fanbase vs fanbase

N

nonnon

New member
i noticed that the fan base in japan is alot different than in the US. as in its just their culture. old people, woman, laborers, white collar, kids, its anyone and everyone. there is no certain group of people involved its just something that people like.

why is it that in the US anime and manga is seen as something for hyper over imaginative kids with social disorders lol jk but you get my drift, right?

why is it almost exclusive for "dorks" in america.
 
There's plenty of judgmental and ignorant douchebags in Japan, I'm sure. The main difference most likely has something to do with the general attitude towards storytelling.

Parents in the west have been conditioned to believe that animation is for children and that they can't expect anything that isn't live action to impact them on an emotional level or to make them stop and think. For whatever reason, Japan warmed up to animation a bit quicker, though it's still worth pointing out that there is still plenty of stigma towards anime as well. The term "otaku" is not a nice thing over there, and people who fit the description as ostracized over there as much as they are over here.
 
I think you've got something mixed up. People look down at you for liking anime in Japan. It's viewed as childish and geeky, and they're a lot more harsh with people who deviate from the norm. The otaku sub-culture is considered to be one notch above pathetic. You know all those anime where the popular character is a secret fan of anime or manga, and is deathly afraid other people will find out? Yeah, like that. I think it's easier to be a fan of anime in the west, honestly.
 
Not quite how it is. There are two big things to consider here:

(1) While you don't go around announcing how much you like manga, you don't quite hide it.
(2) Everybody is allowed to like one or two manga, and most people do.

Young male students of mine are generally into a few manga, and young female students generally have one or two that they like. A few of the 2 kool 4 skool types do exist, but generally, reading manga doesn't get you laughed at or ostracized. Tonight, while talking about bullying in Japan with a group of students, I asked if they had ever read GTO and everybody laughed and knew exactly what I was talking about. If it was such a ridiculously underground subculture here, **** like that just wouldn't fly.

Based on this, I would certainly call reading manga more acceptable than it is in America. My girlfriend reads One Piece, one of my cute girl students loves H20, and another hot chick I know is a big Slam Dunk fan. One of the hot reception chicks at the gym is crazy about Gantz as well. It's pretty open here.
 
Hahahaha. You should read One Piece too.

I can't say for Japan but in America a lot of people are not open about it. They obviously like to share it with people who also watch anime read manga. They dont just go hey do you read naruto?

How old are the students you teach?
 
i also kind of think it has to do with the fact that in japan anime isnt seen as a seperate genre. because in japan anime isnt anime to them, its JUST animation.
the only major difference to western animation is the visual style
 
Well I think it has more to do w/ exposure more than anything else. I dont feel that anime has seen a major market in the U.S. thus not advertizing enough to get the material out there. If u think about it, u could get mangas at the local comic book shop but i don't think the average Joe knows where to purchase mangas let alone that mangas exist. Me as some one that has loved anime over 10 years, have to research the internet to see what's coming out soon or what an anime is about. I believe that if there was more commercials on tv about anime people will start seening a whole new different side of anime, look at the movies that have come out recently i.e. "Dispicable Me" I don't have any kids yet but i've seen the movie, why? because me and my girlfriend watched enough commercials and trailers on tv to determine that it was a movie we would enjoy, and we were right
 
Well, I actually have a lot of friends that will sit down with me and watch anime that aren't really that into it, or at least they try to and I'm in the US. I've never really been looked down upon for liking it well, my mom finds it a little childish but, she doesn't mind.

A friend over in Japan told me that he was pretty much outcast for liking anime (This I'm more sure is a fact) but, he said even worse he has maybe one friend because he likes the upbeat shoujo kind. It seems that Japan is a lot more strict about the subject.
 
Is your friend a greasy guy who starts conversations by asking people about their favorite anime?

I'm sorry, but he was hardly outcast for liking anime. He was probably outcast for liking too much anime, or for being an annoying twit.
 
I've found, after introducing anime to many different types of people, that people cannot accept something that is never offered to them. In high school I was a "cool" jock I guess you could say. My older brother, 13 years apart, and I had nothing in common until I went through his anime stash. I never really thought of anime much until I actually was exposed to it. I've found that most people have to be offered something for them to try. I've introduced anime to pretty girls and cool guys of all races. Its interesting that they either liked it or are now infatuated with it. You never know unless you try. In our society, you never try unless you're introduced.
 
You missed the peer pressure part, the bold'ed is where it comes in to play.
And the reason Japan adapted to it is because Japanese people are nerds, by common USA standards anyway.

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All you clueless people saying in Japan anime is considered childish need to realize Naruto is Japan's American Idol, 24, and Saturday night live all wrapped in one.
 
Well, i think its also how japan-anime is just far less known in the west.
In europe, there are no manga-stores, if u look into the local bookstore shop there is most likely nothing to be found.
While in Japan there probably loads of stores (never been there, yeah its sad) so its pretty normal there. (feel free to correct me if i am wrong here)
So for that case i have to agree with S-389.

It also depends on the culture, how u have been raised.
When i attend to school, we don't talk about anime. In fact i have never seen anyone on my school saying anything about anime.
Its like taboo, talking about anime.
Parents usually think anime like this. It is drawn, therefore not real. So in a way, they see it as childish and unrealistic.
Example, anyone watched anything from Pixar studios, or Disney pictures ?
I mean for example the movie Finding Nemo, it is animated. So it is automatically designed for children.
The culture in the West is just to different.


Besides that, there are people who watch anime from time to time and people who watch non-stop.
When u refer someone who watches anime, people tend to think they watch it all the time and don't do anything else.
After that, they'll just say 'wow he/she is probably a nerd'.
However that is only the little of the majority watching anime, so yeah the image of 'someone who watches anime' is quite depressing.
I do think there are lots of people watching anime, maybe the fanbase in the US is even larger then the one in Japan.
But no one says openly, 'i watch anime and i am proud of it', just because people will instantly think them as geeks/dorks etc.


Umm im not sure about Japan, anime has somehow influenced me how an average life of a student attending to highschool might be.
As some said, its also 'pathetic' to be a fan of anime in Japan...




Uhm, thats why we have forums like this so we can share....
Now that i think of it, it is pretty sad how people who watch anime on a regular basis like a few times a week are called geeks... bleh
 
I kind of want to tell some anime fans in my anime club "just because your an otaku doesn't mean you have to...look like one ._.' " but I don't because that would be really rude.
But, many of them just don't present themselves at all, almost as if they're entire life is anime and they don't care about they're real life.
Not all people in my anime club are like that, but a fair amount.
 
I think the hole negative stigma about anime here is exclusive to little kids and middle schoolers. But at that age everyone makes fun of anyone for anything that makes them unlike the majority. Once I hit high school most people were often curious if they saw me reading or watching anime/manga. I even turned on quite a few people to different shows. I think the people who are ostracized are the obsessive types who go around dress like characters (or cats for some reason) and don't do or talk about anything else but anime or manga. But those obsessive people kind of bring that upon themselves for laying it on a little thick in my opinion. You don't run up to someone and say PYON! another Otaku! just because they know what bleach is. (and yes that happened to me)

I think it has gained more acceptance here in the last decade, and has mostly been roped in with our comics here in America. I think people remain mildly curious, and at least accept your hobbies and interests. just don't shove it down there throat. As for Japan I really can't way in on that.
 
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