I did my PhD in Japan, in a lab focusing on robotics for lunar exploration, among other things. Every semester there was a revolving door of interns and exchange students from France[1], and a good percentage of them came not for the very interesting subject matter, but for their interest in manga and anime. It was always cringy when they introduced themselves as an anime cosplay enthusiast with the mistaken impression that this a normal hobby for adults in Japan.

Now I live in Europe and joke that you don't see a bunch of Japanese weirdos walking around Brussels dressed up as Tintin.

[1] In the ten years I was there, the number from France was pretty constant, but there was an upward trend in this type of person coming from Scandinavian countries and the US. There is an excellent meme on this matter: https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/481/981/034...

From my childhood, it was obvious the French had a love of anime from series that made it to the UK, like Ulysses 31 [0] and The Mysterious Cities of Gold [1], co-productions between French and Japanese TV companies. I also thought Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds [2] was French, but it was produced in Spain.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_31

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysterious_Cities_of_Gold

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogtanian_and_the_Three_Muskeh...

To add a bit, the first manga in Europe was released in France, in 1969. The first anime was 1972. Also in the 70s, a number of co-produced france-japanese anime were produced for the first time, followed by many others over the decades. I also remember a number of cooperations for Live Action-Movies too.

In general, I get the impression that France and Japan seem to have a deep friendship with each other, on the cultural level.

Thanks all for the replies. I retract my snark!

I wonder if the French experience Tokyo syndrome like the Japanese experience Paris syndrome?

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