What is an anime fan?

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gundam83

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This thought came up because of my last post that I started about English dubs and I was amazed by the detailed answers that was given. And I wondered I guess I'm not much of a fan as a thought I was lol. I'm just a person who watches anime and that's it,I'm really not interested about the names of voice actors or the directors of anime(I can't name any 8O)Does that make me less of fan than you guys who know a lot about those things?
So how do you define an anime fan? Someone who watches a lot of anime or is it more than that? :D
 
I define an anime fan as this.
"Do you like anime?"
"Yes"
"Are you aware of the existence of anime besides Pokemon, Bleach, Naruto and Dragonball Z?"
"Yes"
"Have you actually watched any of those?"
"Yes"
"Congratulations. You're an anime fan."
 
PetrifiedJello said:
gundam83 said:
So how do you define an anime fan?
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A person who can name all the girls in the following image:
A7222-236.jpg

Baka Yuki, Haruhi, reverse trap Kyon, and Mitsuru
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penguintruth said:
What is an anime fan? A miserable little pile of secrets!
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I see what you did there

Now have at you! 8-)

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Anyhow, being a fan comes down to enjoyment and the thrill to seek more.
 
That's elitist nonsense you don't need to do anything more than like Anime to be a fan. Alot of people like to spin nonsense like you're not a real fan if you don't (Insert geeky behavior here) but all that really comes from is the desire to establish some sort of pecking order it's got nothing to do with actual desire for products or knowledge. Alot of these so called "fans" don't even know and/or own all this stuff out of any particular desire for the items themselves but for the chance to look down on people who don't have what they have.

Now before people go crazy on me I am sure there is a core of fans that really have an interest in all that stuff. It's just that I believe that a lot of people follow their example out of a kind of snobbery. It's the same in any community some people will care about trying to place themselves at the top.

It's sad to say though that this "real fan" stuff probably sprang from back when Anime was a niche thing that people looked down on you for getting too into. People would style themselves as hardcore anime fans and seek others like them who would accept their hobbies. This is probably when people this side of the border started calling themselves Otaku not really understanding it's meaning.

Note the "elitist nonsense" remark is not directed at the poster above I was writing when that appeared :)"
 
I would say a fan is anyone who wants to call themselves one. I don't like pecking orders at all, and I hope I never have sounded elitist at all around here.
 
Megiddo said:
Why is Miyuki now named Encyclopedia Dramatica? Shouldn't she be little Miss Moe or did I miss something about her character.

Anyway, I think more than just enjoying anime, a fan should be willing to support the industry (such as buying manga or DVDs).
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I agree, but even if you don't buy the DVDs at least support the legal streaming, that helps too. I like buying anime because I want to watch something more than once.

I do believe that if you are a fan you'll try to support your favorite releases legally. Tons of people can illegally download Lost and it not really matter because there will always be enough people to buy it and keep the prices level, anime can't do that because it's an import and the fanbase isn't as big as everyone thinks it is, just look at how many people actually buy DVDs at conventions compared to how many people show up..
 
First of all anime fan is a person, not thing, so maybe "who", not "what"?
Second. There were toons of topics like that eg
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=130353&highlight=
 
What is an anime fan? A miserable little pile of secrets!
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Haha I'm going to have to agree with you on that one. Anime is still very frowned upon in society, which is a shame, but also understandable.

Back on topic, in any and every fandom there will be people who consider themselves "real" fans and measure themselves up to a certain standard, i.e. "You're not a real fan unless you can name xx character from xx series" or "You're not a real fan unless you cosplay and attend 3 cons a year." In response to that, I really couldn't care less if I'm considered a real fan or not. I'm not living for the fandom, and I really don't care how people on the internet that I will never meet think of me.

In all honesty, I wouldn't want to be considered part of the fandom if I had to meet those standards. It's not necessarily a good thing if you can name all the Japanese voice actors of the original Dragon Ball series, at least not at my high school.
 
It seems to me that if you enjoy anime enough to purchase it you're a fan. Whether you purchase a lot or a little doesn't matter. Purchasing is a commitment. If you like it enough to make that commitment, you're a fan.

If you care enough to learn about the industry and its history that's great, but it doesn't make you any better than the fan who just wants to be entertained.

People who try to hold themselves up as being 'bigger' or 'better' fans because they can identify VA's and can recite the filmography of various directors and so on are just being snobs, and snobs are pretty boring people.


Do you know what the difference is between a wino and a connoisseur?


The price of the wine.
 
Actually, I think Anime fan is Legion
RHachicho said:
Note the "elitist nonsense" remark is not directed at the poster above I was writing when that appeared :)"
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Oh good, cause I was really trying to not sound elitist and as general as possible and I was hoping that didn't come across wrong.
 
An anime fan is the same as anyother fan, a person who enjoys, supports, or obsesses over the medium they like.
 
What is an anime fan? An anime fan is....

Totally predictable!

Sometimes from Japan!

May or not be a kid!

.... Okay, sorry. I just can't hear any sentence containing the words "what is" and "anime" without thinking about ADV's wonderful educational campaign.

Anyway, the whole "you're not a real fan if you don't do/think/know X" attitude annoys me to no end, but at the same time I don't really know that the only bar for entry into the Anime Fan Treehouse is whether or not you watch anime.

Let me put it this way- I like Star Trek, and I watch it sometimes if it's on, but I wouldn't consider myself a Star Trek fan. To me, that label implies some greater level of dedication than just liking the show. I think to be a fan, simply watching it casually isn't enough. I would need to go out of my way to track it down and enjoy it instead of just encountering it every now and then.

Of course, with anime that's not really possible any more since it's an almost exclusively DVD-bound product these days. With a few exceptions, you don't encounter it on TV when you're flicking through the channels on a Friday evening. You have to go out and look for it. I think we can conclude that anyone who does that, whether it's buying DVDs or watching stuff online or downloading fansubs, is an anime fan. If it was possible to just randomly come across this stuff every now and then with no effort, I think someone could like anime but not be a fan of it in the same way that I can watch Star Trek and not be a fan of the show.

It also goes without saying that anyone who would bother to post on a forum like this one is automatically a fan unless they're just looking for information on the subject.
 
Penguin_Factory said:
It also goes without saying that anyone who would bother to post on a forum like this one is automatically a fan unless they're just looking for information on the subject.
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IT'S A TRAP! *jumps out window*
 
garfield15 said:
I define an anime fan as this.
"Do you like anime?"
"Yes"
"Are you aware of the existence of anime besides Pokemon, Bleach, Naruto and Dragonball Z?"
"Yes"
"Have you actually watched any of those?"
"Yes"
"Congratulations. You're an anime fan."
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quoted for truth.

honestly, it can't get much more accurate than garfield here has it :D
 
It is intuitive that a definition of an anime fan shall need to account for two of the most common traits found amongst obvious cases of anime fans. These traits are i) an understanding of the term "anime" and the concepts its utterances signify, such that the subject can suitably distinguish anime from non-anime, along with ii) an appreciation for a non-trivial number of instances of anime. (garfield15 seems to have assumed these to be true of anime fans.)

I claim this to be intuitive in virtue of the absurdity of claiming a person to be an anime fan without expecting them to have an idea of which things the term "anime" might denote. (The matter of what "anime" actually is is something I assume for the sake of practicality. I shall also assume that the possession of the concept of anime is an uncontroversial thing to demand.)

It is desired that a person realise that they like anime, so as to enable them to understand what is being asked of them if asked whether they like "anime". This hypothesised person may, of course, have enjoyed several anime without knowing that such things are all members of a certain kind of creative works to which the term "anime", along with the definition thereof, applies. Until they become aware of the fact they happen to like anime (de dicto) however, it is safe to assume they do not meet a reasonable requirement of anime fandom.

With this in mind, I shall outline my definition of an anime fan.

A person is an anime fan only if:

  1. They are aware of what anime is, and thus have a concept of anime sufficient to distinguish things to which the term "anime" ought to apply from things to which the term ought not. (Whatsoever is meant by this "ought" would be addressed by the definition of the term "anime".)
  2. They have enjoyed a non-trivial amount of anime, and would still enjoy it if watched again.
  3. They are aware of the fact that, from the known definition of anime, it follows that the anime they have enjoyed are indeed anime.
(In short, 1-3 are conditions which, if met, allow a person to answer the question of whether they like anime in the affirmative.)

Now, I propose these three conditions to be necessary, but I remain unsure as to their sufficiency. Consider this expression: "I like a few anime, but I'm not a fan of it."

Is it plausible that a competent English speaker could utter this without self-contradiction? If it is, then additional conditions must be annexed to my stipulative definition to account for this plausibility, since my definition only demands of a subject a basic understanding and appreciation of anime.

I shall leave this question open for the time being, and I welcome those who have submitted stipulative definitions to comment upon this issue. It may be that a fan of anime is somebody who likes anime in general, or somebody who likes a suitably large number of anime. As I have assumed, these conditions might not be at all relevant.

Perhaps this open question could be closed by introducing a "scale of fandom", whereby the degree to which a person is an anime fan increases pro rata with the number of anime they like. One is hesitant to heed this notion however, lest one be seen as an advocate of elitism.
 
Ignoring the blatant troll ....

As expected Zin5ki youre definition is pretty solid. I would only add that someone has to voluntarily recognise themselves as an Anime fan to be one. There are other conditions that you yourself have explained sufficiently :) However that effort of will is important as with any title it must be recognised by the individual in question to really hold sway. Christian, Father, Doctor, Scientist, Intellectual, Baseball Fan. All these titles ultimately require more than a simple effort of will. However the presence and relevance of self recognition is essential I think :)

Also makes the sentence "I like a few anime, but I'm not a fan of it." perfectly plausible.
 
A fan of anything be definition is simply someone who likes/enjoys something. Do you actively enjoy "X"? Well then you're a fan simple as that. I refuse to see levels of fandom. I refuse to rate or grade people as better fans then someone else. Yes some spend more money and time invested in the subject then others but that doesn't make the others any less of a fan. They still enjoy it all the same. Limiting and putting stipulations on what shows you have seen or not to be a fan is pure idiocy btw. You can only have watched a few generic anime shows and still be a fan. Did you know they were anime and did you enjoy them? That's all that is required in my opinion.

Now if you are a fan of something you should WANT to support that thing as much as possible. If you don't it might not be around for long and then you'll lose that hobby. But supporting it or not doesn't mean you're less of a fan or not. It just means you're a smart and good person who supports their hobby to keep it going, or you're a shallow douchenozzle who does not. That's all about the person themselves though so that's separate from being a fan or not.
 
Let me put it this way, if you own a huge harddrive of anime and gloat about how you never have to buy anime and it's all for free, you're not a fan.
 
gundam83 said:
So how do you define an anime fan?
Click to expand...
A person who can name all the girls in the following image:
A7222-236.jpg


Someone who watches a lot of anime or is it more than that?
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It's actually less than that. A fan is simply someone who enjoys anime regardless if they can really name the girls or not.

Even a person who reads one manga a year can be considered a fan.

Now, if you want to get into the otaku territory, well... let's just say the image above takes on an entirely different perspective.
 
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