Opinions on the effects of anime's prevalence

M

MixedMojo

New member
The question is straight-forward.

I would say I am pretty disappointed. I honestly thought that more anime being available in its uncut form would be a good thing for all the fans. I'm sure they enjoy being able to get their favorite anime, as well as view it online subtitled; but, I didn't bank on the non-fans developing interest too. It seems there is an array of people that watch different series, just the expressed reason of complaining about it.

I guess my plight is more severe because the people I hang out with don't watch anime, nor do they enjoy talking about it. This pretty much relegates me to coming to the internet to chat about anime. I have never been so annoyed that there are actually people out there that watch crap they don't enjoy and constantly complain about "the writing" or "how bad they they think the story is..." I thought the whole point of having variety is to pick the stuff you like and leave behind the ones you don't.

I used to love in the past how you could talk about an anime you liked and if there was a naysayer, we would all pounce on them and tear apart their logic to the point they couldn't post without being heckled as an idiot.

Now it seems the naysayers are in abundance and have taken over most forum discussions. I could deal with one Matt Wilson; but, a few dozen is a bit much. Not to mention, their knowledge is actually vast enough to have even the truest fan hesitant to reply back.

I have been pretty much forced to go from an avid poster to posting once or twice every year. It really sucks to have something you love out there for everyone sample, only to have the loudest people being the ones that didn't like it.

Now that I'm an adult(almost 30), I don't wanna have a conversation with a kid, about trying to justify liking an anime, on a fan-site dedicated to the series. I got what I wanted at the expense of the very thing that made anime-watching worth it. Talking about it with people that were just as crazy with it as you.

So what is everyone else's thoughts on this subject. Please state how long you've been watching anime, as well as your age. No one has to agree with me, just telling my experiences, sort of like a, "ten years later" scenario.
 
Anime is now more prevalent, and a lot of cartoons are drawing from the same style. Considering that popularity has shot up substantially from where it was years ago I would beg to differ. So is your writing in this thread simply to derail my topic or contribute? If it's not the latter I suggest you refrain from posting in my topic. Thanks
 
It's prevalent sure, but it's only beyond Star Trek in terms of "we know it's there." It's certainly not mainstream in Japan, so there's a very small possibility it's the same here.
 
26 and uhhhhh about 10 years, actually. Longer if you count random sporadic viewings of things.

And no, anime isn't mainstream. It's MORE mainstream that it ever was, but you still can't walk into a bar and start talking about the latest episode of say, Bleach, and expect to strike up a conversation with a random person.

Lost? Sure. People love lost. Dr. Who? Yup. Bleach? Whats Bleach? A what? *cue room clearing out*



Yeah, now it's just the other way around. If you say you LIKE something everyone pounces on you and tear you a new one simply for having an opinion that contradicts theirs.

Kinda sucks being on the receiving end doesn't it?
 
If a mod can change the title to something else so this thread doesn't get derailed.

I just want to know how everyone feels now that anime is "more popular" and "more available". I was using the mainstream definition which implied "the norm". If it was that popular I could talk to my frienRAB about it. I'm saying you can now say anime without it being an "alien" thing.

Back to the subject: Yeah it does suck to be on the receiving end; but, the whole reason of having a fan club is that so the merabers are actually fans.
 
I feel kinda mad in a sort of way. There are people who are just now getting into anime and they put things like Naruto and Bleach on the pedestal while they say things like Dragonball Z and Pokemon are childish and praised for no reason. I also feel these people are liking it for the wrong reasons too. My school library has recently acquired some Manga and people criticize you for enjoying something old like Cowboy Bebop, Inuyasha, Jojo, Ranma, Shinchan or anything else. Fruits Basket, Naruto, and Bleach is all that people like. They call themselves die hard "manga fans" and just do erabarrassing stuff like getting tattoos that are probably mistranslated into Japanese, wearing Naruto things from Hot Topic, and speaking in annoying voices and trying to sound Japanese. Kawaii! Am I doing it right? The speak on the internet with all the asian text faces is annoying as well. I witness annoying anime fans on the internet more frequently than in IRL, but IRL it is all the more frightening. I'm just glad I haven't been to one of those sleazy conventions.

There are these two Vietnamese dudes at my lunch table and one is such an idiot about liking stuff. He doesn't like anything that is popular or liked by a lot of people and constantly calls things "overrated". He says Code Geass is the best anime ever made and I just want to punch him in the face.

Dang Nguyen thinks that American stuff like King of The Hill and Spiderman is "overrated"! Does that mean I should stop liking it? Anime getting more popular is no problem to me on it's own but it's the new people that are getting into it and forcing their stupid beliefs on you. Anime is good but some take it too seriously.
 
Well, I tend to enjoy being able to hop onto Crunchyroll to get my Gintama fix, and it'll be neat to see the DVD's actually on shelves (if that Suncoast is still in the mall... I think it is >.>). I was never in it because it was niche, I watch because I like the stuff, so more positive exposure is a good thing.

And I agree on the fanclub point. Generally people who post stuff like that in fan clubs are just trolls though.
 
Have you been to Narutofan? The posts from the "kishi haters" seem to over run each thread. There's way too many to block now. It's like they have followers now. Usually every other thread is something to do with someone complaining about the same thing. You'd think they'd move on; but it seems the majority of the people that used to like the series either don't post or moved on to other areas with less hate traffic.

I just decided to stop posting all together there. I don't post here that much either. I love having the access don't get me wrong; but, having no one to share in the awesomeness of something is really lonely.
 
You need to learn where to expose yourself to. Anime fans on the internet are bound to be what you find them to be.


I've been a fan of anime since 1998, I suppose you could say. I'll be twenty this August, and if there's one thing I've learned about the internet, there's a lot of people you aren't going to like out there. That's why you have to choose where you go wisely. I go here and two other places, every day. Those are my places to discuss the things I like, and I have made my home in those places (not so much one of them, but this and one other for sure). I had peoples I knew from school who I could talk anime with, but the real discussions always go down on the internet. Twelve years later...I'm still standin', and going through those nasty week long waits for the next round of discussion for the next One Piece, Naruto, and whatever.
 
I honestly don't see the difference between anime fandom from the 90s to the one that exists now.

There's still the same old elitists and annoying teenagers, the endless cosplay, the deep-seated hate for editing, and I could go on and on. The only difference is the series that are currently popular, and the majority of series being available legally internationally.
 
Anime fans, for the most part, are far whinier than they were a decade ago. (Present company excluded)

Anime isn't mainstream, and I doubt it ever will be. Most of the stores that sold anime and manga (Borders, Musicland, Sam Goody, FYE) are either closed or will close in the near future. Anime peaked at the midpoint this decade, and has been declining for several years now. Look at Animax. It used to be all-anime, but now is devolving into a kind of G4-type channel, with Ninja Warrior and the like. I blame companis like Viz for overlicensing crap and expecting it to sell.

But more than that, I blame most fans who'd rather just pirate something than pay money for it, since they feel they're "entitled" to it.
 
Though, I won't say anime is mainstream, but ppl do know what is anime. But not what anime is.
A lot of ppl still think anime are DBZ level, nothing but sex, everyone with big eyes with crazy hair styles, frienRABhip = power and magical girls.
Kind of a bad image of it. Though, I do explain not all of that is true, but still. Its pretty hard to justify it with many ppl that are little thick-headed at times.
But those are the ppl that don't know that much about anime. But for the ppl that do, the fans, it's kind of different.

I still see many young fans think they know everything about anime/manga, even though they watch/read about 2 series of it. Or they buy everything that is japanese because its “COOL”. Yeah, I seen and know those ppl, and yeah, they are annoying.
But, I'll admit this, ever since I became a fan of anime/manga (1998), I was one of those “HARD-CORE” anime/manga fans that every anime/manga fans hates. I try to talk japanese, only watch the new anime, act that I am better than anyone because I like anime/manga, etc. And that little attitude lasted until I was 16/17. But try to keep this in mind, I was new at the fandom. And I see I'm not the only one that does that.
Many ppl that are new with anime/manga might act like that. Either you “Think” you know everything about anime/manga (even though you only watch/read a few series) or go crazy about it.
I think that will never change at all in anime/manga fandom.
 
Nah, I'm not active in the Naruto fandom - never really was, come to think of it. I still read, and I have a few frienRAB I geek with, but that's about it.

I've discovered that forums with a high male patronage tend to have more haters than forums that are predominately female. There's still female trolls - and they're just as nasty as their male counterparts (if not more so) - but generally you're blocking them/alerting a mod either way so it hardly matters. So, if you want to talk about plot details and character development stuff in a calm, somewhat civilized manner, you've gotta man up and go over to the girls side of the playground. This mostly means getting a Livejournal and going hunting around for active communities with real discussions.

And there's always the option of just starting your own forum and modding it yourself. *shrugs*
 
This is actually the very subject I'm covering in my blog right now. Some of you guys might want to click the link in my signature and give it a read. I try to update it at least two or three times a week. I'll give a more developed response later when I've had time to collect my thoughts on the matter.

O-chan
 
Welcome to the internet, where people can complain fairly anonymously, and love to do so. They'd rather be loud about what they don't like than accentuate what they do like. It's not just anime. Ever try looking up restaurant reviews? No matter what eating establishment you look at, there will be at least one reviewer who will have posted that it is the worst ever.

Don't let the fandom ruin the series or medium for you.

Try to find a few frienRAB in the fandom with similar tastes as you, and discuss the series and exchange recommendations with them, instead of a big community. I find that works out best.
 
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