To start off I'm a 34 year old guy. I've been an anime fan since I was very young, and I knew that I would be one. I always believed in the power of animation as a medium. In my heart I knew that there was SO much more to this medium then what americans believed. I'm writing this to tell you guys from one fan to another how I've fared since I became an adult. I've always been someone that stood up for what I believed in, and over the last 20 years I've done my best to show people that Japanese Animation is for everyone. I'm not going to hide in the closet and pretend to like hollywood movies when I don't. I felt as though this was the natural evolution of my personality, because I didn't want to want just mere "entertainment". I needed to find something deeper. I needed to find stories that weren't "Hollywood" stories.

I've found that people on a whole still seem to believe that animation is still kids stuff. I've tried to reach out to as many people as possible to show them that anime fans aren't weird. Being that I'm an older fan I've found that there are less people for me to interact with. I feel as though society sees me as a flawed individual. People ridiculed me all the time because they thought I watch "cartoons" without ever really trying to understand anything. I grew up watching Hollywood, but somewhere along the way I became disgusted with the quality of the stories over the years. I just grew sick of american movies. I wanted to break free of the cage that hollywood put me in. I felt like I was spinning in a circle with no hope of stopping.

In these past years I've felt isolated, because there are very few people I've met that are like myself. My beliefs have put me on the outside of society's boundries and I don't know what to do. Most people that i meet that are fans are usually people in high school and collage. I feel that despite what the japanese have done there is still little change people's perceptions of animation. It is my hope that one day people will begin to open their hearts and minds to the possibilities that this medium can show us all. In my years of watching anime, I'm sure that I've probably have watch in excess to 500 - 1000 TV series,OVA, and movies. I never want to change. The art form has brought me every emotion that one can feel. I feel enlightened and enriched because of my devotion. thanks for hearing me out.

My beliefs have put me on the outside of society's boundries

Congrats. You're a winner. :smrt:

Maybe you're giving it a bit too much importance? You have other things in common with people, i'm sure, and i assume you have friends, right?
I only know one person off of the internet that has similar musical tastes to mine, and he lives 9 hours away, but that doesn't mean i'm alone or set apart by my community or anything.

A "flawed individual" huh, the hell with that shit, tell them to go suck a fuck.

No but in reality I probably know all too well what you mean, I know what it's like to feel like you're the minority and share no common beliefs with others about something very dear to you... and you know what I don't have a perfect answer how to solve this problem.

But I do know that humans are social animals, and it sucks to be isolated, so when it comes down to it, you shouldn't stay away from others just cause they grew up on stupid Star Trek (yeah I said it) and would rather go watch some Disney's mumbo-jumbo-generic-money-making popcorn flick. Sure they can't appreciate the importance and profound deepness of Evangelion and some of them probably think that all anime's roots grow from hentai. Yeah sure what ever.

You know at the end of the day, I think it's not right to idolize something and become obsessed with something... to the point that it hurts your social life. As individuals we all need successful social lifes. Anime can't replace people. Yes it is art, sometimes a very underappreciated form or art... but sometimes, like in your case (no offense) it can be over appreciated.

And not all of Hollywood stuff is that bad. Kung fu Panda for example. Did you see that? Man usually I'd be the first one to go "boo" about "just-another-summer-3D-animated-blockbuster". But damn, that shit was hot. I mean the choreography, art designs, and even some of the humor were not notch. Check it out.

And take a vacation from anime. Seriously I think it's not the anime is problem here, it's attitude towards it.

Maybe you're giving it a bit too much importance? You have other things in common with people, i'm sure, and i assume you have friends, right?
I only know one person off of the internet that has similar musical tastes to mine, and he lives 9 hours away, but that doesn't mean i'm alone or set apart by my community or anything.

It demands that kind of importance! That saying can go both ways. Why does everyone make hollywood so important? It's supposed to be just entertainment? Hollywood pours millions of dollars into it's movies. EVERYONE goes to movie theaters. Same with everything else that is socially accepted. A lot of people do things because everyone else does it. It's easy to fit in when you're part of the majority. I on the other hand believe in animation as the medium of choice for my entertainment. How many people feel that way when they aren't entertaining their kids? I love japanese animation because those guys have the same beliefs as I do. It's not easy to have different beliefs when so few people share them. I will not be so easily deterred, because my beliefs have been confirmed and justified. I see no reason to change them, but I still push to open other peoples' minds to a medium that deserves FAR more respect than people give it.

I've got friends. I go to work and earn a living like anyone else. It's not like I'm some guy who lives in his mom's basement or something creepy like that. Otaku No Video certainly taught me that there are plenty of those kinds of people in the world. I'm just not one of them. I'm glad that the art form is part of a form of expression for me. It allows me to understand myself and world at the same time. Sure there may be a lot of titles that come out that are simply entertainment, but there are quite a few titles that allow us analyze the world and helps us grow as people. If people can't see that then they aren't looking hard enough.

The saddest realization I've come to is that Hollywood pours too much money into their movies. The Japanese have proven that you don't need millions of dollars to make a good movie. You just simply need an imagination. Something Hollywood is lacking these days.

---------- Post added at 07:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:13 AM ----------

And take a vacation from anime. Seriously I think it's not the anime is problem here, it's attitude towards it.

I watch a lot more than anime. I may not watch a lot the stuff that is popular on TV, but my favorite channels on TV are The Science channel and Nat Geo. To say that would imply that all I watch 24/7 is anime which is absolutely wrong. My life as always been about balance. Without balance there is only chaos.

I watch a lot more than anime. I may not watch a lot the stuff that is popular on TV, but my favorite channels on TV are The Science channel and Nat Geo. To say that would imply that all I watch 24/7 is anime which is absolutely wrong. My life as always been about balance. Without balance there is only chaos.
Ok, not trying to be Sherlock Holmes here, but here's your phrase from another thread:

95% of what I watch is Japanese anime so I'm always watching.

Not trying to sound like a hypocrite, but yes when I'm not watching anime I am watching other stuff.

It can change depending on what's out in japan. I still watch more american TV than you would think.

My attitude about anime is no different then people's attitudes about stuff like professional sports. I can't stand watching it, and If I told people they should take a vacation from said sport they watch, they'd look at me like I was crazy. For some people football,baseball, or basketball may be a part of what makes them them. I may not like it, but I'm not about to argue with their reasoning. As I said earlier, it's easy to like something when everyone else likes it too. How many of you have the balls to walk against what society believes in one form or another? Not too many!

I've done it in other ways. It's not too pretty what people say about you when they call you names or ridicule you for being different. Since I only have one life to live, I'm going to live it standing up for what I believe in.

I thought I'd get some kind of mature discussion going on with everyone's thoughts about Japanese Animation, and the medium in general. It seems that it's hard to get people motivated to have those kinds of discussions. Over the years it's always been my observation that most anime fans don't really care one way or another about what they watch. It's just something to watch and nothing more. How can we as fans convince non-watchers that anime is worth watching when the fans themselves aren't able to give reasonable,intelligent arguments as to why the medium should be taken seriously.

Most fans IMHO are too young and inexperienced to have a full understanding of what it means to be anime fans. I'm certainly not saying that everyone is like this, but if the shoe fits it then so be it.

I just haven't seen enough threads like this over the years.

Comments? I'd like to hear them.

........ no offense man, but you sound like your kinda elitist or something. One thing that I've learned over the years of being into anime and attempting to get other people into it is that they're either gonna like it or not. Thats pretty much my take on it. Personally I haven't really had the "opportunity" of bringing a whole bunch 'a people into anime because most 'a the people I hang wit are already into anime. Although who knows maybe that sounds like its perpetuating a stereotype but I'll take my mom for example. She hates anime and I've attempting to work on her but only to end up getting chastised, questioned, interrogated and what not(/heh religious parents). I've even gone to the extent of recommending her stuff that would have been like the anime version of some 'a those soap operas she watches or other things she might would find interesting to no avail. At that point it was pretty much clear that she wasn't gonna like anime regardless of what I said or recommended about it and to pretty much give up and shoving it down her throat.

Funny thing about that story, I was in high school when all that happened and at that point, even though I was just getting into anime felt the same as you but like I said after a point you just realize that people are either gonna like it or not and if they don't thats there business and if you feel that strongly about it that you should just stick to people that do like it, just to make life a little easier there buddy.