Forum - View topicwhat makes you an Anime fan?
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ayanami42
Posts: 11 Location: Eva unit-0 |
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Do you have to watch every series ever made? Or read every manga series ever written?Do you have to love Anime characters? Do you have to know the art and graphics or all the characters inside and out? Do you have to have a website or buy anything that deals with Anime? Do you need to learn Japanese and the culture? I only apply to some of these myself. But what do you think makes you an Anime fan? I am just curios and it was running through my mind so i thought I might ask a few people what they thought. I am not possing to be an Anime lover. i have been for some time now. But I see people all the time dress up as their fav character, or act like their in another world. Are they freaks or just fans?
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jsyxx
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I really don't think learning Japanese or even hearing it is necesary. I do have farvoite characters and series. Most of the stuff I look out for is by my favorite creators. I think just checking for what is popular is pretty shallow and a waste of time.
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Nagisa
Moderator
 Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
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Both. That "freakish" behaviour is just how they choose to express their love of anime. Being an anime fan simply means you have an appreciation of Japanese animation. It doesn't really matter how many you see or own, or what you do to express your appreciation of it, you just have to enjoy it. |
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RabbitRevolution
 Posts: 218 |
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I think that you have to distinguish between your average anime fan and the obsessive/devoted (however you prefer to see them
 ) fan, the otaku. To be an otaku one would have to watch almost every conceivable anime out there and read a great deal of manga, but the general anime fan is simply a person who enjoys and appreciates a variety of anime. I mostly agree with the definition of an anime fan described in the Ask John columns at the AnimeNation website.
I think the main thing is not to worry about becoming the ultimate anime fan overnight. You don't have to know everything about anime to be part of the anime community! (I've recently come to this realization, which is why I- even though I have a lot to learn-have joined the forums.) I can, however, definitely emphasize with the stress you feel to do all the things you describe. True, you shouldn't be concerned only with watching popular titles, but I think from reading all the forums you can get the conception that there are certain titles that everybody is watching and that you must immediately watch them too. Do any other fans, particularly those just getting into anime, feel this way? And also, what do people think about the constant materialistic emphasis on buying more and more titles that seems to be an integral part of fandom? |
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lianncoop
Past ANN Contributor
 Posts: 1705 Location: Indiana |
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Of course you're going to be swayed by what's currently popular. You want to watch them to see what the buzz is about. But, in the anime community especially, it's almost like you have no credibility unless you've seen those newer titles or at least some of the older titles. You're automatically disregarded if you only go off of what's been shown on say...Cartoon Network. I've never actually observed the emphasis on actually owning particular titles, just the emphasis that you're supposed to have watched them. |
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Nagisa
Moderator
Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
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More than that, the average "otaku" is the sort of person that utterly forsakes everything else for the sake of their chosen obsession (not just anime zealots are otaku, remember). These sorts of anime fans are the kind that sit in dark rooms with all manner of media players set up around their TV and shelves stocked to the breaking point with merchandise, almost ceremonially watching that same old rotting VHS fansub over and again. For easy reference, the true "anime otaku" is like the Star Trek obsessive who watches old original series betamax tapes in order to pick out William Shatner's stunt double. Not the sort of thing you'd want to take pride in labeling yourself...which only makes it even more amusing when people proudly proclaim their "status" as otaku when they're really more like...
...this. And quite frankly, I'd rather someone consider me to be this type of person than a "cool Japanese word" for complete-and-utter-loser. Sorry, just had to rant about that and this provided the perfect window of opportunity.
I remember when I first got into anime, I initially felt like I was hopelessly in over my head. All these big name titles going around that everyone was talking about...Slayers, Escaflowne, Rurouni Kenshin, Evangelion, Utena, AKIRA, Ghost in the Shell, Gundam, Macross, X...absolutely made my head spin. All I did was just take it one step at a time...watched those "key" titles wherever I had the chance, checked into a few out of personal curiosity or encouragement from friends...it's like you said, you can't just become an expert overnight. But, though the road is long, it sure is an enjoyable one, to say the least.
I think it's silly, quite honestly. It always amuses me when I run into someone with a stack of DVDs they don't really enjoy, but buy anyway just to "add to their collection." If you didn't really enjoy it, why buy it? Odds are you won't watch it anyway and it'll just sit on the shelf collecting dust. Of course, it's not just the anime DVD market that suffers from this; I know there are many people that behave this way with DVDs in general...buying dozens of movies "just to have a collection." It's true that the anime video market isn't always one that you can just delve into by renting from the local hobby shop or Hollywood Video or from Netflix, so sometimes buying a couple volumes is the only way to see things. But if you don't like it after those couple volumes, the odds are heavily stacked that you aren't going to enjoy it at all, and that you'd be better off selling what you do have to buy something good. All in all, though, the best advice I can give about collecting is to only go for the stuff you like. Don't hoard merchandise just to be some faux "king of the mountain," buy for your own enjoyment. It's ultimately more rewarding, and it saves a bit on your poor little wallet. BTW, a warm welcome to the forums, Rabbit Revolution. I hope you enjoy your time here. |
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Nuriko-chan
 Posts: 192 Location: Konan |
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I fall in love with anime characters. Currently I love Kurama and Nuriko. I also watch as much anime as possible. Anime-starved, I may actually watch Ultimate Muscle ><.
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God_of_Evil
 Posts: 176 Location: A place with limited Anime |
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Watch Anime and, voilà, you're an Anime fan.
you don't have to do alot to be an Anime fan. I was an Anime fan before I knew what Anime was. I kept watching Anime series because they all looked alike and had semiliar plots. Only recently have I started to make my computer the ultimate Anime center. |
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Steventheeunuch
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I hate anime and everything it stands for
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kamiboy
 Posts: 570 Location: CA |
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I knew it! Mark my words GEN! One day the anime fandom will bring an end to your evi, evil empire, so there! |
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ShellBullet
 Posts: 1051 Location: I hit things, with my fist. |
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Well?that's just silly. I have an obsessive need to finish what I start. If I start a series I must see how it ends no matter how horrible it is. There have only been a few things so aweful that I could not finish them *shudders*. It just means you need to be careful what you start watching! Of coarse it makes it easy that I can rent almost all my anime, so finishing a bad series won't cost me too much. |
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littlegreenwolf
 Posts: 4796 Location: Seattle, WA |
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I am a fan of anime, but I'm no where near what I used to be. About 5 years ago I would be out there grabbing anything and everything I could that was anime. Now, I could care less about watching every anime out there. Instead, I perfer to search around and find the anime I consider good enough for my time now. Perhaps this is because I've matured some, or have discovered other new obsession *like manga* to take up my time. I just love animation in general, and there's one or two anime/manga titles I'll become an obsession freak fan over every once in a while, but mainly I'm just an art student looking into the things she loves for both entertainment and learning purposes. Hopefully for work soon too...
I don't think to be an anime fan that you need to be any of those things. To be a fan of anime you just have to love the stuff. There's no guidelines, but I do think you should be a fan of more then one or two shows befor you start calling yourself one. |
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Steventheeunuch
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We are building the FUNi-star 
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kozumi330214
 Posts: 11 Location: Philippines |
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Same here  .
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Ecko581
Posts: 5 Location: New York long Island |
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hi my first forum so here it go's. i love anime cus it's outside the box and can go in any direction I mean Eavangalion ( sorry cant spell) what other medium can you finde such well thout out and ..............well it just rocks
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