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.
I really like the way that you phrase the interactions you have with anime as a "relationship" because it really is very similar to a romantic relationship in many ways. Not necessarily in the loving part but in the sense that you have to give and take from anime to really get anything out of it. I too have a sort of on again off again relationship with anime so I definitely understand where you're coming from. I think that it's interesting that we started our interests the same way with Pokemon although mine was the video games. I also moved to Manga pretty early on but I wasn't able to stay with it so I really admire the fact that you were able to continue your relationship with it. I had never actually heard of the purge of 2010 because that was sort of an off time for me but I could see how that could've turned a lot of people off of anime or manga as a whole so I think it makes sense that you had to slow down. Your presence in the anime community is something that I'd like to learn more about because I really don't have any presence and I feel like your version of appreciating from afar would be a great way to get more involved in the community. I've never really watched Slice of Life animes for some reason but I can definitely relate to the fantasy genres considering I love FMA. I think your social life is very interesting considering there are parts of it I'm not that used to. I'm usually pretty cautious when online and I hardly ever feel comfortable enough to post stuff online let alone work simultaneously with others. I really admire the fact that you're able to do all of this and one could even argue that takes more trust and friendship than a goof amount of physical friendships.
ReplyDeleteOverall I think your blossay has allowed me to see how unique your introduction to the anime and manga culture has been . I think it also does a great job of relaying what it is about you that got you interested in anime and how anime has pushed you into other interests.
I really like the way that you structured this blossay. It felt almost like an interview. First of all, I really like the way you compared your relationship with anime to an interpersonal relationship.I can relate to you in terms of how your relationship has changed over the years. In high school I was into anime a lot, but, like you, I was pretty busy with school.
ReplyDeleteI was very fascinated with the last part of your blossay when you talked about that project you were working on. I would like to know more about that.