cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/52269705

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/students-at-kyoto-university-wear-costumes-to-graduation-ceremony

You can sure tell which ones majored in cosplay.

I fucking love letting people be weird

Yup: The box robot.

When I went to Japan I thought it was really cool how people felt free to express themselves by dressing in all black or outfits that looked like costumes, or to dye their hair unusual colors like blue.

I wish we felt free to do that in the US. Too many people looking down their noses at everyone, there's an unspoken pressure to conform. When I see movies or videos of people from the late 90s wearing baggy pants with dyed hair (I dressed like that too) I think about how strange it looks, but then remember that that attitude is part of the problem.

I want all news to be like this.

When I was in high school, I had long hair and wore mildly offensive heavy metal bandshirts.

Absolutely no way that would have been possible in Japan.

In fact, dyed hair became an anime trope precisely because teenagers weren't allowed to dye their hair.

Is that punchy?

Yeah, from what I know Japan is pretty strict when it comes to conformity in society. Cosplayers, otakus are outsiders who are rebelling against these rules forced upon them just like punks, goths, metalheads and other subcultures in the west.

The box is my favourite.