Then you have couples who aren't really together, but they hook up once in a while and are on good terms. That would be my relationship with anime.
SO WHAT'S YOUR DEAL WITH ANIME, ANYWAY?
I don't have as full of a history with anime as some people in the class do, or as full a dedication. My first interaction with anime was with the original Pokemon anime, all the way back in 2000 or so. I watched it when I could and enjoyed the episodes I did watch, but nothing really grabbed me and sucked me into that world- not yet, at any rate. To my six year old self, Pokemon was just another Saturday morning cartoon.
But then we moved to a new town in 2006, right as I was about to go into middle school. The library in town had a little section filled with comic books and manga. I'd spend the entire time I was in the library, devouring what manga they had. And when I got access to my own laptop- oh boy. I found a wonderful site called tvtropes.org that introduced me to a bunch of new anime. My youthful innocence was corrupted, and I became an avid fan. I remember waking up at five in the morning on Saturdays to watch Inuyasha on Cartoon Network.
...Then the great manga purge of 2010 happened. Manga and anime distributors started regulating the sites that posted fan-translations of anime and manga, limiting my access to them. Add that on top of the rigors and high school, and it's understandable that I faded out of anime and started focusing my attentions on other pursuits. I still kept an eye on the anime community so I could know what my friends were talking about, but wasn't actively engaged.
Then I saw this class on the list, and I discovered you can never leave your past behind.
DO YOU ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING IN THE ANIME COMMUNITY?
Short answer: no.
Longer answer: I wish.
Most complete answer I can give: I admire many artists from a distance, and wish I could do the kinds of things they do. Cosplay, fanfiction, drawings... The things some people can do with stuff from the craft store give me shivers. I can only hope that one day I'll be as good as them, but I've got to practice. And obtain funds. I'd really like to get to a point where I can fund my hobbies independently.
I also enjoy reading people's comments and analysis' where I find them. Oftentimes they'll lead me to a further understanding of certain anime, and why the creators do the things they do. The thing is, I'm not what some people would call "actively engaged". I admire things from a distance, filing them away in a cupboard to be admired again at a later date. That's my niche in the fandoms, and I take to it with gusto. After all,
SO WHAT KIND OF ANIME DO YOU LIKE?
Personally? I like Slice of Life anime, such as Azumanga Daioh! or Free! (apparently I also like things that have exclamation marks. Who knew.) I also like anime with fantasy elements in them, such as Fullmetal Alchemist.
I'm always happy when I see an anime that subverts modern anime tropes, or plays around with them. Puella Magi Madoka Magica, for one. Anime that have fully realized female characters also have a high standing on my list. After my induction into the Feminist Illuminati (or whatever people are calling it these days), seeing out of place fanservice just irks me.
At the sum of it, I like anime that have good, tight storylines. Stuff that can be analyzed, characters that are more than one-dimensional stand-ins, etc. Or comedy anime that's actually funny, or sometimes surreal.
WHAT'S YOUR SOCIAL LIFE BEEN LIKE?
I have friends. I have a lot of friends online that I talk to about anime and such. One of my friends and I are working on a collaborative story together based on an anime's world and context. And it's always a treat to see people in real life wearing anime t-shirts and being able to know where they are from. But physical friendships? Those are kind of rare. I'm not sure whether to attribute that to my interests or to my inclination towards introversion. Come to think of it, maybe that's why there's a lot of introverted otaku. They, like myself, enjoy thinking about things, and don't really care for the social aspect of life.
My parents have been supportive. They willingly listen to my rambles and rants about what I like, which I'm thankful for. I know a bunch of people have parents who don't support it, so I commend mine for their effort to try to understand. They went with me to Comic-Con 2008, and I think they had fun. My dad's more supportive than my mom is, possibly because he's a geek himself.
