sorry not a fanatic, despite what my icon tells you.

I like most animation films and series in general, hell I even studied 2 years of animation. Anime has some good ones for grown ups, lotsa blood lotsa fighting and no filtered language. Where I'm from animation series are ONLY for children, so I only got anime that I have to get true cons or other people if I want to watch something interesting. And since I'm REALLY picky I only have very few I like. And I stay the hell away from anything porn or romance related
If its not for 8 to 12 year olds they seem refuse showing it on tv here. But it could have been any western style.

But yeah I do go to a con to sell my art (no not anime, just anthro's and dragons) and real animefans are downright scary.

I don't think this is limited to anime only, it applies to any sort of interest, hobby, or social group that is more accepting of people who are different from the norm, or allow people to be alone but still get some kind of stimulation. And it all stems from the fact that most of us usually don't fit in anywhere else.

I think this is why you will notice higher number of younger people with interests like anime -- Or perhaps a large number of people who play World of Warcraft (the younger crowd), or who identified with certain subcultures growing up (goth, punk, emo, etc... Misfits hang out with other misfits). Many of us appear to be computer geeks.  Older people who didn't grow up with these things might have taken up some other hobby that they could do alone, or with a more accepting social group.

I've never been into anime or manga. I do some language studies, except those are mostly domestic. Me =/= this particular stereotype. My interests just lie elsewhere.

We're a group of people.

Go onto any forum and you'll see both anime fans and video game fans.  It's quite popular, especially online.

Quote from: Westsidebtch69 on February 25, 2011, 07:14:25 PM
Why did I even open this thread?

I don't know. It seems to be the nectar of geeky type folks. Anime sucks unless someone is getting hurt or it's the Boondocks. That show is hella fun.

Psh, club going nerd.

Quote from: Westsidebtch69 on February 25, 2011, 07:26:30 PM
If they are into anime, that means some of them are furries. OMG, I thought those people just dressed up as sports mascots. But they have "other motives".

My b/f is into Japanese culture and he says, "all those cat eared people" and I am like, "I know, right homie Huh?"

I know! Geez, some of them might even be like...transsexuals or something! What a bunch of weirdo's huh?

Quote from: Westsidebtch69 on February 25, 2011, 07:31:48 PM
Are you attempting to bait me?

No way homie, we're cool! Word.

Quote from: Westsidebtch69 on February 25, 2011, 07:43:30 PM
OMG. No one has said word since Vanilla Ice.

Actually the female pronoun of homie is "Homiella"

Oh, sorry dawgette.

ok i mean it was fun in elementary school and maybe middleschool but really im just like growup =/

Quote from: BridgetBby on February 25, 2011, 08:05:36 PM
ok i mean it was fun in elementary school and maybe middleschool but really im just like growup =/

Well, on a kinda more serious note, I think the mature attitude here is to let people enjoy the things that make them happy. You don't have to like them, but it's silly to point fingers and say this is mature, this is immature, this is geeky, etc. It's very subjective.

I am a HUGE geek. There, I said it. Been playing tabletop roleplaying games since I was 6 years old, been playing computer games since kindergarten, reading comics since forever. However, I am not very easy to please when it comes to anime. In my opinion, most of it is bad (well, that which I've seen). I like the Miyazaki stuff (Princess Mononoke, My Neighbour Totoro, Porco Rosso, Laputa), an anime called Aoi Hana (lesbian highschool drama, gorgeously animated), and one called Dennou Coil (kind of like what would happen if Miyazaki and William Gibson worked together; beautiful cyberpunk for kids).

Quote from: WeStSideButt on February 25, 2011, 08:10:34 PM
Not to mention a lot of anime is incredibly childish.

Yeah, there's a lot of live action films that are incredibly childish, clearly the whole body of work should be dismissed.   Honestly, anyone who says all Anime is for children needs to see some of the other works out there.  Elfen Lied, Ghost in the Shell, Darker Than Black, and others.
I won't say I'm obsessed, but I do enjoy it heavily.  I seek out new Anime on a regular basis, go to conventions when money/time permits, and even cosplay some.  But I have zero plans to learn Japanese or visit japan.  I just enjoy the style of work, couldn't tell you why.
As for why there seems to be a higher percentage of fans, I'd say the Anime avatars make them more visible.  In addition, as someone said, Anime/manga seem to be more tolerant of gender variance than western works, which would be a natural draw.

i think a lot of trans are huge sci-fi fantasy fans as well. it seems like there are a lot of comic nerds too. (like myself)

Quote from: BridgetBby on February 25, 2011, 08:05:36 PM
ok i mean it was fun in elementary school and maybe middleschool but really im just like growup =/

I've watched 3 episodes of Wandering Son and tend to agree.

I can see the attraction. It's kinda gentle and safe. Relationships are, for the most part, non-threatening. Feelings are expressed openly.

But It seems to lack substance, for my tastes. And it's painfully slow.

I must say, I am very grateful for the tip on crunchyroll.com It seems to be a good source.

Quote from: spacial on February 26, 2011, 03:43:02 PMBut It seems to lack substance, for my tastes...

*cough* Haibane Renmei *cough* Time of Eve *cough*

Quote from: rar on February 26, 2011, 06:53:32 PM
*cough* Haibane Renmei *cough* Time of Eve *cough*

Thank you. I'll check that out when I can.

I do hope your caugh gets better. 

I just dig animation altogether.

Live-action series and movies usually feel very restricted to me. The few live-action works few I do latch on to have very animated characters or scripts, but even an animated work in a contemporary setting will win my attention over a live-action interpretation. For example, I've enjoyed the likes of The Drew Carey Show, Married...With Children, and Scrubs, but I'd much rather watch King of the Hill, The Oblongs, and South Park.

So far in my life, I've been far more emotionally invested in characters portrayed in animation than in live-action, with the casts of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Cowboy Bebop moving me tremendously.

Concerning Japanese culture: I like how varied and progressive it appears on the surface, though as I understand it many of the country's citizens are quite conservative.

Quote from: spacial on February 26, 2011, 03:43:02 PM
I've watched 3 episodes of Wandering Son and tend to agree.

Do you read the manga? The anime sucks so much compared to the manga, no offense. Not to say that the anime is bad though. 
The anime is making a slow paced documentary series into a romance anime, and it's changed a bunch of things.

HM is made to be slow. It's a slow paced series about life, like a documentary. People may think it's boring, but I've read every chapter a good five or so times already (and there are over 90).

I read the subtitles, if that's what you mean.

I can see the attraction of anmie. It has a beautiful style. I also understand that some is much faster paced than others.

In the case of this series, if I'm going to be honest, (with you as much as with myself), I keep feeling I've some old git looking on the lives of very young people. It isn't that I'm some old, wise one who wants to hand down wisdom from on high. I don't have any experience of these lives. None are in any way like mine or any I know. In that respect, it's really intresting.

But it's a bit like watching programs aimed at toddlers. They are cute as hell. Warming. Fun and so on. But they are aimed at that age group. I feel out of place.

Does that make any sense to you?