Forum - View topicWho Are We?
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InfiniteStar
Posts: 3 |
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Here's a question for all fans of manga.
It goes without saying that manga has in some form impacted all kinds of people, from all reaches of the world, whether it's the manga themselves or the anime adaptations that air. With such a broad and diverse fanbase, how would you answer the question: Who ARE manga fans? |
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Saffire
 Posts: 1256 Location: Iowa, USA |
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You're supposed to provide your own thoughts about your question in order to get conversation rolling.
As for what I think, it's exactly what "manga fan" suggests. People who enjoy reading manga. A fan can be anyone and like anything. Any attempt to restrict the idea of "fans" down beyond a simple love of manga can only be an attempt at exclusion, I think. |
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InfiniteStar
Posts: 3 |
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I also believe manga fans are just people who love manga. I'm just curious about how others can interpret the phrase.
For example, where does being a fan begin? Can a person only like one specific series and still be called a fan, or does 'fan' extend to needing to love a variety of series? I think fans are those who are avid supporters of manga in general, so if someone only likes a few series, it'd be hard to categorize the person as a fan..does anyone agree/disagree? |
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EireformContinent
 Posts: 977 Location: Łódź/Poland (The Promised Land) |
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So what measure is non-fan? Do we have any degrees? Tests? Being a fan is a perfectly self-describing subjective term. ATM the only thing I see that connects A&M fans (at least here) is willingness to spend money on things that rest of the society takes as garbage.
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Dessa
 Posts: 4438 |
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I hate questions like this. I'm dealing with it on another forum I go to, where someone is claiming someone else isn't a "real" fan (yes, their exact term).
If you like manga, you're a fan. That's it. There are no "degrees" or "levels" of being a fan. People's use of things like that is just to degrade other fans, and make themselves look/feel better. |
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nobahn
 Subscriber Posts: 5120 |
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I am reminded of a photograph that I saw of a Japanese man is a business suit reading a manga on a subway train. I respectfully submit that there is no one type of manga fan.
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InfiniteStar
Posts: 3 |
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That is true. Perhaps 'fan' isn't exactly something a person can measure. So we can say, as long as a person finds enjoyment out of any anime/manga-related series, whether it be one series or many, and is willing to support that series, that person can be called a fan.
There was another interesting point brought up as well. Why do you think it is that most of society perceives anime/manga as garbage? One pet peeve of mine is the usual complaint from my family when they see me watching subbed anime: "Why are you watching those Japanese cartoons? Do you even understand what they're saying?" They're very close-minded and, to a point, racist. Do you think society tends to shun manga for the simple fact it's originated from a certain culture? Or perhaps because they might see manga as a mere comic book, and anime as just another kind of cartoon, then assume they're all meant for young children to watch? |
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nobahn
Subscriber Posts: 5120 |
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InfiniteStar--
By the way, please allow me to welcome you to the fora! 
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EireformContinent
Posts: 977 Location: Łódź/Poland (The Promised Land) |
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Sorry to say that, but most of the people treat spending money on hobby like buying garbage. You can be forgiven going to cinema, or having Steam account, but why bother with buying films/books/comics/musics, or God-forbid, collecting anything? So you can shake hands with all other fandoms.
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nobahn
Subscriber Posts: 5120 |
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EireformContinent--
I feel compelled to disagree; in my experience, many other collectors are treated respectfully. Not so the anime community. I would submit that the manga community also gets more respect. |
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Tamaria
 Posts: 1512 Location: De Achterhoek |
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I dunno. Books like that are made by collectors, for collectors.
From my experience most people are pretty cool with others having a collection, if: 1. the time/money spend on said collection does not seem disproportionate to the time/money available. For instance: fathers should spend more time with their family than with their collection. 2. the collection is presented in a nice and organised manner. Neat shelving units lining a wall: okay. Walls covered in posters, stacks of stuff taking over living areas, making the house/room look like that of a sad, obsessed teenager: not okay. |
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Alan45
 Village Elder Posts: 9848 Location: Virginia |
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@ Tameria
I find most people are OK with my hobby simply because they have no idea what I'm talking about. "anime, huh?" In a marriage it is very helpful if both are collectors. There is a great deal of acceptance as long as you are not fighting over funds. It also helps that my wife's doll collection is a lot more visable and helps my figures slide under the radar. @InfiniteStar Getting back to your original question, are you looking for a definition or demographic data? A definition is easy: 1- self identification I can't imagine that anyone would lie about it. 2- Anyone who buys or reads two or more series. (if you only read one series, you are a fan of that series, but see #1) If it is demographic data, that is a lot more difficult. First you would have to specify just what data you wanted and than a way to collect it. Asking here is going to provide a skwed response based on the forum viewers and their willingness to respond. I suppose the publishers have such information (or hope they do) but I'm not sure they would part with it. |
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OdessaJones
 Posts: 12 Location: Maryland, USA |
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Great definitions that no social scientist could argue with. I also think because many people have some slight prejudice against A&M, anyone who reads manga will be perceived as a fan by the world. By contrast, we wouldn't say anyone who once watched the Superbowl is a football fan. And not many people call themselves "books fans"--they say, I'm a Steven King fan or a Michael Connelly fan. I see my viewing & reading as just one part of being a fan of story-telling in general. I like A&M for the same reason I like any TV shows or novels. But because it's an effort to find the Japanese stuff, I find I've started describing myself as a fan. On a purely subjective level (see definition 1) I started feeling like a fan when I started watching subs and reading scanlations of obscure, unlicensed stuff that doesn't make it into the ANN encyclopedia. I hope collecting stuff isn't a requisite for fandom--I have a very small city apartment. I use the public library to read the big licensed titles from folks like VIZ. (I'm grateful for a good library system.) |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 9848 Location: Virginia |
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Odessa Jones wrote:
Not at all, all you have to do is like it and look for it. Applies to any fandom. I think I qualify as a book "fan", I both read and collect books, too many authors to mention. My interest in manga is just a special part of that. |
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iamalive
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Manga fans are people who are fans of just manga in general, and have a lot of experience and know a lot about it.
Well, that's just what I think. |
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