Anime fans... are jerks

[Ace of Spades]

ALERT:
THE FOLLOWING DOES NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS SUPPORTED BY ACE OF SPADES, HE MERLEY STOLE, I MEAN, BORROWED THE FOLLOWING FROM SOME OTHER BOARD.
---------------
I Hate Anime Fans
(aka The Rant That Will Have Anime Fans Calling For My Bloody Public Execution)

Right now, I'm sure whoever has enough free time on their hands to read this section is no doubt thinking, "What the hell are you talking about, Azusa? You are an anime fan!" Well, this is true, but I still hate the vast majority of them, much like the fact that I dislike most humans in spite of being one myself. What follows is probably going to be along the lines of a long, maniacal, screechy spree of pent-up bitterness, so if you are the sort of fan who takes great pride in professng yourself to be an otaku, adding honorifics to your name, or proclaiming yourself the Miko of a certain character, you probably shouldn't read this.

Anyway. On to the rant.

I hate anime fans because they are conceited, anal-retentive, silly, thickheaded, ignorant, inane and elitist. It is true that every human being displays these traits at some point in their lives, but most anime fans seem to have gotten an extra helping of them. Most of the time, I find them simply naive, grating, and irritating when they begin to discuss their preferred medium of entertainment.

Hmm, a good example of the sort of thing I'm talking about would be... try going up to the average anime fan and casually referring to sa's favorite show as a "cartoon." Nine times out of ten, you'll get to see the wheels in their head creak a little bit before the veins in their forehead start to twitch and steam starts coming out of their ears moments before they treat you to an extensive, violent rant on how anime is NOT cartoons, you stupid ugly American, it is a high form of art, unlike the half-hour toy commercials produced on this side of the Pacific, and to refer to it as a mere cartoon is to spit upon, pillage and violate all of the elite aesthetic glory that is anime.

Discounting the fact that the marketing blitz accompanying popular shows in Japan often surpasses what we get in the West (we never saw Sailor Moon sausages over here, did we?), 'anime' is actually-- surprise-- just the Japanese word for 'animation'! Thus, Pokemon, Akira, Legend of the Overfiend, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mickey Mouse, and Fritz the Cat all technically fall under the enormous banner of 'anime'. And last I checked, it was perfectly acceptable to speak of British or European cartoons; there exists no particular provision stipulating that 'cartoon' must refer only to American-produced work. Anime=animation=cartoons. End of story. (On a similar note, it should be noted that "seiyuu" is merely the Japanese word for "voice actor," and calling someone a "seiyuu" does not mean that they are on an artistically higher level than a mere voice actor.)

Somewhat along those same lines, there also seems to exist a rule in the Unwritten Code of Otakudom that denouncing everything Western and championing everything Japanese is an essential part of being an anime fan. Now, I will freely admit that there are many aspects of Japanese culture I do like. I like their tendancy to emphasize effort as more important than innate ability, their social politeness, and the fact that enough people there take video games seriously enough to orchestrate their music (among other things). It is also an irrefutable fact that Pocky kicks ass. However, I know enough of their history and culture (unlike many anime fans, who think they can glean an accurate picture of Japanese society solely from watching subtitled videos) to know that Japanese culture also has its fair share of aspects that aren't admirable. It's still very much a male-dominated society, despite what anime might suggest, and can be downright repressive at times, not to mention there still remains an omnipresent attitude throughout most of Japan that foreigners, no matter how nice and decent, can never truly be accepted as "one of us." And don't get me started on the fact that the Japanese government has never apologized for wartime atrocities committed during WWII... but this isn't a political rant, so what it all comes down to is that you just can't take something as complex as an entire culture and slap it with a quick judgment like that.

The "America bad, Japan good" attitude, though, has ultimately spawned something even more utterly annoying than mere cultural chauvinism, and this is the irritating plague of fans who try to prove their Otaku Eliteness by speaking in weird mangled forms of Japanese and English, attaching honorifics to their names, and transcribing character names according to their original katakana spellings. Now, the first one doesn't always bug me that much unless it reaches a point where English speakers can't actually understand what the hell you're saying. The second one does annoy me, because honorifics are something that depend on your status relative to the person you're speaking to, so giving yourself an honorific makes no sense. The third one makes me want to froth at the mouth and rake my fingernails down the wall before going out to messily destroy adorable woodland creatures.

A word about the Japanese writing system might be useful here. As most anime fans know, the Japanese have a phonetic alphabet-- katakana-- which is used primarily to write words of foreign origin. (The other phonetic alphabet is hiragana, which is used to write Japanese words.) Now, the deal with katakana is that it only contains sounds which occur naturally in the Japanese language-- thus, there is no "l" sound, no "th" sound, and so on. Thus, it is used to write foreign words according to how the Japanese would pronounce them. Katakana words are NOT to be taken as actual spellings when transcribed literally. Many fans, ironically often those who toss off Japanese phrases at the drop of a hat, don't even realize this and think it is Cool or 1337 to romanize character names as they look in katakana. This is just STUPID.

For example, the anime series Slayers, a recent obsession of mine, has a character named "Sylphiel." Since the "si" sound doesn't occur in Japanese, all foreign words containing the "si" sound are written with the letter for "shi." I can't even count how many pages I've seen referring to her as "Shilfiel," "Shilfeel," "Shirufiel," and so on. Likewise, Anthy Himemiya from Revolutionary Girl Utena often has her name butchered into "Anshi" by fans. "Amelia" becomes "Ameria," "Martina" becomes "Maruchina," and... well, anyone who's spent any length of time visiting anime pages has probably seen this. One of the worst examples that I've seen concerns a character in Slayers called "Copy Rezo"-- "Copy" because, well, he is a copy of a character named (surprise) Rezo. However, anime fans PERSISTANTLY and CONTINUOUSLY insist on mangling this into "Kopii Rezo" or "Koppi Rezo." It's an English word. An ENGLISH word!! "Kopii" is just the Japanese pronounciation of the word "copy"! I haven't heard any anime fans claiming that they watch anime on their "terebi" recently. And yet I still see innumerable shrines, fanfics, and self-professed "information" pages referring to "Kopii Rezo."

The ultimate blow to my last shreds of confidence in society, though, was dealt when I saw a page referring to the series whose name is usually rendered into English as "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon" (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon, or Bishoujosenshisailormoon, or whatever the hell the Elite Hard-Core Otaku way of writing it is) written as "Bishoujo Senshi Seeraamuun." Is "Seeraa Muun" the way it is written in katakana? Yes. Did Naoko Takeuchi actually intend the name of her manga to be "Seeraa Muun?" I highly doubt it, especially taking into account that katakana is used mainly to write words of foreign origin, and since the words are written in katakana, the most obvious conclusion is that they're intended to be-- GASP-- foreign words! No, misspelling character and show names does not make you elite. It just makes you look like an idiot. Anyhow, if you've ever even seen any officially licensed Japanese SM merchandise, it usually has S-A-I-L-O-R-M-O-O-N written on it in very unmistakable romaji. Then again, I've fairly well given up on expecting anime fans to display anything in the way of rational thought. These are people who engage in flamewars over whether "Sailor Moon" is one word or two, for God's sake.

Now, I've become increasingly aware that there are more than a few other people who share my view on the vast majority of fandom, but quite frankly, from what I've gathered, most of them are afraid to speak out. And who can blame them? If there's one general characteristic of anime fans which irks me more than any other, it's that they take themselves and their entertainment too damn seriously. Sure, Japanese animation seems to put more of an emphasis on telling a serious story with well-developed characters than most of the animation we get in the West, but it's hardly an inviolable constant. I've seen some extremely crappy anime and some really damned good non-Japanese animation.

Not every anime series is an irreproachable masterpiece of cinematography and character. That said, a bad dub is not the end of the world either. Sure, DiC did a hack job on the English version of SM, but to be frank, it's not as if what existed in the first place was classic cinema either. SM is entertaining fluff, with no deeper meaning to it beyond the usual shoujo series "the power of friendship and love" message. If you're one of the sorts of people who expounds at length on webpages and bulletin boards about the "incredible beauty and power" of SM, why the last episode is the greatest masterpiece of cinema since "Citizen Kane", and how Usagi is a metaphor for Jesus, please do the rest of us a favor and garrote yourself with piano wire. (And yes, before you ask, I have seen the Original Real Japanese Version. I don't want to get started on this. I'm not saying that it's a bad show-- only that most fans take it entirely too seriously.)

In sum, I suppose the gist of my advice to anime fans would be:

1. 'Anime' and 'cartoon' mean the same thing.

2. Watching anime does not make you a qualified expert on the Japanese culture.

3. Sailor Moon (Sailormoon, whatever) is not the be-all and end-all of animated entertainment.

4. Stop taking yourselves so damned seriously. Being an anime fan (or a fan of a certain series, or a fan of subs as opposed to dubs) does not make you superior to the average person.
-------------

Discuss and write a one-page response to be handed in Monday.

[WoodenCoyote]

:eek:

Are we really that intense?
They sound like they've just come out of a bad encounter with the cast of Otaku no Video

[Ace of Spades]

It seems to me that the author (who's name I convieniently forgot) is mainly talking about the big fans, instead of your average Joe Anime-liker.

[NevrMore]

I like this guy! (I'm assuming, for the sake of argument, that a "he" wrote this)

We share many of the same views. For instance, we both hate humanity! whoo!!

*ahem* anyway, back on topic.

I agree with him fully. I'll admit, I used to be the hardcore otaku, spouting Japanese like no one's business while cursing dubbers and western cartoons for having shoddy animation and plot. But I'm past that now. Sure, I like anime. Hell, you could probably say I love it, but that's no excuse for me to go around acting like a jackass and totally mangling the Japanese culture. I'm sorry, but when I see an obviously western boy/girl/man/woman speaking in Japanese and attaching honorifics to names and they are NOT talking to a Japanese person, I want to punch them in the face. They think that for some reason, maybe if they speak and write like Japanese people, they'll be more like Japanese people, and if they are more like Japanese people, They can have better appreciation for anime and such.

And another thing that the guy who wrote this rant didn't mention....

manga. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a poor guy who doesn't have much knowledge of the Japanese culture go up to someone reading Pokemon or Trigun or something like that and say "What comic book is that?" and get a 20 minute rant from the person that it's "manga" and not a "comic book"

Much like anime, manga is, Japanese for *gasp* "COMIC BOOK". I don't understand why hardcore otaku think that just by reversing the pages it's somehow better than a regular comic. Guys, the Japanese always write like that, from right to left. They aren't doing it to distinguish themselves from everyone else, it's how they've ALWAYS done it, and how they WILL always do it.

Let's take a little Japanese lesson, shall we?

Manga = Comic = Comic Book = THE SAME DAMN THING.

I dare ANY of you to go to your local bookstore that sells Japanese comic boosk/manga, go up to someone reading "manga" and call it a comic book. You'll be happy to know that after about 25 minutes of rage, your otaku will be kindly escorted out of the store.

[christianrurouni]

EEEEEEEEEP! *hides in a corner and from the corner says* "That person scares me...*gulp* that guy made us out to be idiots I am trying to learn japanese through anime.. but that doesnt mean i like japan over the U.S. And anime is great and all.. but its not everything.. to me anime is just a hobby of mine... a really big hobby.. but its not my life.. Drawing and watching anime is what i do.. not who i am.. and this person is kinda correct in saying alot of hard core anime fans are kinda scary.. i would say i am a mini hard core fan in the fact that i dont like it when ppl make fun of me for watching cartoons.. yah its a cartoon but generally cartoons are targeted at kids.. and yes some anime is in japan.. but my parents would kill me if i watched trigun or cowboy bebop and probably block cartoon network if i was my little sisters age.. (7) and was watching them.. not to mention she freaked when she heard sanosuke from rurouni kenshin say the word <pojo_ownz><pojo_ownz><pojo_ownz><pojo_ownz><pojo_ownz>. (that was 4 months ago.. and i am 16) O.o so thats my justification for saying that anime is cool.. because at least here in the U.S. the majority of it is NOT for kids..

and why is this person complaining? what was the point? O.o;; why does it matter? I mean its never healthy to obsess over something so much that it completely controls your life.. football to some ppl is like anime is to the hard core fans... (seriously its scary)

anyways.. this person is half right in saying its stupid to argue over trivial stuff such as "the dub is waaaaay better than the sub or vice versa.. i watch both versions if i can.. an compare.. if the dub totally screws up the plot then i complain.. but if its as stupid as whether the way something is pronounced then i just leave it alone and move on..

i dont know alot about japan. and i dont try to pretend to.. and i so what if i used honorifics in the past.. if you dont misuse them whats wrong with it.. and whats wrong with using japanese words.. we use alot of words from different countries.. our language english is based off many foreign words.. so whats the big dealio man?

and i have heard that japan is racist.. but so were we not to long ago.. every county has their probs. and Japan was isolated for 1000 years and only 150 years ago opened up their trading ports.. soo ya.. at least they even bother to trade with us.. O.o

anyways.. i just thought i would put my part in this... cuz while there are some pretty scary hard core fans alot of us arent that bad.. i know i try not to let anime get in between me and reality.. tho that is sometimes hard... LOL JK!

anways the point i am trying to make is.. its a free country here in the us.. and ppl can talk however they want.. if they wanna call a manga a comic book fine.. if anime also includes the power puff girls GREAT! ITS NO BIG DEAL! but also if someone wants to use honorifics and japanese words than those who wanna stop them should be more understandable.. you are kinda being a tad critical.. sometimes ppl find it fun to act crazy.. and i have a nickname with an honorific.. so we should all just cool it and be more accepting.. OKIES?!

[Shining Celebi]

I completely agree with him.

And another note on the usage of "anime": as far as I can tell, it was invented by fans who didn't know Japanese at all. Every time that I have seen the word for an animated show or movie written in Japanese, it was "ANIMEESYON" (or ANIMEESHON, depending on what romanization method you use.) This is quite obviously the Japanese borrowing words from English, as they are wont when they need words for new things. It's just the word "animation" written in Japanese. So "anime" isn't even right, apparently, although it's essentially become a word in the English language now.

Another thing that bothers me is the stuff about licensed anime. There are many, many fans who think that downloading unlicensed anime is perfectly OK, but anyone who downloads licensed anime is the ultimate evil and a completely loser and SHALL BE BANISHED FROM POLITE SOCIETY forever, and has committed a mortal sin. Guess what? It's illegal to download anime (or for that matter, any copyright materal) at ALL. Hypocrites.

I'll be on my way now. ;p

i dont know alot about japan. and i dont try to pretend to.. and i so what if i used honorifics in the past.. if you dont misuse them whats wrong with it.. and whats wrong with using japanese words.. we use alot of words from different countries.. our language english is based off many foreign words.. so whats the big dealio man?

Because people do misuse honorifics, almost every time they utter one, that's why. And as for the usage of Japanese words...English is partially based on other languages, yes. But those words became part of English because of the way history worked out, or for some similiar reason, not because it was just "cool" to use them. Many French words, for example, came into the language when the (French) Normans invaded and conquered England.

Using Japanese (or more often, MIS-using Japanese) is an entirely different matter. It's not part of the English language. There are some Japanese words that have become part of the English language, I'll grant you that, but English is our language because the majority of people in America, the UK, etc. speak and understand it. The majority of Americans, etc. do not understand Japanese. In addition, when someone "speaks" "Japanese", they generally mangle the pronounciation and grammar. If speaking "Japanese" is acceptable whenever you feel like it, then I suppose liek tis tgpyin is OK too. If you want to speak Japanese, _learn_ it. Don't just toss around random phrases and mis-pronounce them, or the Japanese will make an Eihogo.com*, and your stupidity will be on public display for all the Japanese to see. ;P

*For the ignorant, there is a popular website that displays examples of "Engrish", or the Japanese mis-spelling/using English, to hilarious effect. The name Engrish comes from the lack of an "l" in Japanese - it is instead represented by an "r". Eihogo is a blend of eigo and nihongo which are the Japanese words for English and Japanese, respectively.

anways the point i am trying to make is.. its a free country here in the us.. and ppl can talk however they want.. if they wanna call a manga a comic book fine.. if anime also includes the power puff girls GREAT! ITS NO BIG DEAL! but also if someone wants to use honorifics and japanese words than those who wanna stop them should be more understandable.. you are kinda being a tad critical.. sometimes ppl find it fun to act crazy.. and i have a nickname with an honorific.. so we should all just cool it and be more accepting.. OKIES?!

Ah! But it isn't a free country...

And, see, your nickname with an honorific is exactly what he's talking about. A name can't have an honorific built into it. Different people refer to you with different honorifics. Someone who doesn't know you well or is being polite might refer to as -san; someone you know well might completely forgo an honorific, and someone who thinks you are the greatest person ever might call you -sama. You can't have an honorific as part of your name because...that's just how it works. Else, I declare my English honorific as "God", and I demand that you refer to me as such. ;)

Yes, it is sometimes fun to act crazy. But you should also try and make an effort to know what you're doing or saying.

[christianrurouni]

i only use "chan and san" for my really close friends.. i know that thats is what they are for.. i dont use any others really...soo does that make me into a stupid fan? and sometiems when i am around my anime friends we greet each other using japanese.. but thats not often.. and once in a while is fun.. because my friends know japanese very well.. and are teaching me the language... or at lease teh basics

[Amy Rose Is Here]

Not all of us are like this, but I agree with him. Some anime fans need to grow up and actually do some freaking research on things. I...don't have much else to say ^^;;

[Sailor Mars Dragon]

I agree with most of the stuff this guy is saying. But instead of getting into the whole thing (I'm much too lazy, so sue me), I'll just point out certain things.

Yes, an Anime is a Cartoon. But it's more than that. It's classified as an Anime more than Cartoon for some purpose. It is a type of cartoon. The art, characters, and other stuff tell a story that can tend to go on for a while is what makes it so. Disney cartoons are different. They're shorter and usually empasize humor. But that's good too. Sure, the characters aren't as 'in-depth', but they can make us life so much harder than most Anime could hope too.

Yes, the Japanese culture, although an amazing thing, has had it's problems. More than it's fair share probably.

Yup, right about the whole Mispelling deal. There is no point in trying too make it look Japanese if it isn't. Of course, to remedy this problam, tell the idiots this. 'Go look it up'. The offical site should have all the correct information, so there's no excuse for mispelling names, words, or any of that.

'Bishoujo Senshi Seeraamuun?!' WTF?! Come on! Is it really that hard to accept it for Naoko Takeuchi's way of saying/spelling it? This is an insult...whoever spelled it this way really needs to read the last paragraph (and the 'stolen' speech').

I wish I could see some of the subs. But no, an American in High School has little money for this low-priority thing. That's right, low-priority. Meaning there are things I consider to be more important. When I get extra cash, maybe I'll shell some out. Until then, I'll just let it be a dream.

1. 'Anime' and 'cartoon' mean the same thing.
True and untrue at the same time. Altough it is technically a Cartoon, Anime is in it's own class. Much like the way living things and animals are classifed (Kingdom, Phylum, etc.), Anime is the same, yet different.

2. Watching anime does not make you a qualified expert on the Japanese culture.
Right that is.

3. Sailor Moon (Sailormoon, whatever) is not the be-all and end-all of animated entertainment.
It may not be the best, but it is my favorite.

4. Stop taking yourselves so damned seriously. Being an anime fan (or a fan of a certain series, or a fan of subs as opposed to dubs) does not make you superior to the average person.
Nothing dictates 'Superiority'. All people are equals and should be treated as such. Just because 1 knows more than someone else about 1 topic, that doesn't mean they are the better, and more importantly, more likeable person.

[INUYASHA743]

AMy i know you think Im a jerk but actually most anime fans are not jerks their only a few animes I like Inuyasha, DBZ, YU YU, King of Hell, Yugioh, Dm, Gundam seed, and Rirouni. Ask me about any other anime and I will say I have heard of it. I know little so basically I dont know alot about anime knowing that their are about 300 other animes but I know more then you can think off about those Animes especially yu yu and inu. So in a sense yes some anime fans are jerks who know nothing of the anime but I get pissed when people but in on good arguments who know nothing of the anime.

[Shining Celebi]

Yes, an Anime is a Cartoon. But it's more than that. It's classified as an Anime more than Cartoon for some purpose. It is a type of cartoon. The art, characters, and other stuff tell a story that can tend to go on for a while is what makes it so. Disney cartoons are different. They're shorter and usually empasize humor. But that's good too. Sure, the characters aren't as 'in-depth', but they can make us life so much harder than most Anime could hope too.

But not all cartoons are Disney cartoons, and not all anime is meant to be serious. There are _many_ anime that you could say are just like Disney cartoons, and many regular cartoons that you could say are just like your definition of anime.

[christianrurouni]

But not all cartoons are Disney cartoons, and not all anime is meant to be serious. There are _many_ anime that you could say are just like Disney cartoons, and many regular cartoons that you could say are just like your definition of anime.
AZUMANGA DAIOH and Excel saga dont really ahve a plot (or so i have noticed.. but i have only raed the first vol of azu.. and seen the first epi.. and only have one dvd of excel... -.-;

[WoodenCoyote]

I need to back-check this, but I'm pretty sure I read that the word "anime" comes from the French. I might be wrong though, I heard that a long time ago.

[Shining Celebi]

Maybe it does, but the Japanese don't write anime, they write ANIMEESHON, which is how you write animation in Japanese. I've heard that too though, but it's moot unless I can find an example of the Japanese actually saying anime.

[WoodenCoyote]

That depends.
Kawaguchi-sensei, who is my japanese teacher, writes a-ni-me. But in katakana of course. That's just the way she learned it.

[christianrurouni]

does it matter?! in america its anime who cares where it comes from or how its pronounced..its still cool! ^_^

[Evangelion Unit-Zeta]

Mmm, this guy must have had too many encounters with Otaku. I myself agree with alot of his points though. Some hardcore fans tend to think of themselves as "Elite" and stuff, and it is quite annoying. And Anime and Manga are cartoons and comic books, just japanese ones, so they're not really special.

[Jack_Jeckle]

I feel the same way as this guy does. Anime fans act as if they are superior over that of the average person. Simple things ?iss them off.

I have seen it first hand. I remember being at a convention a while back. I heard these two kids talking about Dragon Ball Z. One was speaking of Cell's battle with Gohan, they were just chatting, and here comes the 20 year old no life. he starts babbaling on about "you kids are too young to know what happens in the japanese verson" things about americans were narrow-minded about art. It wasn't nessecarily mean just very rude.

Back in my Poke'mon league days this guy was unwelcomly informing us on how much he knew about how Japan already had the new second season, and how we were still stuck in G1. I understand informing someone on a series or such, but to the point of being rude about it is senseless.

[Sailor Mars Dragon]

But not all cartoons are Disney cartoons, and not all anime is meant to be serious. There are _many_ anime that you could say are just like Disney cartoons, and many regular cartoons that you could say are just like your definition of anime.
True, but these are the most dominant. Serious for Anime, Humor for Disney. When it's a dominence this large, the entire group is quickly labelled such. May not be a good thing, but it's unforetunately true.

[TheSmartMarksBRV]

Actually, in regards to Disney, their movies, while having humor in them, have quite a bit of violence(and death), especially the older ones like Sleeping Beauty or more recently like the Lion King.

[senseker]

Yup,AoS,you summed the REAL anime fans like me up real well ^____^ Good job on that.Lucky for you guys,i don't rant that much here,so yall are safe from ME.

[christianrurouni]

*ish scared of senseker*

Yah some fans are scary... i mean i know dbz fans who get mad at some ppl from mispronoucing "saiyan" they say "SAYANN" but since its japanese isnt it right to say "SAI-YAWN" (that was my way of the phonetics...^-^;;) anyways... it gets annoying when they feel that sup/japanese dialouge is superior and the dubed versions on cartoon network are stupid and then they call you a "poser" for watchin dubbed/edited anime IT REALLY TICKS ME OFF!! To me as long as the dub doesnt affect the overall story line i will watch it.. i may prefer the sub to the dub.. but that doesnt mean i dont like it in english.. alot of dubs are really great (like kenshin for one.. i watched an episode in japanese then in english... the translations were really really really close! then trasnlater also translates for cowboy bebop if i am not mistaken (RIka Takehashi translates..i believe) So to me.. either version is ok! I may be a fan.. but i am not picky when i comes to the anime versions i watch... ^_^

[Ace of Spades]

Again, that rant is not mine, I didn't write it, though I agree with most of it.

Though for the record, I absolutely cannot stand the word "japanimation".

[Kirarakim]

I do agree with a lot of what he said.

Though there are two things I want to point out. For me at least part of the fun of watching anime is it comes from Japan. I don't think Japan is a perfect country (Heck I read enough books on the subject of WWII). And as much as I would love to visit Japan I don't want to live there. But part of my enjoyment in watching anime is learning about a different culture, learning a word here or there, learning about the honorifics. Heck I know my knowledge (that is only based on anime) is pretty limited, but I still have fun with it. I think that is how most fans are, they have fun with the cultural aspect of anime coming from Japan. But as he said, some people do take their obsession with everything Japanese too far.

And also the cartoon thing. I have mixed feelings about that. I acknowledge that anime is a cartoon. But when non-anime fans say it is a cartoon they usually do so in a condescending manner.And even though it is a cartoon I do think there is a difference between American cartoons and Japanese cartoons, so that people who think anime is like the cartoons they are used to and don't consider anime to be a different type of cartoon.

[christianrurouni]

[QUOTE=Kirarakim]I do agree with a lot of what he said.

Though there are two things I want to point out. For me at least part of the fun of watching anime is it comes from Japan. I don't think Japan is a perfect country (Heck I read enough books on the subject of WWII). And as much as I would love to visit Japan I don't want to live there. But part of my enjoyment in watching anime is learning about a different culture, learning a word here or there, learning about the honorifics. Heck I know my knowledge (that is only based on anime) is pretty limited, but I still have fun with it. I think that is how most fans are, they have fun with the cultural aspect of anime coming from Japan. But as he said, some people do take their obsession with everything Japanese too far.
QUOTE]

yah thats what i think about the honorifics too..

[Rainking187]

I don't see how reading books on WWII tells you anything about Japan, it's changed alot since then.

[Betelgeux]

Whoever posted that has a great point... Don't get me wrong, I love anime as much as the next person, and I do see it as a little more than the frivolous connotation that "cartoon" evokes... but some fans treat it as gospel, and it's not. =\

[Kaiba]

BISHIE!!!Otaku is me Kapaharijou-Chan!...Yeah. That scares me too. I agree with that on most points.

[Kirarakim]

I don't see how reading books on WWII tells you anything about Japan, it's changed alot since then.


Wow really Rainking? Sorry for the sarcasm but I was making a point that I know Japan is not a saintly country and has done horrible things in the past (as most nations have done, including the United States.) I have also heard about their stances on foreigners and women. Japan is far from perfect, but then no country is perfect. The problem is some anime fans want to pack up their bags and get on the next plane to Japan because they imagine it to be some paradise (mainly from what they see depicted in anime.) That is not to say I think Japan is a bad country, it isn't! It has many great things to offer.

[Emperor Anubis]

The people mentioned in that article aren't anime fans. They are anime freaks. These people are the obsesive ones. I like animes, but don't act at all like the people the article mentioned. Some people I know claim to like anime, but watch it for "other" purposes . They are the ones that give it a bad name in my area and make everyone see anime fans like that.

[Rainking187]

I think Japan can be seen as a kind of paradise, as far as anime fans go, you get to see the motherland of all your favorite series, and see all the differnet sights. I think that if you think Japan is going to be like it's shown in anime, then your out of your mind. No naturally blue or grren haired girl there. No aliens. Also, Japans problems are frequently in anime. Haven't you ever seen an anime or read a manga where a girl is groped on a train? I've never seen an anime that focuses on depicting Japan as a perfect country. Alot of shows show you how difficult even getting into college is there, I don't think Japan is paradise, but if you're an otaku, it's as close as you're ever going to come.

[NevrMore]

I think Japan can be seen as a kind of paradise, as far as anime fans go, you get to see the motherland of all your favorite series, and see all the differnet sights. I think that if you think Japan is going to be like it's shown in anime, then your out of your mind. No naturally blue or grren haired girl there. No aliens. Also, Japans problems are frequently in anime. Haven't you ever seen an anime or read a manga where a girl is groped on a train? I've never seen an anime that focuses on depicting Japan as a perfect country. Alot of shows show you how difficult even getting into college is there, I don't think Japan is paradise, but if you're an otaku, it's as close as you're ever going to come.

Although I have seen a Japanese person with orange hair. That was pretty cool..

[christianrurouni]

alot of the japanese dye their hair.. everyone has black hair! so they dye i guess for originality..

my french teacher has a daughter that taught over there and she went to visit.. and she said that certain places foreigners werent aloud to go.. (cemetaries and some shrines ) she also said that she fainted in a hot area and they shouted "Gaijin down GAijin down) i think Gaijin means foreiner (i am sorry if i mispelled it tho ^-^;;;; )

[Rainking187]

she also said that she fainted in a hot area and they shouted "Gaijin down GAijin down) i think Gaijin means foreiner (i am sorry if i mispelled it tho ^-^;;;; )

Yeah, but most people in the US would just ignore you if you fell down.

[bigfattymcgregor]

Well hey I like a few animes, But im not a big fan of Japan. :cool: People who add things like (i dont know) "san" before saying character names are just wasting energy typing and extra 3 letters, wasting a good .025 seconds of my time and some immesurable fraction of board space, in a desperately misguided attempt to look superior in comparison to other lifeless board-dwellers. I don't see a problem with using the origional names of attacks and crap used in the manga, like "genkai dama" instead of spirit bomb, "rei gun" instead of spirit gun, or "youki" instead of demon. Its good to use the proper names than the dumbed down dub names of funi and ocean. Anyway yes for the most part this guy (or girl whatever it is) knows what hes talking about and i agree with him. I also applaud his impressive writing capabilities and research...Anyway the hard core anime fan peoples are kinda annoying. I'm not sure where they see all these lesser known animes, or somehow watch every subbed episode of every series, but what hte hell, who cares. Right now, I'm really only paying attention to Inuyasha and Yuyu hakusho. Dragonball hasn't made any increases in interest for quite awhile, so I've been bored with it for some time. :o Not that its a bad series in comparison with the others, but BLAH. But besides those 3, I don't really watch or pay any attention to any others. I've seen a small amount of kenshin, but never really got into it.
Well i gotta go.

[AnimeNews]

this guy must have a huge grudge against anime fans... probally was one, then had a change of heart...

[INUYASHA743]

when i went to japan I saw this big bill board for an anime borders like as in book store it was an animes paradise it had about 400 different animes and they had a whole section dedicated to english anime. you wanna talk about obssesive fans these guys had like 20 books that they were buying thats obseesive also they were all talking to each other about what anime they were going to buy. Most intelligentjapenese people speak english if your wonderin thats hoew i understood them.

[christianrurouni]

lol i wish i had that kind of money! but i dont have 20 animes i wanna buy.. maybe of the same series (kenshin) but i dont have any money for that.. only mangas and discount anime dvds -.-

[Mr. Announcer]

I have to agree with just about everything this guy said, of course he is referring to fanatics though. I don't watch anime to be different or get away from the mainstream by downloading animes that are unliscensed in the US. I'm not an elitist, heck, I will say that I LOVE DBZ and I will say it with pride despite the fact that it has become very Americanized. The honorifics are a total waste of time and if you are an American, you have no business calling your friends san, chan, kun, or even sama. Why? It's not cool, it's not cute, and you sound like a nerd when you do it. For me, watching anime is just like picking out any other show that I wanna watch. I watch the shows because I like them and not because I wanna watch anime. Most anime is crud anyway, you have to pick out the really good ones. Yes, some anime is quite refreshing with the ongoing storylines and more believable characters, but what some fans fail to notice is that some Japanese cartoons are just like the Japanese equivalents of American cartoons. I do enjoy the cultural aspect but that's not something you pick up from the show literally. That you get from what's underneath it. I think alot of people misinterpret the Japanese culture because they don't watch enough of a variety of japanese shows and that in itself is not wrong but pretending you know anything is.

[christianrurouni]

hmm well i only like anime cuz i love cartoons..only i am growing out of the spongebob, kim possible stuff i used to watch.. i have only been a fan of anime for about a year.. i used to think it was weird.. but then a friend of mine introduced me to rurouni kenshin, trigun, and other shows, and i was hooked.. it isnt cuz the shows are from japan or are anime.. i LOVE the style.. alot of american cartoons are flat and dull.. but at least the anime i have seen look awesomely shaded.. but also there are other american shows i think look awesomely shaded too.. like teen titans.. and i also love the backrounds in anime too..like wise there is alot of american shows that have great backrounds.. so that is one reason why i like anime.. the style of it is..amazing!

[SplatPlaintiff]

Most anime fans annoy me. Especially the ones who barely know any Japanese but throw words around like "-san" and "baka" all the time, that is SO annoying. And people who learn Japanese just so they can understand anime in its original form and come online and brag to everyone about what they know about the latest blahblah is really poserish.

[christianrurouni]

Most anime fans annoy me. Especially the ones who barely know any Japanese but throw words around like "-san" and "baka" all the time, that is SO annoying. And people who learn Japanese just so they can understand anime in its original form and come online and brag to everyone about what they know about the latest blahblah is really poserish.
^-^;; you think so? Is it really that big of a dealio? I mean seriously.. the extreme anime fans are just tryin to show they love anime alot! and i dont think that using the word baka and using honorifics is bad... to me honorifics are like nick names.. that is all i use them for. i agree that learning japanese just to watch anime is stupid.. but if you truly wanna learn the language (like me) then i dont have a problem with it..^^

[AnimeJX]

There not all bad, just the ignorant ones!

[WoodenCoyote]

Most anime fans annoy me. Especially the ones who barely know any Japanese but throw words around like "-san" and "baka" all the time, that is SO annoying. And people who learn Japanese just so they can understand anime in its original form and come online and brag to everyone about what they know about the latest blahblah is really poserish.

I used to date an extreme otaku who did exactly that. Especially when she was excited or angry, she'd just start ranting and raving. I was just getting into anime at that time and started studying basic Japanese. Not to understand the anime, but to figure out what the hell she was saying to me all the time!

[shannarafan]

=word limit=

[bigfattymcgregor]

Is it just me or are the little faces like ^_^ and stuff like that, actually related to animes somehow....I never see them anywhere else but on this board :eek: and that one example i used obviously implies happiness, and the thing is Animes always use those simple curved lines for the eyes when people are real happy, so..what Am i going off on here...oh well.

[WoodenCoyote]

Well, the one I use is.

///_^ <---- Trowa-con

[Rainking187]

try going up to the average anime fan and casually referring to sa's favorite show as a "cartoon." Nine times out of ten, you'll get to see the wheels in their head creak a little bit before the veins in their forehead start to twitch and steam starts coming out of their ears moments before they treat you to an extensive, violent rant on how anime is NOT cartoons, you stupid ugly American, it is a high form of art, unlike the half-hour toy commercials produced on this side of the Pacific, and to refer to it as a mere cartoon is to spit upon, pillage and violate all of the elite aesthetic glory that is anime.

I don't mind when someone refers to anime as a cartoon, but I am annoyed when someone refers to a cartoon as anime.



The ultimate blow to my last shreds of confidence in society, though, was dealt when I saw a page referring to the series whose name is usually rendered into English as "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon" (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon, or Bishoujosenshisailormoon, or whatever the hell the Elite Hard-Core Otaku way of writing it is) written as "Bishoujo Senshi Seeraamuun." Is "Seeraa Muun" the way it is written in katakana? Yes. Did Naoko Takeuchi actually intend the name of her manga to be "Seeraa Muun?" I highly doubt it, especially taking into account that katakana is used mainly to write words of foreign origin, and since the words are written in katakana, the most obvious conclusion is that they're intended to be-- GASP-- foreign words! No, misspelling character and show names does not make you elite. It just makes you look like an idiot. Anyhow, if you've ever even seen any officially licensed Japanese SM merchandise, it usually has S-A-I-L-O-R-M-O-O-N written on it in very unmistakable romaji. Then again, I've fairly well given up on expecting anime fans to display anything in the way of rational thought. These are people who engage in flamewars over whether "Sailor Moon" is one word or two, for God's sake.

I'm with you on this one, whoever wote "Sailor Moon" as "Seeraa Muun" is an idiot.

1. 'Anime' and 'cartoon' mean the same thing. .
False.

2. Watching anime does not make you a qualified expert on the Japanese culture.
True.

3. Sailor Moon (Sailormoon, whatever) is not the be-all and end-all of animated entertainment.
What's this person got against Sailor Moon?

4. Stop taking yourselves so damned seriously. Being an anime fan (or a fan of a certain series, or a fan of subs as opposed to dubs) does not make you superior to the average person.
False. :D

[christianrurouni]

Is it just me or are the little faces like ^_^ and stuff like that, actually related to animes somehow....I never see them anywhere else but on this board :eek: and that one example i used obviously implies happiness, and the thing is Animes always use those simple curved lines for the eyes when people are real happy, so..what Am i going off on here...oh well.i think they are adorable! for one.. so i use them.. its not a crime.. and being a beig anime fan isnt a crime either.. (i love anime.. but i wont go about spoutin about how awesome anime is to complete strangers.. and i wont go about talkin japanese to ppl who wont understand. its just stupid to do that.. O.o

and i love the smilies! i think they are an original way to show your emotions..

here is my smilies some i have made up (or at least i think so)

^-^------ cute happy
^_^------majorly happy
O.O-------surprised
o.O--------confused
*-*---------starry eyed
@.@---------oro? (or dizzy)
`3`----------that face that some anime charas make.. (ex. mamimi from flcl)
$-$-----------MONEY! Ka ching!
x-x------------dead
^._.^---------FOX EARS (ohhohohohoho)
-.-o.o-.-o.o---Blink
^o^-----------laughter
o^O^o---------laughter to tears
-.- ------------- tired or sad
-o- -------------sigh


those are just a few of my smilies i use the most often ^_^!

I just them to show emotions.. unlike the "dime a dozen smilies that alot of boards use.. i like bein semi original ITS FUN! ^^

[Ace of Spades]

Yay! I started a controversial topic! Another tally on the wall!

I'd like to remind people THAT THIS RANT IS NOT MINE THOUGH I DO AGREE WITH MOST OF THE PERSON'S OPINIONS.

What's this person got against Sailor Moon?

*shrugs* I guess that was the first semi-popular anime that popped into the guy's mind. There are those however that believe that Sailor Moon ranks on the same level as sliced bread and the printing press as some of the greatest creations ever, but I digress.