[saintradon]

Does github need a cartoonish cat with 5 octopus-like legs to be its logo? Of course not, but it makes it memorable and funny. And besides, anime is extremely mainstream these days.

[yifanl]

I would likely be just as put off by a picture of Spongebob or Goofy or Goku in a readme as Anya, fwiw.

[tkzed49]

maybe you should evaluate whether arbitrary societal norms of "professionalism" or something else are leading to you miss out on cool stuff

[simooooo]

Wouldn’t quite go that far. I’ve only met one anime fan in my entire career.

[fshbbdssbbgdd]

Do you ask everyone you meet?

[Shin--]

Then you must be old. Even in western countries Spy x Family (which the character is from) has sold millions of copies, while most people read mangas online and won't be counted. In the country I am from I frequently see people wearing merch of it, mostly because Uniqlo has had a successful line of it. And that is just one manga/anime out of hundreds of popular ones.

Using anime characters is similar to boomer nerds referencing Marvel/DC comics , Star Wars etc.