I am! — I think. Or rather, I thought I was. Lately, however, I’ve been told by others that some people don’t think I’m a real anime fan. According to my detractors, I’d be better off not watching anime to begin with! Whoa, now wait a minute here — how could that be? Don’t I have an anime blog? Sure, Moe Sucks hasn’t been around since the dawn of time like other sites, but two years running ain’t too bad. Do I not watch a ton of anime? Honestly, it takes more than two hands to count the number of anime I’m watching this season. If after all of this, I’m still not an anime fan, then who is?
It turns out that people think I’m too negative. Okay, I could live with this if it was all that people thought. If I come across as negative, oh well. Some people think, however, that my negativity shows that I’m not a real anime fan. In other words, I don’t like enough anime to qualify or something. Well, I guess this is the key question then: how many anime must I profess to liking in order to consider myself a lover of the medium? But first, let’s be clear with what we’re talking about.
True fandom
What is true fandom? I guess I’m not well-equipped to answer this question, but let’s take a stab at what a true anime fan might be. I’ve never considered myself to be an otaku. I don’t really have a desire to learn Japanese more so than any other language. I’m not actually fond of sushi. I don’t have anime wall scrolls, posters, figmas, etc. I don’t and have never had an anime waifu. I’ve never been to an anime convention or club in my life. In fact, other than the other two “contributors” on this blog, most of my friends don’t even like anime. Gosh, all I do then is watch anime. Now, compared to someone who can assert all of the above in the affirmative, I guess I would be less of a fan than him or her. In fact, if this person is considered the true fan, I guess I fall quite short of the mark.
But of course, so what if I’m not a true anime fan? We don’t all have to immerse ourselves completely into any particular fandom to belong to it. For instance, I watch sports every single day. Have I ever owned an athlete’s jersey? No. Do I have a poster of Kobe Bryant on my wall. Nah, my walls are blank actually, because I think posters are tacky. What can I say — I grew up with a strict Asian mother who wouldn’t have tolerated such things on her walls. Nevertheless, I’m pretty sure I’m a sports fan. Why else would I listen to ESPN radio in the background with a stream of the US Open in the corner of my eye? I couldn’t debate you on PER or WARP if I wasn’t a sports fan.
So to bring things back to anime, couldn’t I nevertheless be just a fan without spending a sizable chunk of my disposable income on anime-related junk? I mean, I do own my favorite anime series and movies on DVD; it’s not like I don’t buy anything anime-related. So sure, I think it’s possible for someone like me to still be considered a lover of anime. I’ve never professed nor do I ever want to be the hardcore type fan, and hell, more power to people who enjoy the medium to such an extent, but we can’t define fandom in such a narrow way. So then what’s the problem?
15.8%
I took a very impromptu, very unscientific survey of all of the anime I’ve seen since I started blogging. Excluding movies, this amounts to… oh, about 152 series. And of the 152, how many of these shows did I consider to be above average? A paltry twenty-four. This amounts to roughly 15.8 percent (rounding up, too). Now, I’m going to re-iterate myself just to be clear: I only think 15.8 percent of anime in the last two years are above average. I’m sure the number would go up quite a bit if I factored in anime that I considered to be simply average. But still, is this a damning statistic? In order to be an anime fan, shouldn’t I praise more than just twenty-four out of 152 anime series?
How much, then?
But if 15.8 percent is too low, then what’s the right number? Twenty? Twenty-five? Do I need to write a fan-gushing post every two weeks in order to be admitted to the exclusive club of anime fandom? Here’s what I think. The number doesn’t matter. Yes, this is a bit of a conceit. I’m offering up a statistic I personally invented only to then turn around and denounce it — how ridiculous of me! Still, I never claimed that this was much of a serious post. ;v
As much as other Cubs fans may hate him, he’s still one of them!
But here’s the thing — it doesn’t really matter to me how much of a given season I end up liking. I write a lot about anime no matter what. I write 1000+ word posts on shows like No.6 and Mawaru Penguindrum, but even series I don’t like, e.g. Kiss x Sis. Don’t get me wrong, though. This isn’t some sort of dick-measuring contest where “hurr hurr I write this many words and you only write that many words so I’m more of a real fan than you.” I don’t care who I “out-fan” or who “out-fans” me. If you want to think that you’re a bigger anime fan than me, knock yourself out. How could I not be an anime fan, though, when I really put a lot of effort into analyzing certain series?
It’s true, however, that I don’t treat every show equally. My tone and approach toward an anime like Blood-C is drastically different from how I might approach a show like Usagi Drop. And we all know how the internet often reacts to anyone who expresses a contrary opinion:
As much as I could ever praise a series like Tiger & Bunny, the only thing most people will remember is when I’m snarky with inferior anime. Still, I don’t really think I should treat every show equally. Oh, if you think I should, then you’re perfectly entitled to that opinion. After all, no one has to like what I write. You hate my Haruhi post? That’s cool. But to say that I’m not a real anime fan, though? That’s just silly.*
Moe Sucks 
One thing that’s sadly applicable to most fandoms is the inevitable “You’re not a fan because of…” argument. I also think that, in general, critique can often be mistaken with dislike, which is unfortunate. In addition to this, certain types of fans of anything, be it sports, anime, or a particular band, will always take it personally if you decide to disagree, which is also sad, but inevitable. I’d tell you to “keep on, keeping on” or some such phrase; however, you’ve already decided to do that anyway. I look forward to continuing to read your posts, snarky or otherwise.
Also, regarding your footnote, I can’t help but hear my journalism teacher’s voice in my head telling me never to use “I think” in anything because it’s always implied. ^ ^
I’ve been told that I force my opinions on others so, y’know, I’m just playing it safe!
The reverse is also quite true for many a fan and fandom. “I as a fan of X express my fandom by trashing everything that is not X.” A common sight in music, an almost thriving factor for fans of (team) sports, but anime fans are not unknown with this. It is quite easy to mistake what you think is critique with being mean for no particularly good reason.
Not saying that the writer of this blog is necessarily (this is the first post I’m reading on it).
I’m going to be unbearably pedantic here, but by definition ‘above-average’ would be 49% of the anime you watched
Equally pedantic, that assumes I’m grading on a curve.
There is a difference between a fan, an obsessed person and someone who trashes things that are popular for an ego massage (aka elitism).
You’re right, I feel so pumped up trashing anime on my own blog instead of frequented discussion forums like MAL or AnimeSuki. Moe Sucks, with its legions of fans, is where I can definitely troll the most people.
Likely you tried, got toasted by the majority and decided that it was safer here for your ego to not get trashed again. Thats fine, just don’t whine about it.
That’s the internet these days. You don’t like what I like? Pfft, troll.
everything is subjective. they should teach this at school, lol. the ppl who tell you that you’re not a real fan are probably just pissed because you were snarky about the anime they liked.
btw, i really like your haruhi post, even though i very much like the anime. i was surprised not to see it on the “suggested reading” list…
I’m picky when it comes to any writing, including my own. In time, I usually end up disliking most of my old posts. This doesn’t mean I take back anything I said in the Haruhi piece. It’s just that if I had to rewrite that article now, it would come out differently. And of course it would; it’s been two years since I’ve written that thing.
You are an anime fan to me. You just KNOW what a well-made anime is and contains. This has become a regular thing for me, going to your site a lot, because you can prove to me that a lot of “holier than-thou” anime that people worship have flaws.
So yeah, I’m just gonna say that you keep on doing what you are doing. :)
Naw, you’re giving me too much credit. I really only post my gut feelings on anime. I’m no more qualified to say what makes a good anime than anyone else. I just hope some people out there actually find my writing interesting. Though I will say this…
What on earth is a “‘holier than-thou’ anime?”
My term for those animes that can make the watcher all superior and can smite those who haven’t watched it or hated it.
Oh well, that’s usually the fans’ fault and not the show. I can’t really think of an anime off the top of my head that has really been in your face about its own superiority.
To be a fan of a TV and/or movie based medium/genre, I think that you simply need to watch a fair chunk of it, and genuinely like at least some of it. If you liked 24 anime shows over the past 2 to 3 years, that’s not bad.
That breaks down to roughly 3 a season, and that’s all some anime fans watch in total.
Now, I think to be an otaku, somebody probably does need to be able to answer “yes” to at least some of the questions you posed. Which is why I wouldn’t consider you or I an otaku.
But are you an anime fan? Definitely, imo.
… You’re just a very masochistic anime fan. ;) :-p
Putting that last joke aside, I actually tend to like how you’re willing to take the piss out of shows. I probably wouldn’t have realized just how crappy Kamisama Dolls and Kamisama no Memochou really are if not for the job you do in pointing out their flaws. A lot of this stuff amazingly never comes up at all on anime message boards (or most anime blogs).
Sometimes there’s something about an anime that’s turning me off, and I just can’t put my finger on it (partly because nobody else does – at least not openly), and that was true this year with the two Kamisama shows, But then I come to your blog, and I see you rip these shows down, and then it all makes sense why these shows aren’t clicking with me like they are with some viewers.
I personally think that one of the best things a real fan of an entertainment genre/medium can do is to separate the chaff from the wheat. And it probably helps to be completely ruthless here. Sturgeon’s law saws that 90% of everything is crap, and while I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration, I don’t think it’s way off either. So you’re 15.8 percent above average figure sounds about right to me.
We certainly have our share of differences of opinion, but when I’m looking for a less than flowery opinion of an anime show, you’re the first blog I go to, because I can be sure that you’ll often find flaws – big ones too – that somehow misses everybody else’s attention.
So I’d encourage you to keep doing what you’re doing in that regard.
I just don’t get this idea where if I don’t like an anime, I should just ignore it. Isn’t it interesting to dissect a bad show? Like sure, analyzing a great anime is a whole lot of fun, but doesn’t human curiosity also extend to abject failure? I guess we all grew up with this “If you’ve got nothing nice to say, don’t say it at all” mentality, but this isn’t the grade school playground anymore. I may take the piss out of a show, but I’m not exactly doing the equivalent of calling it “doo doo head.” Maybe I can overdo it from time to time, but c’mon, negativity is not inherently bad despite the literal definition of the word.
I was reading another blog’s comments a couple weeks back. The author was mildly negative at best about a recent anime episode — let’s put it this way: I’ve seen a lot worse. And what sort of comments did I see? “This is the most troll-ish post I’ve seen from you” or something to that effect. And this just struck me as weird and a little sad. When people come face to face with any sort of negative criticism, they just shut down completely and parrot the word ‘troll.’
No, I’m glad that you’ll take the piss out of a lot of anime shows, a lot of which tend to get a bit of a free ride just about everywhere else, imo. It’s just that I’m impressed you can actually watch hours upon hours upon hours of shitty anime (as you yourself probably see them). But then, I guess that is the price that has to be paid to legitimately critique them in their entirety, so its all worth it in the end.
Anime fans probably don’t appreciate enough the brilliance and humor and effectiveness of a good scathing review. Angry Video Game Nerd and Nostalgia Critic became really popular for a reason. Right now, you’re the anime blogger that comes the closest to them, imo.
If you watch all of a week’s anime in a single day, then sure, it comes out to be this intimidating “hours upon hours” deal. But really, I watch about two episodes a day. This doesn’t even add up to an hour. Less than 50min actually because I don’t sit through every OP/ED.
“I’ve never considered myself to be an otaku. I don’t really have a desire to learn Japanese more so than any other language. I’m not actually fond of sushi. I don’t have anime wall scrolls, posters, figmas, etc. I don’t and have never had an anime waifu. I’ve never been to an anime convention or club in my life. In fact, other than the other two “contributors” on this blog, most of my friends don’t even like anime. Gosh, all I do then is watch anime.”
Wait a second….are you me!?
The way I see it. If you like anime, then congrats, you’re an anime fan.
I actually enjoy the way you write and that you can be negative, simply because no one else does it. You remind me of myself in a way. When everyone else says “omg best anime ever” I say “uuuhhh, what about the bad pacing, plot etc”. It makes me feel a bit alone actually.
And I believe that is why people don’t call you a fan, since you don’t appreciate everything and, at least lately, mostly post negative ones. For some reason, people nowadays can’t accept any way of critique, whether it’s about themselves or something they like. Say something negative and the reaction will be “olololol troll go die you suck why dont you stop watching it!11!!!”. I mean, what the heck?
When I come across people that worships almost any show, it just feels fake to me. How can they? It leaves me all confused.
… I forgot what my whole point in the post was about, heh
The best part is when people don’t even assign the right negativity to me. I assume you’ve been following KamiDolls due your other comments. Y’know the Aki flashback episode that everyone raved about? I didn’t like it; I thought it was trashy and manipulative. Obviously, fans of the show are going to disagree with me, and that’s cool. I’ve never expected everyone or even anyone to suddenly acquiesce to my views. But the funniest part is not just that I was negative. People were like, “Are you surprised? This is the guy who thought Ano Hana was boring.” I mean, wow, I thought Ano Hana was a good series up until about the ninth episode. I wrote so many words on that series. That doesn’t seem to me like I thought Ano Hana was boring. I mean, if you’re gonna call me out on being too negative, at least be right about it.
Are you me? I also thought Ano Hana was great, but when it switched from character drama to love drama, it became… well, dull. Otherwise, it IS a strong production, as expected from the Toradora-team (sorry, but I love that show :p). They only failed to develop the story and do something out of the ordinary. Instead, I felt that with every new episode, there was something new bugging me.
Talking about forced stuff, I recently watched/experienced (yes, it’s fitting) Aria, which has become my favorite show by big measures. One of the best things about it is that it never felt forced. It was natural. And during the last season, I cried my heart out not because of it being forced, but it being so… so… natural. I cared about the characters. It wasn’t the setting, story or plot points that made me cry (hello Key-dramas (not that they’re that bad), it was the characters. It was real happiness. It was real sadness.
Oh that Aria. Everywhere I turn, people talk about it. People even fall to sleep to it.
Don’t let it bother you. If you only wrote how wonderful each and every show is, without a hint of critical thought, I wouldn’t be subscribed to your blog’s RSS feed. What bothers me are those people who attend conventions, buy merchandise, etc. but have only watched like 10 shows, usually including Elfen Lied and some trashy harem series from within the past year, and seem to like everything thrown at them, that call themselves ‘anime fans’. You know. Those ‘anime fans’ who seem to do anything but watch anime.
Nah, it doesn’t bother me. I’ve just been endlessly amused when another blogger told me that people think I’m too “crotchety” to be an anime fan.
To me it sounds like the people who accuse others of not being true anime fans are just throwing silly tantrums because their favorite show is getting criticized, and they obviously don’t appreciate that. It feels more like a cop out for covering up someone’s huffy state of mind than anything else.
I find this problem in more often in fandom based communities. In such communities you can’t be a fan if you’re criticizing the show, that’s pretty distorted thinking. It’s the same reason why I decided to avoid fandoms in general.
Most of the time, those criticisms come from being an anime fan, because we want explore and scrutinize the medium we enjoy. I’m not sure if that makes any sense, but I find that being an anime fan just means you have to watch anime and enjoy it from time to time.
Obviously, a line has to be drawn somewhere. If you only like one show a year, can you honestly be an anime fan? Eh… but I’m just surprised people think so many anime series are actually good. They’re TV shows. Since when has the majority of TV shows in any culture actually been average to great? Most of them have no budget and it’s quite evident.
I mostly see you as one of those “negative” critics whose whole schtick is bashing what they consider bad in a specific medium, despite the fact that they generally like the medium. As long as they don’t actually see their opinions as “God’s word” (I have a number of anime I disagree with you on for example), I don’t see the problem.
I do write plenty of posts that don’t bash anime at all. I hardly see how it can actually be my schtick then.
I must be unlucky with reading your posts then. Nevertheless, I think you do qualify as an anime fan.
You are maybe just mixing up “averages”. You aren’t ranking anime objectively against each other, not wasting time ranking them to find that elusive “average anime”. You seem to be ranking based on your subjective threshold for what you think was worthwhile.
That’s fair.. it’s above-average entertainment to you (not above-average anime), and I think 15% is rather high. And so, you ARE a true fan: you have watched enough stuff you liked and disliked, giving them a shot at proving whether they are “worthwhile”.
Those who loudly claim to be “real fans” of anime generally aren’t – they haven’t watched enough to know better. They just happen to like the stuff they’ve picked to watch, and are fans of the stuff they’ve picked to watch. That’s not a true fan of anime in general.
I’m comparing shows to some arbitrary standard of what I think an average anime should be. So if I think, say, Usagi Drop is better than this abstract anime in my mind, I will thus consider it to be above average. I mean, I’ve always assumed there were two predominant senses of the word average, and since I wasn’t invoking average in a relative sense, I thought people would assume the alternative context.
Yup, that’s effectively what I meant :)
But people tend to assume the worse case. Also, they tend to prefer to simply label themselves as superior (for not being negative), rather than thinking critically about it.
The one second you try to rank objectively, your rankings automatically fail. How do you even compare slice of life with action? It’s impossible to rate objectively, no, really, it is.
I really like your blog when you are highlighting the positives of a show. When you take the piss out of anime (lets be honest, especially ones I like) I sometimes think you go too far into the downright mean category or that your attempts at humor fall flat (sometimes I’m not even sure if you are being humorous). I don’t really take much pleasure pointing out all the flaws of an anime, especially without a humorous conceit. I’m really concerned about striking a balance between the pros and cons of a given anime. I have a hard time believing any anime is completely unwatchable. This is also why I suck at writing persuasive essays. I really loved the posts you made for Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi, the videos and “Ayumu: A Novel by Go Zappa” were really funny and clever. That was a case when you were taking the piss out of the anime, but really just letting the flaws speak for themselves and turning it into something humorous.
What I’ve always appreciated though despite some negativity is that you haven’t really extrapolated out to the fans themselves. The facebook bad anime posts come somewhat close but you haven’t ever said anything like “fans who like anime that is perceived as emotionally exploitative are people who are emotionally vulnerable.” Unlike some other bloggers I know who have done such things in the past. That is one form of criticism I am just not the least bit comfortable with. So bravo for never going to that level.
Lastly it’s mostly my problem (I mean all of this is mostly my problem, but anyway) when I go the comments after a “take the piss out” post and read nothing but agreement it makes me uncomfortable. I always fear that will push the blogger to put out more content that I most likely won’t agree with to satisfy the fan base. Which generally makes me want to unsubscribe from a blog (and has made me in the past). It also makes me question criticism in general and wonder things like: “Is emotionally manipulative a bad thing? What if it’s successful, is it still bad? Are there more genuine ways of establishing a character that contains the same amount of emotion as the manipulative/lazy style? Wouldn’t absolute apathy to a character be worse than being emotionally manipulated toward attachment to a character?” Stuff like that.
So yeah, this whole thing is a long somewhat off-topic tangent. I’m sure you are an anime fan but I don’t think you ever really questioned that.
I’m not really going for humor. I know I’m not a funny guy. If something ends up being funny, that’s cool, but other than making myself chuckle from time to time with some videos, I don’t write for humor. As for downright mean, it’s a TV show. I really don’t care if I’m mean to an inanimate object. I mean, I know this sounds flippant or snarky, but honestly, I don’t know how else to react to the idea that one can be mean to an anime. No offense, but my initial reaction was “What? Mean to an anime… — who cares?”
Yeah, I’m not here to be right or wrong, fair or not. I just want to be interesting, some parts to me and some parts to my readers. That sounds harsh — and might also make people think I’m trolling — but honestly, the positives of a show just isn’t usually that interesting to me. You can blame Gordon Ramsay for this. I’m a huge fan of his Kitchen Nightmares series from the UK (the US version is predictably schlocky) where he tries to help ailing restaurants. So many restauranteurs, when faced with Ramsay’s criticism, whine that he doesn’t balance the positives with the negatives: “There’s gotta be something I’m doing right. It’d just be nice to hear him acknowledge it from time to time.” Ramsay’s reply? “I’m not interested in the positives because the business is failing.” And y’know, I agree with this sentiment. Unless the positives of a bad show are interesting, I don’t really care because the anime is still terrible at the end of the day.
Shrug, I never tell people not to disagree with me. I’ve expressed elsewhere that I really do prefer replies where there’s a bit of meat or contention. In fact, it’s harder to respond to people who actually agree with me. What can I really say? “Yeah, let’s high-five, agreement bros!” But, hey, I try to reply to every comment anyway because I’m not a big blogger who can just ignore most of his readers’ comments.
In the two years this blog has been running, I’ve only banned two people from commenting. Why? Because they were misogynistic. I screened comments for moderation for all of about a couple months. I also don’t require people to log in to leave a comment. Most people fill out in the name and email sections anyway, but you could post anonymously and disagree with me for all I care.
I guess “mean” in this case I would think of as hounding an issue past a point that I would consider necessary.
But yeah I was just trying to lay out my feelings when I read your blog. I know stuff like comments is out of your control. It’s just stuff like that sometimes irks me.
I don’t know what is necessary or unnecessary in the world of anime blogging, but I think it’s fair to say I’m not a great writer and that I can have just as many missteps as anyone else.
I’m on here because I like that you can step back and take a look at the anime from a practical standpoint. Most people just get swept up in it and sort of let it pull them along. You don’t just try to like everything for the sake of liking it and you aren’t “afraid” of dropping a show. Most people aren’t like that and feel like they have to finish, even if they don’t like it or find it boring.
I dunno, I haven’t dropped a show lately. I’m afraid that doesn’t really apply to me lately anymore. I mean, I guess I “dropped” that stupid French anime, but in the past, I would have dropped something like Hanasaku Iroha months ago.
Perhaps you should have the trolls submit an official report? http://www.scribd.com/doc/7771818/Butt-Hurt-Report-Form
Well, I read your posts for the fair and balanced analysis of anime series, not to read some fanboys blindly gush over their favorite show. Like all opinions on anime, people’s classification of its fandom is subjective to a degree. The self-proclaimed otakus can checklist all their conventions, merchandise, and drama CDs as “proof” of their hardcore fandom, but that shouldn’t exclude the more closeted—though equally dedicated—fans who see anime as a hobby rather than a lifestyle. Frankly, when it comes to any evaluation of a medium, I’ll take the word of a fair critic rather than a rabid fan. So yeah, like everyone said, keep on truckin’.
Oh dear, “fair and balanced” makes me think I’m the Fox News of anime blogging.
I’m happy to tell you that you are a god in comparison.
Just keep on writing. At least you draw from other media besides anime, like the Kill Bill reference for Tiger and Bunny. You’re a really good writer and researcher, using current events, movies and books to make a point. Since when is it bad to dissect stories good or bad? When you do that, you can tell if the story is well told or not. At least you gave most anime a bit of humor with those movie theatre videos. Those are really funny.
These are your opinions after all. So keep on writing them. It’s good experience for future discussions. I Unofficially Dub thee: Anime Fan/Columnist.
I enjoy reading your blog (although I don’t always agree with you). I’m not too bothered as to whether you’re a “real” anime fan or not (whatever that is). Nothing wrong with being a fan, but surely you don’t have to be a fan to review stuff? You just have to watch a lot of it. Plus I like criticism when it’s done well.
Contrary to what “Anonomyous” says, I think you’re doing fine. Someone can have different opinions and standards on anime and still be an anime fan. To be subjective is completely normal when compared to being objective, as from the discussion on Twitter. There’s a fine line between fan and fanatic.
I still don’t know what a “true” anime fan is supposed to be. Liking X anime? Watched X anime? Have X amount of stuff? Sure, anime got me interested in Japanese, and got me to buy a wall scroll, but that’s about it. Didn’t have to go over the top and bankrupt myself. Self-interest, is all.
Shrug, the true fandom thing is just to give an extreme example of what the biggest anime fan might be. I had no intention for that part of the post to be derogatory. What distinguishes a true fan from any other fan? I don’t know. Maybe the distinction doesn’t even exist. I didn’t really care to dwell too much on the issue though other than to give a cursory glance.
There shouldn’t be a distinction at all. Fanatics are an entirely different thing, however. I wish the media would stop using them as examples.
There are two kinds of anime fans in the world. Anime fans and Anime fanatics.
Anime fans are the regular guy. He watches anime in his spare time and sometimes a lot of the time. But it isn’t his only hobby. He doesn’t really want to learn Japanese. When in a conversation he can talk about other things not related to anime. And doesn’t look down on anyone for not watching it.
Anime fanatics are the ones who sadly represent our community in the general eye. They spend every waking moment watching anime. Buy dolls. Only talk about anime. Think it’s appropriate to draw hentai in art class. Jerk off to under age anime characters. Have waifus. Think of themselves as vastly superior to everyone else because they watch anime. Start using anime phrases and honorific’s in real life conversation. Basically act like degenerate stupid assholes on the internet.
As far as I can tell you fit in category A. Where as those questioning your fandom are in category B. Because the thing is that if you hated anime then you really would spend so much time writing about it. In the end the more anime you watch the more critical you become with it. It shows that we are passionate….but not obsessive.
I think the wrench in your explanation is that there are plenty of people in category A questioning whether or not I’m a fan.
I never said that everyone in Category A was intelligent. But my bad for assuming those who questioned were in Category B. I just thought you were referring to the guys who comment saying “WTF! YOU NO LIKE ANIMU?!”
Nice write up.
I would’ve just said “fan” is an arbitrary label and hurf durf blah blah think what you will.
You, sir, are a brilliant literary critic and I can’t wait for your essay on No. 6 episode 10.
If you like anime, you’re an anime fan, end of.
I occasionally go to conventions, hardly ever cosplay, very rarely buy merchandise except for DVDs and manga… I go to meet-ups in my town, and usually find some awesome people to chat with there, so that’s about the only time I actually do anything related to anime fandom outside of the internet.
‘Fan’ is a fine thing to call yourself…. I think it’s miles better than ‘otaku’. In the same vein that rail-fans no longer like being called gricers or train-spotters (at least that’s what my rail-fan friend tells me), anime fandom should really reject the otaku thing, now that we know a lot more about Japan and the Japanese definition of otaku. Yes, there is the American definition, which can be used as either a slur or a bold definition of oneself.
(Going by that one girl who went on American Idol and grinned ‘I’m an otaku’ and sang terribly. I always laugh at the part of the audition in which one of the judges goes ‘so you want to be a star in Japan or something?’ and Simon replies: ‘No, she doesn’t want to be a star in Japan, she just likes their animation.’ Lol)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_scotsman
I think this does apply to your situation. Anyway, I never contribute in the comments but I do really enjoy your take on animes so please don’t be bothered by people having trouble accepting differing opinions.
Wow, actually I’m on almost the same boat as you dude. I engage on an Anime Discussion Thread on a local wapsite and it’s kinda alienating to find out how other members label what’s a good and entertaining animes like. All the animes their posting is all about senseless ecchiness, fanservicing, moeness, highschoool life- I don’t know, I exchanged thoughts but deep inside I despised their conversation- I mean Angel Beats,Sword art online, Accel Saga and K-ON as intellectual anime???!!! I got tired of inviting them to a more sensible animes like War in the pocket, 08th Ms Team, Monster, Unicorn or even the old Grave of fireflies and Wolf’s Rain, but what response did I get? “It’s boring as hell”- or just because their’s a 20ft tall metallic monster roaming on a battlefield they already considered it as childish crap despite the matured contents and scripts in the show. So I used a dummy account to troll their tastes in discussion and to show how bad majority of modern animes they are watching- yes, they call me a faggot or even worse a troll. But I’m not giving pressumptous judgements and I’m not only considering a sexy babe or moe characters or even sound quality and animation. That’s why instead of admiration, I rated their characters listed on a popolarity poll as overrated. But they just don’t get it. So I find it wonderful how I find myself entertained and find out that I’m not alone with this kind of mentality when I read your blogs. So it may kinda late- 1 year late but keep on going dude!!! :)
It’s always cool to get new readers.
There’s actually a ton of us out there. I wouldn’t say I troll anime fans though. I sincerely believe what I say whether or not it gets people mad!
I think everyone likes or dislikes animes which other ppl likes or dislikes. In any case I think ur an anime fan. In my opinion ur just a bit more critical about animes than other and it´s hard to satisfy u if it´s not a good anime. Also it´s okay that u just like 15,8% of all the animes u watch I think there are ppl outside they have less and are also anime fans.
And sorry for bad english.