, for example, during a casual chat at a company dinner shortly after his university graduation, he discovered that many of the married older sisters around him actually... were all loyal fans of Natsume and Nyanko-sensei.

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