Legit question, I promise...

[Kanzler]

I don't know if anybody has first-hand experience of this, but are Japanese girls really as cute as they're depicted in anime (mannerisms and such, whether they are in appearance I don't question haha)? Like do people actually act like that irl? And most likely some do, but how popular is it - how accurate is it a reflection of teen and adult life in Japan today?

By extension, guys as well? Do you know anybody with anime-inspired mannerisms (unless that's how people actually act in Japan and is an accurate reflection and not artistic licence)?

 

[Akiba]

Nipponite here.

There isn't really a clear-cut answer to your question, but I'll try my best to answer it.

In Japan, it's a great part of our culture to practice a behavior known as aizuchi, while talking with someone in a non-formal situation. It's basically when you say things like "ee", "sou desu ne", "un un", "maji", etc. at regular intervals. It's kind of like an exaggerated version of saying "mhm" or "I see" a lot when someone's talking to you. Since this is a form of respect in Japan, it's socialized to all the kids when they're growing up. People who don't do this are considered quiet or withdrawn, which is one reason why most of Japan thinks y'all gaijin are weird.

Lots of school-age Japanese girls could be considered drama queens by Western standards. Especially high schoolers, whose favorite words are "ee" and "maji", as if they're constantly surprised by everything (guys, interestingly, tend to be less noisy). They also usually say it in a really crude and deep voice, as if they were throwing up or something. It's not very elegant, and certainly not kawaii.

As an aside, they do use the word a lot though. For example, if two friends were walking down a street and saw something cute, they'd go all "ne, are, kawaii desho?"

Anime likes to have characters that represent the whole spectrum of people, including everything from silent to grandiloquent, innocent to cutthroat. But in reality, the Japanese people fit mostly into a range so small that sometimes everyone seems the same (we do have our outliers, but so does everyone else). Kawaii is outside of that range.

The kawaii mannerisms that you mention are seen in people who are either so naive that they can't live any other way, or are clever enough to behave that way (usually an effective method to get what you want, e.g. popularity, boifurendo). It generally goes from former to latter as one ages. That's the reason why on Twitter JP, you can see so many "kawaii" people who are in their late teens or twenties. Usually, you don't see that many kawaii people out in the open, since really, there aren't.

In terms of anime inspired culture, there isn't really an overwhelming amount. But there are a few major ones. Akihabara (Electric City), or Akiba for short, was once just an tech/music shopping outlet, but now is filled with anime/kawaii/moe/hentai. There are also some people who like to live out their fantasies by wearing gothic lolita or latex battle costumes all day long, although that isn't too common. Except for things like album art for music. Usually, it's either some anime-style illustration, or a picture of someone, usually the artist him/herself wearing an anime-inspired fantasy costume. Idol groups also make their members wear these dresses that attempt to be "kawaii".

Also, this:

Spoiler:

General bookstores now always have a manga/light novel department, partitioned into sections like seinen, shougakkou (elementary school), or yaoi (you'll see a LOT of girls here). Kinokuniya, one major bookstore chain, is filled to the brim with stuff like this.

And I wanted to at least mention how they look, for the sake of some disillusioned person reading this post. Unlike what you see in anime, not every Japanese girl looks like a supermodel or is in perfect body condition. To quote my brother who lives in Saitama: "AKB48 isn't even pretty, and they change every year anyways. It's nothing like iM@S or Love Live."

Hope this helped.

 

[Pokestick good times.]

Ee, maji!?

Not a Nipponite myself, and I've never been in Nipponland, but one thing that I feel should be brought up is the emphasis on being "cute". It's like the use of "hot" and "pretty" as general, casual descriptions of attractiveness (in western English speaking countries) are replaced by "cute" (you know, the k-word) in Japan. In fact, Akiban made reference to this several times in the above post.

Anyway, the only thing I can really say from my own experience is that, every time I've seen a Japanese girl or woman in the city or in YouTube videos, they've been wearing really cute clothing. I wish everyone wore such cute clothing.

 

[Esper]

Regarding physical appearance, most girls and women in Japan have deeper voices than you would assume from anime or wherever. Boys and men, too, but from my experience it's more or less the same as anywhere. People's features, body types, etc. also range as much as any place, although in general you'll find Japanese people are thinner than, say, the average American. Stockier, athletic, taller people are also fairly common. I'm 5'8" and you'd be surprised how many people, men and women are at my eye level or above.

Japanese people tend to take their appearance more seriously than I've seen in America. Every tiny village will have a hairdresser who can give you surprisingly good hairstyles. It's just something that people care about. In the same vein you'll find all manner of hair care products anywhere you go. So naturally, people there have great hair, on the whole. This level of attention is usually similar with bathing habits so overall it contributes to an image of people being generally clean and good-looking, or, if you like, cute. Young people especially will care more for their hair or try unusual hair styles, though being in school can restrict what many people are able/willing to do because of dress codes.

As for socializing/personality, anime is nothing like real life, of course. People are generally polite and will do those things that Akiba mentioned to show that they're listening to you, but really, if you don't know the person you'll probably not get a chance to see any other side of them. Unless they're drunk, but that's usually something adults do with their coworkers and peers. Usually I'd say that most people I interacted with were more hesitant or reserved, relying on normal societal niceties to get them through interactions with me. (Of course I'm a white American so my interactions are going to be affected by that.) Of the couple of Japanese people I sort of got to know better they had a variety of habits and personalities. One in particular was sour and always on the verge of exploding in frustration and anger, one was a snarky prankster with a deadpan sense of humor, and so on.

One other thing before this gets impossibly long, there is a general acceptance of cute things in Japan. Men, boys, girls, women. It's not looked down upon for anyone to have, say, a plushie of something (like a Pikachu) or to have cute and colorful stationary. Sometimes you don't have options with your shopping but to get something with a mascot character or whatever.