Furu Anime Panikku

Recently,there have been a few articles on this topic,Anime Elitism, by tj_han,impz,and Owen S. After reading them all,especially tj_han’s one with real-life examples,I decided to make a reflection on whether I do or not not have the blood of anime elitism within me.

I began watching anime pretty late,in the 2nd quarter of 2006. But,within slightly more than a year,I have become really enthusiastic anime fan, which is also known commonly as an otaku. With the passion of anime steadily growing within me, it was a natural instinct for me to want to know more people who have a similar or even greater passion then me.

In secondary school,I found few people who actually watch anime/read manga. Besides the occasional Narutards/Bleachers,I found only 3 friends who were actively watching anime/reading manga.

Come Polytechnic life, I had slightly more friends who watch anime/read manga. But, majority of them turn out to only watch Bleach and Naruto.Even the girl that I like watches Bleach. I wanted to tell them all to stop watching Bleach and Naruto as it would cause them to get more retarded,but I decided against it as it would be too rude to do so. By eliminating the numbers, there are only less than a handful of real anime fans.

Alright now for the different types of anime fans who I have met so far(I got some of the categories from tj_han):

Narutards/Bleachers
There’s nothing more I can say about most of these people except “Retarded”. Especially those who are exceptionally vocal about it.Get a live,and stop thinking that the best anime are only Naruto and Bleach.

So far,none of the people I met so far are real Narutards/Bleachers. Aside from the constant phrase “Naruto/Bleach is the best anime ever!”,I don’t really see them buying any merchandise to support their “best anime ever”.

Casual watchers
Majority of the people in this group also happen to be close to the borders of the group above. These people just watch any series that their friends(eg. me) recommend. Most of the people in this group have an anime diet of Shonen series,with the most popular ones being Bleach,Naruto and Inuyasha . Some watch stuff like Dgrayman and One Piece too.

Leeches
This group has a rather wide range,including the members of the 2 groups above. The people under this category do not spend any cash to support their favourite anime at all.They just leech off the free fansubs on the internet and said “There is nothing wrong with me doing this”. For those who just claim to be casual viewers,I can understand this to a certain limit.

But for those who actually claim that they are great fans of anime,I totally dislike this kind of people. I have a friend who has never really bought anything anime related,but have watched more than 100 series. Even when I dragged him to Sunshine Plaza twice and he has not bought anything,besides some manga. He even makes many loud comments on the figurines in the shop,but in the end,I am the one doing all the purchase. He’s got to change or I doubt I’ll go with him to Sunshine Plaza again.

Another idiot who does not support anime products is the guy from the next class. He’s a bloody showoff who thinks he’s some great anime fan,where in fact,I doubt he buys any thing.I bet even if he buys and shows off,my collection would still own him hands down.

The last person that I don’t really like one guy in my current class. He claims he is a great fan of anime,but all I see him do is just watch and not support it. When I asked him if he buys anime goods,he will give me the strange look,as if I’m some alien from outerspace, and say “What for?”

The Manga Fanatic
Some of my friends just buy mangas and not other anime-related products. I guess the reason is due to the cost.One secondary school friend of mine also bought so much manga that he had to tighten his budget for recess last year. Manga Fanatics are really beneficial towards the otaku industry.

The Half Otaku
These group of people are basically people who buy mangas and figurines. Then why do I call them half otakus? They do not actually buy on their own,and only purchase when I drag them along to the shops.Still,I commend their support given to the otaku industry.

The Otaku
I think out of all my friends,I’m the only one who has gone to such an extent. Enough said.

To sum up this post,I find that I am an anime elitist to quite a large extent. I show dislike for Narutards/Bleachers, hate those who don’t support the anime industry in any way at all,and often compare anime to other anime to counter my friends’ statement of “XXX is the best anime !” ,when I feel the need to do so. Oh,and I kinda prefer old anime such as Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell compared to the newer brainless Shonen Series.