Forum - View topicYour feelings about anime being "niche"...
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doctordoom85
 Posts: 2092 |
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Nah, I don't mind. I've actually had good luck in making friends with fellow anime fans. I met three co-workers who were into anime (kinda hard not to find out, they talked about it amongst each other) when I started at Toys R Us back in '05, and they slowly got me interested (and now another co-worker is getting into it). Then when I got a second job at UPS, I met a guy who was a pretty big fan (found out after asking him what series his hat had on it. Note: It was Tenjho Tenge), and since it was only the two of us in our work area, I made more of an effort to watch more anime so we could have something to talk about. That "obligation" soon became a genuine addiction, and my true anime fandom began. Now my buddy at UPS has introduced me to four of his friends who are into anime, and we all went to Ikasucon this summer, and I hang with my UPS buddy and two of them in their neighborhood and watch anime/play games. It was kinda like a snowball effect, I stayed observant and engaged conversation, and soon I had my own small group of anime friends.
But let's say they didn't exist? I'd be okay. I'm a huge LOST fan but no one my age watches it (though my UPS friend is waiting for the series to complete so he can watch it all brand new in a marathon), only my mom, aunt, and the guy who runs the local comic shop. But I love the show, and I'm not going to get depressed because no one can talk about it. I'm well-versed in anime, TV, movies, video games, news, etc., so I'll usually have something to talk about with people. Only if all you do is watch sports (I have no interest in watching people play with balls) would I have nothing in common. |
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ChronoBall X
 Posts: 389 |
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Anime is a good hobby to have,you know,same thing with video games and wrestling,but however,not everyone is gonna be into it,the best strategy to get people into anime is to show them a really good series on Dvd such as Chrono Crusade for instance,and if that does'nt work,than show those fellow comic book fans manga and introduce them to some good stories,I mean,as for me,I've seen aload of people in the graphic novels section at my local barnes in nobels,most however will perfer the DC and Marvel comics while I only see a few reading Manga,but anyway,the point is, Anime is like one of those basic hobbies and not to treat as a religion social life,because not everyone is gonna be into it.
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VincentLight
Posts: 1 |
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Well, I have never really regretted being into anime. Although other people sometimes do have quite some strange feelings about this hobby of mine. If people ask me what I like I sometimes find myself avoiding the topic cause it's just a bother to explain. Mostly people just go akwardly quiet if I explain. Few are outright rude about it though... could be because my other hobbies include bodybuilding and martial arts amongst others.
Seriously though. I think it's kind of charming to be part of a niche thing. I've always liked what feels a bit off from the majority of people. Be it clothing, music, what I read, what I watch or the people i hang around. And I always tried to keep an open mind about new stuff, whatever it may be. I guess thats why the few otaku friends I have now jumped me in school and force fed me with anime untill I was stuck with it. 
Also It's always a blast when you find people that are into the same stuff as you. Suddenly you have the stuff for so much conversation! I doubt it would be as enjoyable if everyone was walking around with big hats proclaming their love for anime. So no, never regretted it. |
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Dark Elf Warrior
 Posts: 228 |
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I'm pretty much the only anime fan in my area, and I'm okay with it. I think its all right that anime is liked by a small portion. If you've noticed, outside of anime, when things get really popular it can be annoying. Take Twilight for example, I liked vampires before they became popular. My friend had never batted an eye at vampires and after she read Twilight she has become obsessed to the point where it is annoying. (She is also obsessed with Legolas of LOTR to the point where she doesn't want me to have him as a favorite character.)
Just think if anime were like Twilight, everyone in the nation would act like the small portion of rabid fangirls that we anime fans constantly have to deal with. If everyone were like that with anime, it would get annoying, and we might even stop liking anime in fear that we become obsessed and rabid. So anime being a niche is a good thing to me. 
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TheVok
Posts: 613 Location: North York, Ontario, Canada |
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This thread raises a question ....
Why do some of you folks do this? What's the purpose, the goal, the aim? I don't really get ShadowTrader's reasoning that somehow anime going mainstream will bring more mature titles to market. I can't really see how there's a problem in that regard right now; the anime we don't get over here isn't generally absent because it's mature, it's absent because it's obscure or really difficult to translate culturally. I sometimes recommend an anime movie or series to a friend, but only when I specifically think that friend will be interested in it. I have nothing to gain simply by hyping anime-at-large to everyone around me. I doubt the industry has much to gain from that kind of publicity, either. 
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larinon
 Posts: 992 Location: Midland, TX |
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Well, in theory, if anime were more popular then we wouldn't have to pay quite as much for DVDs since presumably there would be higher sales to more easily recoup the licensing, production, and dubbing fees. I doubt any fans go out of their way to interest other people with that goal in mind though. But the industry would be healthier in that scenario, either way, which would probably lead to more titles being licensed. As long as they don't go crazy that'd be a good thing I think. Still, it'd be nice if there were more fans around that I could talk about anime with in person. Nothing against this forum, but it's nice to just talk about random titles with people. I get to do this a little bit at club meetings, but a lot of the members either have different preferences than me or just simply haven't seen a lot of titles. So to me that's the downside of anime being a niche interest. Other than that, I don't particularly mind anime being niche. But I think awareness of anime is still increasing at a regular pace. I can still find almost every R1 release that I want to buy at our local Best Buy. Maybe it's not as much of a niche as we think? There will always be ignorant people that we'll encounter, but I think as a group we're more accustomed to ignoring the naysayers. |
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ShadowTrader
 Posts: 231 Location: NJ |
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You are kidding right? Why WOULDN'T the industry benefit from more mainstream publicity? If the industry expands into the mainstream it would mean a whole lot more profits as well as wider audience variety. This in turn could create a lot more little studios that could specialize in certain demographics and still be able to make money because the medium is so mainstream. And to answer your question, this in turn would fulfill my selfish need for more mature anime, since I will have a greater variety to chose from. You are completely wrong if you believe anime is "absent because it's obscure or really difficult to translate culturally," its not mainstream because of the difficulty in marketing a medium that is less profitable than live-action and carries the burden of being associated with cartoons, thus slandered "kids stuff."
You already know my goal and my dilemma, and if you don't I'll refer you to another thread entitled How old is too old to still be watching anime?, it should still only be a few pages back in the anime forum part. Another goal of going mainstream, this one less selfish, is to bring attention the great medium that is anime. I believe it to be better than live-action because of its stronger ability to entertain, its' greater abilty to whisk away from reality, and its better ability to portray a variety of different worlds or layers. I am of the opinion that people fear anime becoming mainstream because it is possible it could become diluted by Hollywood which could create some other spin-off medium that will starve the eastern industry. I do not really share this concern and try to only believe that if animators can keep improving the quality of their releases it will grab the attention of the mainstream and it will mesmerize and astound until it is the dominant form of entertainment. |
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Watashi wa Ryuzaki
 Posts: 184 Location: Florida, USA |
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While it does all but irritate me, I just think of it in an optimistic point of view. There are many who tend to celebrate hobbies that fall into secluded categories. Anime isn't persay a niche all on it's own, as most off it falls onto the sci-fi cateogry, which is an complete other playing field.
In the end, we don't have to be part of this so called "niche", but we chose to due to our certain tastes, anime appeals to all of us but could definitly be way more widspread if it were for better marketing, and more reliable broadcasters. Anime isn't really an untapped market, but could definitly be doing better than it is. If it makes you happy then why give a damn if others can't get past thier own ignorance to see that it's just hobby. Anime can be a way of life to those of little logic, but to the rest of us...theres a fine line between casual, and fanatic. |
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ikillchicken
 Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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Well, it would be nice if anime was more mainstream sure. It's always nice to have something in common with more people. Ultimately though, anime in no way requires others to enjoy. It would be nice if there were more people to discuss it with but not a big deal.
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Bluebeard
 Posts: 267 Location: Massachusetts |
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Anime is actually a step up in popularity compared to some of my other hobbies. If you want niche, try finding anyone who is remotely interested in the collecting, cleaning, and attributing of ancient Roman coinage. There's nothing quite as social and lively as debating the merits of olive oil vs TSP soaking and sitting at your desk with a magnifying glass trying to figure out those 3 obscured letters after IMPCAESC--- are only to discover it's yet another worthless Constantine
So yeah, niche has never really bothered me that much. What does bother me slightly though as a result of Anime's niche categorization is the worry that a series you're very interested in seeing may never be licensed for a R1 release, or that a series you're currently watching may all of a sudden be left unfinished due to the shakey ground the American companies stand on. Still it sounds like things are currently better for the fans than they have been in the past, so I'm not one to complain and I'm happy to have the access to what I do. |
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abunai
Old Regular
 Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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I hear you. The sheer staggering amount of nummi scattered around the Mediterranean region notwithstanding, the amount of run-of-the-mill coins so far outstrips the truly interesting ones that it really is hardly worth the effort. Yes, I have a collection of Roman coinage -- although it's really part of a "historical perspective" theme collection, and not an actual Roman-focussed collection. Nyah nyah, your niche wasn't narrow enough! As for anime being a niche, or not.... who cares? I certainly don't. I do what I do because it interests me, which basically means that I try everything (because everything interests me). What other people may think of my interests does not concern me in the slightest. Having said that, I do believe I would prefer anime to not become mainstream -- because with mainstream comes crassness. When something becomes commonplace, there is a tendency for it to lose its appeal through overuse and being dumbed down to please the wider audience. Even so, this is already a part of the anime phenomenon, since Japan is a sufficiently big market to produce this effect all on its own. Look at every season: there are several "dumb" shows every time. And yet, the good shows continue to be made (and hey, the dumb shows aren't that bad -- I have been known to chew bubble gum once in a while, too). They may not have a wide audience appeal, but there continues to be a market for them, which is a heartening thought. If anime went mainstream, I would like to think that what we would see would be an effect like ordinary television shows: tons of brainless lowest-common-denominator stuff, but glimmering amidst the dross, shows of high intelligence and quality. The TV may show you American Idol and Survivor and the like, but the TV also shows you House. - abunai |
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TheVok
Posts: 613 Location: North York, Ontario, Canada |
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Um, look, I'm flattered, but me telling people about anime is hardly the same as it achieving mainstream publicity.
But wouldn't you say it has expanded there already? 'Afro Samurai' aired on Spike. A whack of shows have aired on Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Skiffy. I mean, the only way it can go more mainstream would be the broadcast networks. Of them, only Fox currently airs primetime animation of any kind, let alone Japanese.
But are you really lacking for it? What 'mature' anime movies/series aren't available through Amazon, for example?
But why would that be important? Geez, I really think it's fair to say that pretty much everyone knows what anime is now. That doesn't mean they're all going to watch it. |
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Alestal
 Posts: 605 Location: Dallas, Texas |
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ShadowTrader
Posts: 231 Location: NJ |
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Knowing and seeing/trying are two different things. I know about roman coinage too, but I've never held one or appreciated the art of cleaning one and cataloging it.
You keep answering your own question, its not on all the broadcast networks, so to me it has not expanded enough. If at least one anime was shown during prime time on every broadcast network, then I would consider it to be mainstream, so NO its not widespread enough. You fail to understand my quest for mature anime. I'm not talking about actually wanting to own more, I just want better quality series like Monster or Black Lagoon. Sure there are tons of mature anime out there but most of them are as terrible as some of the mindless "all age" ones. Its really my thing so you don't really have to worry about it. |
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KyuuA4
 Posts: 1361 Location: America, where anime and manga can be made |
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Unlike Video Games -- it's still a niche because older folks -- ages 40+ -- still do not buy them in large numbers. They're the people with big money. |
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