Forum - View topicHey, Answerman! [2008-05-02]
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4576 |
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I don't understand that behavior in the least either. I'm a very green anime fan in the grand scheme of things, but even so, one of the things that's given me the most joy is conversing with someone who's watching a series I've loved for a few years for the very first time. It's rather nostalgic to see someone else react in a similar way to the same plot twists that wowed me on my first time, and it usually makes me fall in love with the show all over again. At least in my eyes, it should work the same way as taking someone to a really beautiful natural spot you've been visiting for years and watching them experience it with new eyes. Being hostile to those who are new to a series is probably just so much snobbery to let the "veteran" feel self-important. |
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la_contessa
Posts: 200 Location: Pennsylvania |
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I feel like part of the community because I can usually find SOMETHING to talk about with any other fan I meet (I'm not into exclusively any kind of anime--in fact, it's very rare for me to not like something, of any genre except the extremely violent and bloody, which I don't especially care for). However, sometimes the rest of fandom embarrasses me. Back in the day when I was first getting into anime--let's say around 1995--I was probably equally childish, I admit. But now that I'm an adult, I kind of cringe at the reputation for shrieking, squeeing, and glomping that fans are garnering for the rest of us, not to mention the elitism. I will admit to being elitist about subtitles when I was in college, but I got over that real quick-like when I started dating my fiance, who is a dub guy. Now I just want everyone to be able to enjoy this wonderful art form that I love so much, and the people who seem bound and determined to make it all inaccessible (by being jerks to people who would like to find out more) are really not helping matters. Yes, I love Naruto. Yes, I love Eva. Liking one, the other, both, or neither has nothing to do with whether or not you're a real fan. I'm sympathetic to the idea that you're not a real fan if you simply steal artists' work and never ever pay anything for it (if you're such a fan, why don't you want them to make more anime, which they won't do if they don't profit from it? To feed their families? To be rewarded for their talents?), but other than that, anything can make you a fan.
I've run a How to Run an Anime Club panel for two years now, and I like to give attendees tips on what to show by asking the following question: what anime do you have to have seen to be considered a real anime fan? The answers? They're almost all early- to mid-2000s shounen series, with some older series in there for people to show off that they know about them. When I point that out to the attendees, their eyes widen, and we started to talk about showing some older shows, or shows in different genres, at club meetings. This is how the modern American anime-watching public skews right now, so that's what it thinks makes the "real fan." Like I said, I don't think there's any rules for being a real fan, but I would urge any fan to consider watching the older shows or the shows in other genres to broaden their horizons, if you will. My fiance, Gundam fanboy extraordinaire, also likes Sailor Moon. It's possible, so try a new genre next time 
On another note--I agree with the poster who was surprised that Zac reads Drudge. I too had pegged him for a NY Times kind of guy. Well, you learn something new every day  Don't despair over your action figures; there are a lot of perfectly nice geek girls or semi-geek girls who would totally appreciate that collection.
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Mohawk52
 Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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No real man drinks out of a glass like that, at least not in public.
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rti9
 Posts: 1241 |
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I recently saw this video from this thread. Maybe you should watch it too. 00:53 reminded me of this. 02:21 You're kidding me... wtf. |
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SalarymanJoe
 Posts: 468 Location: Atlanta, GA, USA |
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This week was a good quick column. Love the revised picture; you make martinis or just drink Sapphire straight? I'm much more of a Gin and Tonic type of guy and Sapphire is delicious (better than regular Bombay) though I'm more apt to drink Beefeater because I like the bite. I'm he same with Vodka; I'll pass on Belvadere and Grey Goose if I have access to Stolichnaya.
@ "Real Fan": I can say that I've been on both sides of the equasion here. I don't think I've ever called someone "not a real fan" (unless it was some instance of XYZ celebrity used ANIMEX in MEDIUMY and then it was purely speculative) because they didn't have the merch or anything other than videos and likewise, I'm not aware of anyone saying the same to me. I've even been known to play the sub-elietist card on a handful of occasions, but never accused people who enjoy dubs as "not real fans". To me, it's too far. Though, I've been a third party to such discussion (mostly via the Internet "debate" circles), so I'm quite aware it happens almost all too frequently. But, when I was first getting into fandom, the other fans I met had so much stuff and knew so much that I wanted to be "real fans" like them and that's what I strove for. It's not as purely keeping up with the Joneses as it seems because I really enjoyed it. If I didn't, I'd probably have several thousand dollars worth of stuff on eBay. But after being in the collector's mindset for as long as I had and anime was gaining more mainstream popularity at the turn of the millenium, I was momentarily perplexed that there were fans who didn't want everything related to their favorites. They loved anime just as much as I did, but they didn't have the desire to have a HUEG collection. It was at that point that I figured anime was popular enough to actually have casual fans rather than an escalating collection of super fans. @ Flake: This is almost as good as making fun of otakukin and spirit-animal-based-jutsu. You're right though, foxes have been ruined by furries. In fact, almost every animal has been ruined by furries. @Answerfans: I posted a bit of my feelings on this topic last week and due to senior projects and all that other fun stuff needed to graduate all needing to be in this week, I didn't get a chance to send a response in. I did find a lot of common ground in some of the printed submissions though:
Personally, I don't see it so much at cons as I do with internet boards (or, people who spend too much time on them). Granted, I've had my own arm-chair outrage moments; usually because I spend too much time on internet boards. At first, I thought Rachel's response was rather cold ("I don't need community") but that could also be the mindset I'm in, a hold over from the end of days of yore. James Olsen's response, I can agree with in part. It'd be nice if some aspects of the old days - particularly the networking and community aspects - could come back, but the commericalization hell of that time frame I never wish to return to. I like being able to purchase with mouse-clicks rather than having to make long drives to expensive speacialty shops. I like having the freedom to check something out on my own via rental or online and not have to wait 'til the next club meeting. And all of those niche groups we have are all presently there. But, even they're fractionalized, they can hardly be looked at as a source of inspiration for the goal of returning to a community architecture. Hannah J.M. : Laughs all around. I really enjoyed reading your response, especially about the "normal anime fans". Not only do I think we are much fewer in number than we should be; however, conversely, I also deplore that anime cons feel they need to have events not related to anime and manga (namely, any game room of sorts, though there are minor exceptions) to get attendees in the door. I think its great to have hobbies outside of anime and manga though I believe in a separation of hobbies where anime cons should be primarily focused on anime or manga.
Now all he needs are some empty pill bottles... 
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kureshii
Posts: 17 |
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With all that's said I just remembered something I was talking to a friend about. Namely, that there are anime fans, and there are anime fans.
What's the difference? One's the type whose interest lies entirely in the show. He/she (henceforth referred to as "he" for convenience) watches a few series (typically action-oriented), and generally gravitates towards series from one or two genres. They typically watch only out of recommendation and do not actively seek out new releases, hyped or not. The other kind's the type who'll look out for specific aspects on a series that he likes, and look out for other series by the same producer/director/designer/etc. They generally keep a close eye on the anime scene, watch a variety of genres (though typically like one or two in general), and can generally describe trends in anime series over the past 2 or 3 years. In other words, the first kind is an anime show fan (usually a big fan of one or two series), the second kind is an anime fan (a fan of anime in general). The same distinction can be made for just about any kind of entertainment (American sitcoms, movies, radio/music, whatever). I'm not saying this because I think the first type is inferior to the second type or the second type has less of a life or anything, but because if you wish to retain any semblance of sociality you'll need to be able to identify the two and make appropriate conversation points. I say this because I recall a conversation I had with a stranger (a friend of a friend of a friend). He'd actually heard of Ninja Scroll (rare occurrence for me) and watched a few shows I didn't manage to find any fans of (again, anime fans are relatively rare here). In my joy at finding someone in real life to talk to about anime I started rambling and soon deviated to more recent topics, such as Geneon's collapse, the ODEX fiasco, and about the scene in general. A full 10 minutes passed before I realised that he had a blank look on his face. Now I make sure to probe with a few questions before I go into ramble mode. If the other guy's an anime show fan and we don't share any common shows of interest I quickly move the topic to something else other than anime; we'll end up boring each other to death otherwise. Once in awhile you do find people who rock both boats - where I stay (and study), if you find someone like that you cling on and definitely do not let go. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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I read probably 10-15 different news sources every day. If that shot had been representative of what I read most often it'd have been on Huffington Post. Frankly every news junkie reads Drudge regardless of their political leaning; it's the best aggregate out there, provided you can tolerate his obvious spin and exaggerated headlines. I'm as left-wing as can be and I check it probably once every few hours. The best thing about Drudge is how no matter what's happening in the world - Iran could nuke Israel - and if there's a shark attack story, that's guaranteed to be Drudge's  TOP STORY. It's hilarious.
As for the action figures, I was kidding; it's never been a problem with the various women I've been involved with over the years. Then again I usually date nerds, so that might have something to do with it. |
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tygerchickchibi
 Posts: 1448 |
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I feel somewhat offended by that comment. I'm waaay to sophisticated to ever be called a nerd; Ever. >_>; *chomps on her banana flavored pocky.* Hmph. |
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Jih2
 Posts: 403 Location: East coast |
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Glad to see the real shot of your battle stat...I mean desk...desk. Glad to see that most of those who wrote in also feel there needs to be some change in the fandom or maybe it's just that there are more of us now and thus more schmucks. Then again who takes everyone to be normal at an anime convention these days?
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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I don't worry about elitists these days. I've had my fair share of having to deal with them on here and other places. They are a pain in the ass, but then when you deal with things for so long it just rubs off on you. I'm really hoping that AX will provide us with some licenses that we want to hear about. If not, then Otakon or Comicon. I really want to know who's going to get Hellsing Ultimate.
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Forever-Eternity0
 Posts: 15 Location: Leiden, Netherlands |
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Seeing that flake of the week makes me understand why you have a bottle of alcoholics in the neighbourhood while browsing your mailbox. Although the lol-corruption it uses could serve as an indicator that it's a troll.
The whole fandom-defining phenomenon is a vicious circle of endless exclusion and complaining about said exclusion, with the complainers coming to a general consensus that the excluders aren't the real fans(continue ad infinitum). Don't complain about elitist types; see them as an easy source of ridicule, and watch them get their panties in a knicker while you laugh in their faces about their obsessive seriousness. |
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eviltimes
 Posts: 116 Location: Callisto |
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I just wish otaku would bathe!
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Raoh
 Posts: 357 Location: Florence, OR |
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Your friend is an idiot. We all know to be a true wrestling fan, you've got to be a fan of The Undertaker, for there is no better. So it hath be spoken, so true shall it be.
In regards to the obviously mentally deficient person who keeps sending these "pwned" e-mails, maybe I have lost any sense of tolerance that I had, but I hope he dies. In a fire. It's called natural selection for a reason, people. |
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KnightSoul
Posts: 6 |
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Know what the sad part is? Up until the return of DX, he was the biggest John Cena fan you could imagine. The figures, the posters, the magazines, the shirts, the music...the "you can't see me" hand wave. All of it. What made him change his mind so easily? TEH INTERWEBZ. Seriously. Everyone on the wrestling forums he frequents started hating on Cena, so it became "cool" to do so, and so he conformed. Then Orton became Cena's rival, so he jumped on the Legend Killer bandwagon. |
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Dorian
 Posts: 111 Location: Houston |
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Zac,
Is the baby fox curled up in a hunt cap? You know the helmet warn by fox hunters. |
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