Forum - View topicHard to Find a Place in the Anime World
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chrisb
 Subscriber Posts: 638 Location: USA |
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Watching anime by myself is relaxing and all but at times it does feels lonely in the anime world for me. My friends don't really care for anime and a lot of them even make fun of anime fans (which I never do) so I tend to keep my love of anime away from them and I just end up talking about normal media things with them like MTV and all that. The problem is the anime club students at my school seem to have a dislike for me. I get the feeling they see me as a non anime person. Whenever I start a discussion with them about anime they ask me about things like Inuyasha or Naruto or Fruit Basket. Personally I'm not at all into shounen stuff or fluffy shoujo stuff and when I try talking about something like Rumbling Hearts or Koi Kaze etc. they just look at me weird and when they start talking about series like Naruto I'm clueless and I'm like "well I like that epsidoe and blah blah blah" but they get into the whole background of the show and I'm like woah you know alot. They usually end the conversation and go back to the anime club clique. I don't know why but when I find myself clueless and all I can say is "you sure know a lot" that seems to always end the conversation. Does it make me seem like I'm making fun or something? Pretty much all of the anime club acts this way towards me (its small so I know most of them) and its seems pretty rude. It just kind of confuses me and I wonder if maybe its the company I keep or maybe they think I make fun of anime too or something. Now it doesn't stress me out or anything like that but it does perplex me as to why its hard for someone like me to connect with an anime fan in real life.
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LydiaDianne
 Posts: 5634 Location: Southern California |
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I don't think that you are clueless. I think that you have a wider appreciation of anime beyond their narrow confines. I wouldn't call that an "anime club" if all they want to focus on is the latest fad anime (and yes, I'm a Inu Yasha fan myself).
While I've never belonged to anything like that (espically since I'm in my late 30s and anime was unheard of when I was in high school), from what I've read on this forum, an anime club should focus on watching not only the latest and greatest available, but should watch the "oldies but goodies" and even the occasional "WTF was that?" anime. And then be able to discuss in a semi-logical manner what was just watched. Hell, you don't even have to do the last sentence but it makes you look good to the teachers. Don't worry, stick with ANN and you'll find plenty of people who will want to discuss and/or argue with you about the anime you watch! |
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The Frankman
 Posts: 1160 Location: Binary Culture HQ |
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I find that many (don't want to say most) Japanese anime fans are a contradictory bunch. They want to talk freely about X show, but don't like it if it gets too popular. Also many don't exactly welcome fans that don't share their views/watch the shows they do. There are others who can't make the distinction that it's all animation . . . just like anything on this side of the Atlantic and are like "OMG YOU WATCH (insert show here) YOU NEWB ROTFLMAO!!". I'm not the best person to ask for advice (and I'm an idiot if you were asking for it) but I'd talk about what you like, if they don't like it you don't need them. Some people have a weird inferiority/superiority complex also, never got that.
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Anthony P
Posts: 227 Location: Phoenix, Arizona, US |
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You're still in highschool, then? If so, don't worry. Judging by what I can glean from your post, your tastes are a bit more mature than the archetypical highschooler's, and once you're out of highschool you'll likely meet others that share your preferences in anime. Or, if nothing else, just do like LadyDianne said and keep coming to the forums here. Virtually all of my interaction with the anime community is done on these forums. Also, if there are any anime cons by where you live, try going to one. I attended my first con last week, and I met a few people that liked many of the same titles that I do. Sure, the majority of the people there were into stuff like Naruto and Inuyasha, but you'd still find more diversity at a con than you will at your school. |
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Animefreak6969
 Posts: 587 |
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Ahh.....well first off, for that "anime club" is they're really JUST into the "BIG" Naruto/Inuyasha discussion then thats not really an "anime" club...its just a gathering of people who like these anime's especially since they end it and walk away when you dont really know all about it....and im going to say that your tastes are more higily evolved then theirs and thats a good thing IMO and you should keep it that way and NOT change for them (even though you didn't really say that in your post, just telling you) and it's kinda smart to keep your anime talk away from your friends that dont like it, although I always convert them in a small period of time.
 and its not difficult to connect with an anime fan in real life, just find the right ones.
and keep coming here, there are plenty of serious discussers here and most are pretty smart (excluding me) and can fill ya in on many prospects of different shows. Hell im in High School too and there are quite a few people here (as in school not ANN) that are like that, but eventually get to em and they see the LIGHT, and watch more open-mindedly to anything they watch and watch more non-mainstream, BIG titles and some more philosophical, DEEP shows. Which is why i have anime cycling the school right now.....My Love Hina's out and my Love Hina Again....MY Cossette is out and my Steel Angel Kurumi Box set is around somewhere, people are getting more accustomed to it, i also get my teachers to watch anime in class Like Princess Mononoke, Nausica, Appleseed and Advent Children.
Last edited by Animefreak6969 on Sat Dec 09, 2006 1:27 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Keonyn
 Subscriber Posts: 5567 Location: Coon Rapids, MN |
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The anime fandom can be a tough world, there's so many factors and so many people who are intolerant of others who don't share their opinion on them. From my experience there's a few types to watch out for. You get the devoted who tend to try to watch anything and everything and tend to look down on those who don't quite match their level of obsession. You have the japanophiles who take it to the next level in which anything and everything japanese means the world to them and they'll drown out just about anything else. You have the purists who tend to hate any US licensing and hate dubs and are intolerant of those that are either dub fans or even open minded towards dubs. You also have the pop group, like your club, who focus on the big thing in anime and really don't broaden their horizons beyond that or care to associate with people who aren't as devoted to those popular titles as they are.
Of course, all together these groups likely don't make up a large percentage of the anime population but they tend to be present enough that you'll run in to them here and there. They also come in varying degrees of intensity and I'm sure there's probably other little subgroups that could easily be added. Many fans are good fans and open fans and those are the ones you'll want to look for, and luckily we have an abundance of that type here on ANN so that's why the bulk of my anime interaction and socializing takes place here. It's not always the best substitute but feel free to spend some time here in these forums, I can at least guarantee that it'd be better than that anime club from the sounds of it. |
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daxomni
 Posts: 2650 Location: Somewhere else. |
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It sounds like the club is just too small to give you what you want out of it. All such clubs are going to have people that are a poor match for your specific focus and level of interest, but if the club is too small you might not find anyone who is a good match. In that case maybe you should just look for another club (doesn't even have to be anime) or come to places like ANN for your anime club fix. Maybe we should have a rule that your avatar has to be a picture of the real you. That might feel a bit more like a real anime club. Any takers?
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Animefreak6969
Posts: 587 |
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hey, im for it |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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You two go first. By the way, please include your real name, date of birth, social security number, passport or driver's license number, mother's maiden name, permanent address, a fingerprint of your right thumb, a retinal scan of your right eye, along with your unedited picture. A small colony of your epidermal cells is welcomed. |
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Animefreak6969
Posts: 587 |
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ugh....what if you dont know your address? and dont have a drivers license? and my mother REAL name let alone maiden? and not really sure about MY real name and date of birth.....however i DO have a retinal scan of my right eye, so i'll send that to you later and heres my social security number ***-**-****.................psst, whats an epidermal cell? |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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I see. So your current avatar must be a picture of the real you. Right. To daxomni: now you should be able to realize how ineffective and unrealistically idealistic your idea was. |
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Animefreak6969
Posts: 587 |
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no no no, i haven't got there yet THIS 
is the real me!!! |
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daxomni
Posts: 2650 Location: Somewhere else. |
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I guess I really struck a nerve with you. However, I think you may have misunderstood my comment. I'm just as much of cynic when it comes to handing out information as the next guy, but what on earth is a crummy 6KB picture going to do to your credit history? If you didn't want to provide such a picture then why not just go without an avatar? Also, I don't really care that you can't actually prove which picture belongs to whom; that's not really the point in my mind. Some people will probably cheat but we all know what average anime fans tend to look like and I've been posting on forums long enough to know that when people put up pictures that are well beyond average they tend to get called out, even when the pictures are legit. In the end it doesn't really matter since I knew that it would never become a real rule on a place like ANN. And, that's fine with me. I might post a picture of myself just for kicks but I wouldn't seriously expect everyone to do the same. It just seems odd that we're so willing to post pictures of our silly DVD collections or our latest A/V setup but a picture of our mug? Why not? I happened to glance at your blog after you mentioned it (PM) and the first thing that popped into my head was "Why are all the faces covered up?" I mean, a blog is in many respects a one-way information bullhorn that allows you to tell the whole world all about you. But how many people on bullhorns have cute little ski masks over their heads? |
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creativename
 Posts: 14 |
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First off, learn to space out your posts. Entering a thread and seeing a block of text is very annoying, and compels me to leave the thread. Splitting that into 2 or 3 paragraphs would be good. But on the issue... Sometimes no one shares your hobbies. That's a sad fact of life. However, anime is pretty darn popular so I reckon if you try hard enough you can find people with similar interests. Make new friends if need be, or try and convert your old friends into liking anime. At one time years ago I thought anime was rather stupid, but now I am one of those obsessed individuals Keonyn refereed to, without the looking down part. I just got into anime by randomly watching it on TV. So an active effort could easily work on your friends, though I don't presume to know them. From the sound of it, I wouldn't waste time with that anime club. 'Nuff said. Of course, if all else fails the internet and various forums are a great substitute for real people. Often you can have more serious discussions than you could have in person, and talk to people who like anime that your friends may not. |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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To be frank, you did it first.  What really annoyed me was the following part:
1. If you knew it would never become a rule and you are fine with it, why promoted it? 2. If you expect followers, why didn't you start using your real mug shot first? The former can be regarded as a harmless FYI; the latter, however, is a sign of irresponsibility. If you want to sell an idea or a philosophy, demonstrate it first by yourself!
It was impossible for me to acquire written consent from each and every person to be displayed on the web. Furthermore, while most cosplayers don't mind (because they wanted to attract attention), some of them were either my personal friends or people in the industry who had requested not to be displayed. Check out here for more examples. In order to get the discussion back on track (sorry chrisb), allow me to tell some of my personal experience on "finding a place." Similar to the thread opener, I too have difficulties finding people capable to discuss anime with. Not to sound like bragging or discriminating, but most people around me in my offline life have little to no idea about anime. Some of them do watch popular titles e.g. Naruto or Keroro, but nothing beyond, and here in Taiwan there are fewer people willing to watch anime than reading manga (which are more widespread and easily accessible than anime). Therefore I spend most of my free time right here. 
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