All anime fans are involved with the medium in one way or another, but there are different levels of anime involvement. On one end of the spectrum, there are folks who only watch anime for something to do and won’t even buy it or any other related merchandise. Nor are these entry-level fans interested in the Japanese culture beyond anime.
Azumanga Daioh © Kiyohiko Azuma
On the opposite end, you have people who don’t watch or talk about anything else but anime. Anime is all. Not the influences…actual anime. Wearing nothing but anime tees, always discussing anime, anime all-nighters, and arguments about anime with other anime fans online or, occasionally, in person are some of the attributes of the anime-is-all persona.
I’d say many fans’ approach to anime falls somewhere between these two extremes.
My personal approach to anime is a holistic one. I like to watch it, hear it, taste it, smell it and feel it. I also get involved with anime on a mental and emotional level and there are even times I could swear I was involved with the medium on a spiritual level.
I apply holism to anime by incorporating many of anime’s flavors and influences around in my day to day and not only focusing on actually watching anime: Around the house, especially the office, are anime art and fan art we’ve collected over the years. We eat Japanese food often. I listen to OSTs while I work. When I workout, one of the ways I pass the time is to imagine new concepts for manga. Seriously. I don’t know why manga and not anime, but I often find myself doing this when I’m really bored with my workout. I partake in a few traditional Japanese arts and practice them when I can. I try and understand the mindset of the people who developed anime so as to better understand the culture.
So my approach to anime is a multi-level experience wherein said experience isn’t just the physical act of watching anime (watching is one aspect; holism is all aspects). It’s more about incorporating anime and the culture that created it into my life.
What about you? Do you live anime? Have you eked out life lessons from anime and applied them appropriately? Are you just an occasional fan? Does buying merchandise and figures factor into your life or is anime a cheap hobby? How do you involve anime in your life?
E… It would be bad if anime becomes my life.. I mean, I watch a lot and oftentimes I spurt out things from anime, but my friends rarely understand me…so it gets annoying and we can’t talk about it any further. Good thing my boyfriend likes anime too ehehe..
I definitely don’t live anime. The “life lessons” can be found in a lot of other places other than anime – mythology, literature, even (can I get away with this?) American TV shows. Learning new things about Japanese culture may be first seen on anime, but the real work in learning it doesn’t come from anime – it comes from the standard research I’d do for any paper or project. I think I just like anime for its entertainment value.
Anime is part of my life, but my life is not part of anime. That’s the best way I can put it. It’s just that while some fanboy-ism and mannerism get copied into my life, I don’t take it seriously like some people view the philosophies of Ghost in the Shell or Lain: Serial Experiments as dichotomies of life.
Besides, even if I do love Ghost in the Shell or Lain, how could they possibly compete with stuff like Haruhi-sm?
@coeli, yes it would be bad if anime consumed people, and sadly, I see that happen sometimes. I see it when people take a review that reflected bad on anime personally, as if they were the anime.
@griever, life lessons should be gained through actual, well, life. It’s good, however, to see different situations demonstrating those life lessons. It seems to reinforce the truth of ‘em.
The “life lessons†can be found in a lot of other places other than anime – mythology, literature… Yes, mythology and literature have a poetic way of conveying truths and isn’t anime rife with influences of both?
Anime to me is a springboard into the Japanese culture. I’m grateful that I’ve found so many new things because I did first see them in anime. I lived in a fishbowl for a long time, unaware of Japanese culture. After being re-introduced to anime, that changed. I actually owe a lot to anime, in a round about way. When I say live anime, I mean let it inspire you to open up to new experiences.
@Edrei, I actually met one of the people you describe. He was absolutely positive Eva held great truths. While anime does have a way of conveying certain life lessons: the bad guys can win, the good guys do die, and life can be a real bitch, I really can’t see getting into it any deeper than that.