Forum - View topicAnswerman - What's A "Mainstream" Anime Fan?
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xchampion
 Posts: 370 Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho |
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I said in a previous post that all metrics would be different depending on the person, but the numbers you're presenting are far and above mainstream levels. If my math is not wrong then you're averaging over 6 series a month and that's not counting length of the series in the equation. Almost 300 shows in over 3 years is a massive number in my opinion. I've pribably watched not even half that and I stuck mainly to dubs too. |
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EricJ2
 Posts: 4016 |
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Mainstream fans were very easy to categorize in the late 90's, when anime was mainstream even in Japan, and it while it wasn't easy to get access to it in the US, it was a lot easier than it was in the underground early-90's. It was easy to be a "middle-class" anime fan in '99-'00 if you knew who Ranma Saotome, Lina Inverse and Tenchi Masaki were, if you knew why Kiki's Delivery Service wasn't a Disney movie even though Disney had put it out on tape, if you knew why DBZ was better dubbed and Robotech and Sailor Moon were better subbed, if you knew why The Lion King wasn't, quote, "based on Hamlet", if you could have a meaningful conversation about Pokemon with any 10-yo., and if you'd gotten your elementary-age daughter to learn to read subtitles on Card Captor Sakura. That mainstream access disappeared with the 00's Bubble, when overlicensing, unfamiliar titles and single-volume anime disks had crippled the US retail market, Suncoasts had long since closed out of every shopping mall, and even Best Buy's national retail was starting to thumb their nose at ADV and Pioneer. Now we have anime available through either cable or streaming. Meaning, you now have anime divided into the two polarized camps of, on one side: A) The "Ultra-Niche" fans who know where to find it on streaming and disk, and go into long episode-specific private gushes over Yuri on Ice or Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid (or whatever series Crunchyroll is fangirl-ing about this week on their Twitter account--Think it's the Ramen, the Camping or the Mummy one), and B ) The "Ultra-Noob" fans who don't know where to find it--And keep the conversations to the overexposed, too-easily accessible series like Attack on Titan, Sword Art Online and Death Note, look to mainstream outlets like Netflix, Amazon and Toonami for their anime (when Amazon tried to go double-paywall, you'd think someone was taking bread out of their mouths), and tend to be snubbed by the Nichies for "not knowing" about the current series being talked about. And let's not even get into the topic of "anime fans" who've never watched anything in their lives but Studio Ghibli, "Grave of the Fireflies" included. Try to take a stand between the two, and the discussion soon leans over the tightrope to one or the other. We'd do well to pay attention to that, as that's currently what's also happening with classic old Hollywood movies at the moment, between those who believe All Movies Stream on Filmstruck, and those still trying to dig something off of Netflix or Amazon because it's "supposed" to be there. |
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Shaterri
Posts: 173 |
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Out of curiosity, when was this, and what was the makeup of the group? I ask because - well, because I come from a large clan of geeks, but none of the women I know has been shocked by any of the others being into Sailor Moon, and they're happy to talk about it at length now and again. I was mostly going by the 'Hot Topic index', if you will - how likely are you to find a T-shirt of this show at Hot Topic? - and that should put shows like Sailor Moon and CCS (and Fruits Basket, which still maintains a somewhat astonishing popularity given that it's been done for more than a decade) right in the middle of the conversation. |
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5865 Location: Virginia, United States |
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Yes, because the Palmtop Tiger owns Goku. |
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Never_Know_Best
Posts: 176 |
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I’d say he was just being matter-of-fact. The shows Justin listed are simply among those most likely to be watched by a casual viewer in the 2010s. Shonen has long been the most attractive genre/demo to either gender, especially when combined with a glossy paint job and no evident ties to a ~20-year-old series (DBS is *the* exception). I wish casual fandom’s tastes were more diverse too (I still can’t get enough of my friends to check out Magus’ Bride and YoI, let alone a Masaaki Yuasa work), but the fervor around the biggest hits speaks for itself. Last edited by Never_Know_Best on Tue Apr 03, 2018 9:25 am; edited 1 time in total |
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BodaciousSpacePirate
 Subscriber Posts: 3018 |
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It was a few months ago, with a bunch of people who work for the department of corrections in various capacities (I do literacy outreach volunteer work at corrections facilities). |
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Kougeru
 Posts: 5534 |
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I keep it simple. If you watch less than 20 anime a year or else than 4 a season, you're a casual
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Stampeed Valkyrie
 Posts: 834 Location: PA |
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I think the definition is even easier then most people think.
I use the term "Flavor of the month" titles.. these are the titles that everyone fawns over.. and are the super popular titles.. back in the day.. Kenshin, DBZ, Inuyasha.. followed by bleach, Naruto.. and nowdays Attack on Titan and SAO... etc.. etc.. you get the point. A casual fan is a fan that never bothers to dig deeper.. They will watch what their friends are raving about.. but never strike out to discover something new on their own. That is a Causal fan.. and we all started there at one point. For me the like of the medium made me set out on the paths less traveled finding the jems that nobody talks about.. and that makes you an Otaku. |
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xchampion
Posts: 370 Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho |
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These two quotes are great examples of why it's so hard to quantify. They both think it's simple, yet the metrics they provide are completely different. If an anime fan is keeping track of and watching four different shows every season, especially in this scenario they are most likely watching sub, then are they really casual fans? On the other hand does a casual fan really only watch the popular shows like Naruto? If they do would a casual fan commit to and continue to watch a show that is 700 some episodes. Is an otaku a person that only watches obscure shows that no one talks about? I don't know if I have an answer but these two opinions of a casual fans don't quite sit right with me either. I guess we'll never have a definite answer except differing opinions. |
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MoonPhase1
Posts: 492 |
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I hardly ever stream Anime. But every single day I am watching Anime on Blu-ray. Plus of course watching the entire Toonami block every week.
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16941 |
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Due to personal and work related issues my anime consumption has dwindled to under that amount for the past 2 years. So despite being a fan for about 25 years, going to multiple cons in multiple states, a good 3-4 dozen PVC figures, and having a massive anime /manga collection I am now just a lowly "casual fan" by your standards. This is why I think using ANY sort of quantifying number or pointless arbitrary standard for what makes someone a real fan, a casual fan, or any other sort of judgment on their personal level of enjoyment of their hobby is foolish. YOU can't decide if someone else is a casual fan of something or not. THEY decide that. It's also a slippery slope that leads to elitism of various flavors and "fans" pissing on other fans for not being at their level of fandom. |
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Tuor_of_Gondolin
 Posts: 3524 Location: Bellevue, WA |
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In my view, the main difference between Hardcore and Mainstream is energy. How much energy do they put into anime? You can do that by watching it, or by talking about it, or by just spending a lot of time thinking about it. You can also read up on shows you like, or might like. But the bottom line is that if you spend a lot of your time/energy invested into anime, then that makes you hardcore. Contrarily, if you barely think about it except to catch a show or two each week, I wouldn't call you hardcore.
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almostapeach
Posts: 2 |
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I've never really known where I stand on the spectrum of caual and hardcore anime fan. It always feels like I haven't seen nor know enough to call myself a hardcore anime fan. In general I tend to gravitate towards any type of escapism, tv shows, k dramas, music, novels, movies, gaming of any kind, cartoons, anime, manga. I'm really just a serial binger of entertainment and media and all they'll find of my body when they come check out wtf the smell is, is a shriveled old moldy potato.
A fan is a fan unless it's a sasaeng. |
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Crisha
Moderator
 Posts: 4290 |
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Similarly so for the past 2 years for me, but mine has also been a combo of being worn out and being obsessed with Yuri!!! on Ice (still). Since the beginning of 2017, I've spent around $1,300 on YOI merch alone on top of the anime and manga I'm still collecting. I also still read YOI fanfics regularly. I keep up with news on ANN, read reviews of current ongoing shows, and will watch the ones that most interest me. I find myself getting more selective as I get older. 2015 was my most productive year, having finished 63 series, but I think I burned myself out doing that. I've never been the most prolific, but I've always been deeply entrenched in the fandom. I'd rather watch 10-20 awesome shows per year that really grab me and have active fandoms I can interact with, than 100 good shows that keep me entertained but don't leave a lasting impression. Even watching only 10-20 shows per year, anime is still my main fandom. I'll play maybe 3 games per year, watch a few horror movies per month on Netflix and Amazon, watch the occasional interesting series on Netflix (i.e. Stranger Things), see the occasional movie in theaters, play tabletop games with friends once a month, etc. I prefer depth to breadth. If anything, fanfics probably take up the largest share of my time. I stumbled across my first fanfic in the early 2000s, and have since spent thousands upon thousands of hours reading them. (I actually calculated the amount of words I read in January 2017, when I was recovering from surgery, and I read the equivalent of all 7 Harry Potter books twice during that month in fanfics (approx. 2.25 million words)). |
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belldandy.99
 Posts: 11 |
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What is the author smoking?
The answer is simple, as its the same as it has always been. As some pointed out, its all about how much priority takes in your life. The one saying it depends one how many series you watch per xxx, you are smoking the bad one or you are a hikkikomori, not all of us are kids, many of us work and have limited time, if you spend most of that time for anime, you are a hardcore, if its one hour, and 40 minutes are for anime, you are a hardcore. Does anime take preference as your entertainment primary option? Given the choice would you rather spend time doing sports than watching anime? Given the choice, would you rather spend a Saturday afternoon watching anime than with your friends, family or special someone? Would you rather watch anime than live action? Would you rather watch anime that US cartoons? Do you prefer Japanese movies over any disney/pixar movie? Do you loathe American cartoons? Do you spend money buying anime merchandise? Do you like to waste hundreds of money to buy a piece of plastic (anime blurays dvds) for it to gather dust in your room but makes you feel good? Do you buy anime figures? If yes to one or several you are a hardcore. EASY. A casual just watch anime from time to time, has other entertainment priorities. etc. I myself was a hardcore one, until I became totally nauseated due to the moe and fanservice which even contaminated long time favorite franchises (macross, GITS) Today I just watch a couple series and that's it, I would rather play videogames which are more varied, more deep, provide more quality, etc. Anime thanks to moe and fanservice is now one of the last options of entertainment for me. |
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