I disagree since the stigma comes from people who think anyone with an anime pic is automatically racist - which isn’t true, especially since I’ve seen a lot of anime pfps who are normal online. This whole “anime pfp bad” nonsense stems from the anime fandom - especially K-On - somehow being a magnet for the far-right and antisemites of all people. One theory I have is that anime fits well with their reactionary vision of the world similar to 40k.
Honestly, I don't trust anime pfps because I know full goddamn well that's a favorite avatar archetype for feds. You see somebody you perceive as a 'weeb' with like... A Hetalia pfp or some shit talking on some MONSTROUS geopolitics, that motherfucker's probably posing out of Eglin, Langley, or Dulles.
Most anime pfps depend on what anime character they use. People with the Dragon Ball (I use Broly pfp) and Touhou pfps somewhat can be okay, but I have found many Hindutva genocide lovers using Eren from Shingeki no Kyojin with a tilak (red/orange mark on forehead) easy to spot on Twitter.
I agree, the stigma is nonsensical and almost as bad as Nazi style stereotypical thinking of "le anime degeneracy".
The odds of an Anime Profile being a federal agent are just way too high for me to take them seriously any more. It's way too likely to be a psyop, plain and simple.
I'm not gonna deny I get nervous when I see other anime PFPs. For one, most anime sucks, so I'm wondering what's in it for them. Is it fetishizing Japanese culture the way you mentioned, is it being an actual predator who fetishizes high schoolers, are they into some of the series that have misanthropic malthusian or fascistic themes, is there actual nostalgia for Imperial Japan, or feudalism for some damn reason. Also there's the whole incel obsession with Japan which is distasteful to mention and I will gloss over.