Hey, Answerman!

Hey, everyone!

I was on hiatus for the last 2 weeks due to a handful of ridiculous events that all fell in line one right after the other, but I'm back now, and still crazy busy thanks to the back-breaking Fall Preview Guide. So I'm just going to get right to it.

No. Not at all. It has absolutely nothing to do with Shinto or religion whatsoever.

The "sudden girlfriend" genre exists because it fulfills a very basic fantasy for many a nerd: rather than dealing with whatever crippling mental or social issues you have, you will be assigned a girlfriend through some crazy fantasy scenario - like the magical MILF [and/or lolita] academy accidentally sent you an indentured sex maid without checking the paperwork - without you actually having to be an interesting, likable or socially skilled person. Your magical girlfriend will also be bound by whatever plot-device rules are necessary to tolerate your bullshit, love you forever, and find your revolting personal habits charming, even when someone better comes along, which they probably will around episode 9.

It's wish fulfillment. Just like a lot of people envision themselves as Bruce Willis running across a field of broken glass and then leaping off of a skyscraper, just as so many daydream of pointing a battle-weary gladius at the emperor of Rome and delivering a badass speech about his inevitable death, so too do many daydream about a world wherein a smokin' hot girl or guy is gifted to us through magical means, one who bindly, stupidly accepts our faults and never questions our judgment, regardless of how much of a gigantic goddamn loser we might be.

Pretty simple formula there.

I've got a question, with so much anime out there, why do people focus only on a few anime, that it widespread? Like Haruhi suzumiya, Chobits, Death note, and higurashi? I understand death note's reason, but why haruhi suzumiya or chobits that most anime fans know about and usually have watched? Is it because it's a good anime? Or is it because it got widespread and talked about succesfully? If It's based on how good an anime is, who's judging, I mean i didn''t really like chobits, but adorded vampire knight and jigoku shoujo. And if it became spread, how did that happen. I'm asking this because i see alot of anime titles on your site, that few people have watched and aren't talked about, they just go unnoticed, although i think some of them are rather good and intresting.

Some shows are more popular than others. Some get better exposure. Some simply have all the elements today's otaku are looking for, and execute them in a polished way that fans respond to.

There is this notion that it's some sort of huge injustice when your favorite crazy "niche" title isn't as popular as Naruto, and I never really understood that. It's like complaining that everyone's reading Harry Potter but you're reading Artemis Fowl and why doesn't everyone also love Artemis Fowl as much? Is it not OK to just really love the hell out of Vampire Knight without needing the added validation that comes with mainstream blockbuster success?

I would argue that it is, madam. It is, in fact, OK.

I get the feeling that actually rewatching series is kind of a foreign concept among a lot of modern anime fans - that you like something so much you watch it again and again over the years, to the point where it becomes "comfort food", something you pop in when you're feeling bad or just want to revisit a favorite show from years past that you still appreciate and enjoy as an adult. Anime has become this disposable medium where you watch it and toss it and never think of it again. Which is fine, but I've noticed that there are fewer and fewer series that people consider evergreen entertainment - that is, shows or even movies they'll watch again and again and come back to every year.

I have a few series I tend to rewatch over and over again, things I break out when I want comfortable entertainment, shows I know I love and want to revisit time and again. First a foremost, Vision of Escaflowne, followed by Neon Genesis Evangelion, the first two seasons of Rurouni Kenshin, Fullmetal Alchemist, FLCL and Revolutionary Girl Utena - especially the movie, on that last one. I'd say I rewatch each of these every 2 or 3 years or so, and they remind me of the reasons that I came to love anime in the first place.

No flake this week, but this is better and you can't doubt it.



Please ignore the stupid word balloons and just focus on the bunny grooming the guinea pig.

Also, those weird squeaky noises you hear are all coming from the guinea pig. See, you learned something today.

Here's last week's question:

From Anton Sergei:

From George Heffner:

From Abby Allman:

My proudest moment as an anime fan, was when I went to my first con in June and I saw an older African-American gentleman dressed in nothing but sheepskin underwear, and trailing behind him was a middle aged 6 foot tall man dressed as Princess Peach. It may not seem so special, but it put alot of things in prespective for me. I realized that the otaku generation may in fact, be completely insane. But if you go to a convention, (most of) the people are there are so nice and fun to be around, where else do you find such kind-hearted people? To think that the only thing you have in common with over 2,000 people in the same building is that you're an anime fan. And yes, we're all nerds, but why try to deny it?

I'm an anime fan. And damn pround.

From "Yuukichan's Papa":

I'd have to say that my proudest moment as an anime fan was at Fanime in 2000. If you've ever heard of "They've Got Some NERV" or the dancing Seele boxes, I was in that group (specifically box number two). After being cheered off stage with chants of "Box! Box!", we found out that Takami Akai and Hiroyuki Yamaga from Gainax were in the front row at the masquerade and were laughing so hard they were in tears. After the audience had cleared out, Yamaga was milling around the stage with his assistant, and I was able to personally hand him a copy of an Evangelion parody fanfic my brother and I had written.

I'm a huge Gainax fan and Evangelion is still my favorite anime, so being able to not only make him laugh but also talk to him - however briefly - in person just made me glad to be a fan.


From Logan Caputo:

From Amy Behrendt:

From Ryan Newberry:

Finally, from Alex Price:

Now you've got this week's question, and it's time to get answerin'.

For those of you new to Hey, Answerfans!, I'll explain the concept.

Believe it or not, I'm genuinely curious what you think.

That's right; as much as I love the sound of my own voice, I do love to listen to what other people have to say on a subject. I'm finding that over the last few years, the attitudes, reasoning and logic that today's anime fans use eludes, confuses or astounds me; I hve so many questions for you, and I'm dying to hear what you have to say in response.

Welcome to Hey, Answerfans!

Basically, we're turning the tables. Each week I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to email me your answer. Be as honest as you can. I'm looking for good answers; not answers I agree with or approve of, but good, thoughtful answers. People feel passionately about these subjects and I'd like to see that in the responses I get. I'll post the best answers I get, and maybe some of the crappy ones. Sometimes there may only be one or two good ones; sometimes five or more. It all depends on what I get in my inbox! Got it? Pretty simple, right? Start writing those answers and email them to answerman [at] animenewsnetwork dot com.

We do have a few simple ground rules to start with.

Things To Do:

* Be coherent.
* Be thoughtful.
* Be passionate.
* Write as much or as little as you feel you need to to get your point across in the best possible way.

Things Not To Do:

* Respond when the question doesn't apply to you. For instance, if your email response starts with "Well, I don't do whatever you're asking about in the question... " then I'm going to stop reading right there and hit delete.

* Be unnecessarily rude or use a lot of foul language.
* Go off-topic.

So check this space next week for your answers to my questions!