I got back into anime thanks in part to the Fox Network airing Escaflowne on its Saturday morning line-up a ways back. If it hadn’t been for those brief, six or seven episodes they managed to show before it got the ax, I truly believe that I would either be not as interested or interested at all in anime.
So, I am indeed grateful to the mainstream media for connecting me with something I’ll probably love for the rest of my life. Now there are networks which show quite a bit of anime in their programming and a there’s a channel completely dedicated to the medium.
Yet, I have seen people turn up their nose at the thought of “their” anime airing on such channels. Instead of being happy about spreading the love, they’re quite indignant about it all. They tell the tales of how hard it was to track down such and such anime, how incredibly expensive it was, and what great lengths they went through to get the box set. Boo-hoo.
It’s as if these fans feel that these trials set them above and beyond other fans. C’mon buddy, it’s still anime whether it’s shown censored on Cartoon Network or bought at Discount Anime DVD.
I’ve gone over this before in the third post I ever posted since such snobbery really pisses me off. I mean, really, have you no sense of kinship with your fellow fans? I imagine that many people can’t afford to buy the latest titles or are loathe to download or burn anime.
Bah! Just thinking about this brand of elitism leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Can anyone relate?
Yes this is something that bothers me so much! When people find out “their” show is going to be on American TV. Oh noooooos they’re going to butcher (dub) it! Oh no new fans! (god forbid their favorite show have more fans) Ahhh all the sue fics those fans will write! (like a million and one sue fics don’t already exist for that show).
I’m just fine with watching anime on TV, if it weren’t for Adult Swim I probably never would have taken to anime like I have. A lot of shows on TV are the type I never would have bought or even bothered to download fansubs of. And if a show I’ve seen with fansubs gets shown on TV I get really happy, I like new fans and it’s cool being able to see it dubbed weekly… and yeah I do like Hot Topic anime merchandise!
People just want to feel special, it’s like that everywhere. Before I was really in to anime I was really in to music and fans of bands that went from being not so popular to being popular were the same exact way.
I actually ran into a couple who were into anime when I lived back in Carbondale who were anime snobs. Since it was a small town I saw them quite a bit.
Every time I ever tried to start a conversation about anything anime, they would throw down the fact that they were GTO fans. I would be like “Hey, what kind of anime do you like?” and the standard reply was a nose in the air as they sniffed, “Well, there’s not much good out right now, but GTO is an excellent show.” I was floored that they would A.) Say there’s not much good out right now and B.) Actually be such stuck up shits about anime in a place where most people think anything “fer-in” is a crime against America (Fuck Yeah!)
Maybe those two were just assholes, but I’ve run into GTO fans here in St. Louis that seem to think it’s the only anime worth watching. Now I’m curious to see if I’ll turn into an anime asshole if I watch GTO.
If Hot Topic is you’re only anime merchandise hook up that’s not on the internet Ryan, so be it. Dave loves the HT and while I try not to cringe while I’m in there (I’m a happy, life luv’n person, the excessive gothiness gets to me), I think it’s awesome that there’s soooo much anime merchandise available that’s not on the net. (I sneak in there to get my Invader Zim hook up when no one’s looking)
Oh, one thing I forgot to add to that first option of the poll is whether or not you feel that tracking down anime before it gets here makes you a better anime fan than the “standard” fan. Does anyone who voted for that option feel that they have one up on everyone else because they watch a series first? I’m very curious about that…enlighten me …
I don’t really see how tracking down anime before it gets to the U.S. makes people “better” fans. Sure, maybe it makes them more dedicated, but who says everyone must be quite so obsessed with anime? Can’t there at least be some degrees of obsession?
I pirate quite a bit of my anime, yes, but that doesn’t make me better or worse than my counterparts who read them in the bookstores. Elitists annoy me–it seems like they think its okay to be elitist about anime but not about other more controversial topics like race. Don’t they realize elitism is bad in all cases? They use anime as their excuse.
I don’t watch dubbed anime on tv, but that’s just coz it doesn’t fit in with my preferences.
As long as whatever “butchering” they may or may not do isn’t permanent and they’re offering an uncensored and subtitled version on DVD somewhere along the line I could give a toss how it’s shipped over and who too.
Yian, some people, no matter who they are and what they’re into, like to lord over others for what they have that most people don’t. They like to seperate themselves from the unwashed masses and feel “Special”.
Whether they do this by virtue of some percieved accomplishment, like watching all 52 episodes of some as yet unknown anime, or by actually doing something that mertits a reward, they want to be recoginized for what they did. And who doesn’t want to be percieved as someone worth knowing? Perhaps being an anime elitist is as lofty as they can aspire to at the moment.
But dude, it’s anime. It’s not like anyone rescued sick puppies from a dog food factory that was on fire. If anyone wants kudos for doing something notable, they should go write an essay on the effects of hentai on American youth and they’re expectaions in the bedroom because of it.
I’m beginning to see the allure of subs after being repeatedly burned by scarring dubs. I can understand now why so many fans are vehement about series being subbed rather than dubbed, Crayotic. I can also relate to fans preferring to wait for the full series to be put on DVD.
I have no issue with people who have particular tastes. I’m quite particular with my standards and manage to cheese people off with my loud intolerance of, in my opinion, shitty anime.
It can seem at times that I myself am guilty of being an anime asshole…but I refuse to say, “You’re retarded beyond all means of human comprehension for thinking that this has any redeeming qualities, therefore I’m a better fan than you. Neener-neener.”
The only way I get into a certain series is by seeing it on the TV in the first place. There’s no way I’m going to waste my money on something that I might not even like, so I use Cartoon Network as a screening place. That means I watch the English version of ‘anime’ first. It doesn’t bother me; indeed if the show doesn’t interest me, I just don’t watch it. If it does interest me, I may decide later to watch in its orginal language…. though I find I can’t stay focused on shows in other languages (I have a language comprehension problem) and I end poking fun at the language itself (I’m sure English sounds like gibberish to nonspeakers too ^^). Fansubs are okay for some… but there’s the problem of them being slightly illegal, esp. with international copyrights becoming more common.
I don’t feel like I’m missing something from the show in and of itself by watching the English version. It’s the purists who later make me like I’ve done something wrong. They make me feel like I committed some great sin for enjoying something that is ENTERTAINMENT. Entertainment shouldn’t be taken that seriously. I realize certain things had to have been changed during translation due to cultural differences or whatever; I don’t deny that. That’s part of the fun of learning more about the show, but why do the purists have to ruin that for fans?
Why can’t I apperciate the Japanese company for creating said show and the English company for making it available to the general public in Canada and the USA? Why can’t I admire both sets of voice actors (the Japanese voice actors may make me laugh unintentionally but I don’t deny that they have talent)? Why do purists assume and try to convince others that only noobs like the translated versions? I am NOT a noob who speaks in chatspeak like they think. And why can’t they just admit that when you get down to it ‘anime’ is nothing more than a different TYPE of cartoon?!? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. All types of animation can have value. ^_^
The worst fan I’ve ever met said I was raping Japanese culture for liking the English version of Digimon, a show that is intended for children and has very little Japanese culture in it in the first place. >_