That too
First of all, I want to point out the following: The anime community on RPN is that as big as you are suggesting it is. Sure, it's pretty big in RPN, surprisingly so, but I can tell you from personally trying to search for it that it's still complicated to search for actually anime-related content, and even fandoms where one might expect to find a bigger concentration a lot of popular shows in current media simply take the spotlight. If anything, one should be asking about the sheer amount of people in the site who seek to roleplay one specific show or franchise, say, black mirror or Harry Potter, and yet seem to constantly miss one another's presence, as opposed to the strong presence of an entire medium.
With that out of the way, I'll bring up three things that I think make anime a great foster for a community that is more visible as a chunk of the site's population:
1. Bubble Effect
One thing about the anime community is that it tends to be it's own thing. Anime is an almost absurdly distinct medium for those within the community and often for those outside of it as well, and as any niche, it's community tends to be more fervorous about it. In a sense, there is a way of communicating, thinking and certain rules of logic that are more anime-specific and are a little sponged up by it's community, which tends to want to detach itself as it's own distinct thing. This is not to say the anime community wants nothing to do with those outside of it, but rther, that to us anime is not "just another medium".
This is further enhanced by people outside the community, whether due to bias or trauma, actively attempting to separate anime material into a separate category as well. The pic issue, for instance, is one case. There are plenty of people who specifically have a problem with anime pictures, and even more who simply reject any images not drawn with pure realism. Which is, to an extent, perfectly reasonable. And it's, in the end of the day, just a preference, but it is undeniable that it does split the seas there.
2. Outcasts have time to write, outcasts have time to watch anime. But you don't have to be one to watch anime.
Let's not kid ourselves. 2/3s of RPN, being generous, have some kind of anxiety, social issues, depression or being huge extroverts. To put things into perspective, when I made my "idea creates you a superpower" thread, one of the questions was "When I go to a party, I make sure I don't forget...". Most people's answers were borderline questioning their sanity about even having been invited to one.
This group of people though does happen to somewhat overlap with the main anime fanbase up until recently. While the community has certainly grown out of it's shell as the medium gained exposure, statistically speaking people with problems dealing with their social life in the real world are more likely to watch anime. In fact, anime gets an even better boost by the fact that it is available online, somehting which itself has exploded in the past decades.
That said, ANYONE can watch and enjoy anime. So overall, the odds of someone in a site like RPN liking anime over not liking it, are in principle pretty favorable to anime. So if my first point was about why there is a distinction at all, this second point is about why that distinction is more relevant than many other differing mediums: Liking anime is not an exclusive with anything. It does not prevent you from living any kind of life you want. But at the same time, it offers you a community that wouldn't be there without it.
3. There is a whole bloody world of ideas to try
The last is that, if you haven't noticed yet, there are a LOT of ideas in anime that other genres simply don't consider exploring or don't give as decent an access to the concept. One instance is gjinkas, this is, an anime girl which represents the essence of well... just about anything. A brand, a type of food, even the Earth itself can be made into anime girls, as gjinkas.
If you want ideas that are really out there, then anime and manga are excellent places to go. If there is a niche to be filled, you are almost guaranteed to find SOME manga or anime with it.
These are a few potental reasons. DO excuse me if the phrasing is kinda bad here and there, I probably shouldn't be posting this at 2 in the morning, but I do hope it helps clarify some things for you guys
If we're talking about images specifically , well, then it's because they are pleasing to the eye and frankly a lot more comfortable to a lot of people than using the image of another real person, stealing their identity almost.
^This
Idea
I always find it creepy using pics of no-names for your RPs... and I find it narcissistic to use your own face for RPs
