Is anime a "lonely" hobby?
 

Aside from having other fans you can talk to online, does being an anime fan sometimes feel a little lonely? Anime seems to be a very unpopular hobby among many people who aren't fans, and I was wondering how you guys felt about that.

I guess being a fan, it can get pretty lonely. I don't have friends that are fans, so it's impossible for me to talk them about the latest anime I'm watching (because to them, all anime is weird).

But I do visit message boards, so that helps wash away that feeling.

No, watching anime it's not a lonely hobby for me. :)

Several of my friends watch anime, and we get together to watch a few things every now and then. We don't always like the same shows, so there's also the casual argument over what we are actually going to watch. :p

Any of the "esoteric" hobbies have that problem (and wow, do I have some other esoteric hobbies). Sci-fi, gaming, SCA, D&D, comics, model-making, .... hell, model railroading or rocketry are all narrow-scope topics that many people run away from.

Meh, all you can do is enjoy it and find other who do --- yay for the Internet.

I'm pretty lucky in that many of my family and friends enjoy anime -- though a number of them let me do all the filtering and they just watch the ones I recommend.

yeah i originally found this to be very, very true until the other week a good friend of mine who i play football and go surfing with also loves anime as well.
hes also told me of some our other mates who also enjoy it as well but up to now being an anime fan has been a very lonely past time

it shouldn't be lonely cause most my friend watch at least naruto or bleach. but we rarely watch anime together. cause it feels to lame. on the rare chance that most us have nothing to do. anime can't possibly be the only thing left to entertain ourselves. so they go to the movies. while i am stuck home babysitting and the only thing left to do is to watch anime alone after all.

anywyays it just feels to weird cause we have different tastes. they usuall ak if there is something wrong with me when they catch me watching slice of life, romance,type animes.

Depends. IRL I know a few, but I never watch together with them, we usually just share info or thoughts. Then again, I want to watch by myself. Sharing knowledge on the other hand is fun.

Seconded.

It will only be a lonely hobby if you don't actively look for people with the same hobby.

Personally I think its actually quite a popular hobby.

You don't see people collecting stamps, bug specimens, postcards and such nowadays.

When i joined this forum, it became less boring. ;)

Well even without, its not lonely.

I know some other friends nearby, who have this hobby, as well.

The bulk of my social life actually revolves around anime clubs (though only my university one meets regularly), so it's not a lonely hobby for me. Besides, the female/male ratio is much better than at LAN parties.:D

I guess it all depends on the person. There are chances you may have hobbies that your friends enjoy. You should try those. :)

Well I never tend to talk about my anime interest with my friends.

Most of them know I've got a couple of anime figures next to my firearm cabinet which often get me a couple of "hey, let's shoot these!" remarks but they think they're nicks and knacks.

A friend of mine at university knows I watch a bit and Initial D was what got both of us interested in cars.

He knows I'm keeping track of the Initial D manga and sometimes asks me if anything interesting has happened in the story line or we'd discuss what we actually thought of the cars in the anime or manga.

But overall anime/manga fills in time for me and most of what I watch or read I really enjoy and it just helps me relax after a long day of dealing with people's problems all the time.

So no I don't see it as lonely as I never really intended for it to be a social interest.

Most hobbies are lonely, if you do not consider "talking about your hobby" a part of the hobby itself.

Model building
Miniature painting
bricolage
flower composition
literature
painting

are good examples of well known and well respected hobbies, however all of them are usually performed in complet lonelyness. The most enthusiastics then might create clubs where they can talk about their hobbies, but it's not like that it's part of the hobby itself.

I don't really care if other people think this is an unpopular hobby or not. I watch anime because I like and I want to have some fun and entertain myself.

Besides it is like anything TV related. Most people want to watch TV at the comfy of their homes, they don't want to go down to the pub to watch the hot soap opera, drama or comedy with fellow drinkers.

Although normal TV shows are much more easier to talk about (socialize) with random people due to many factors including cultural differences, or any own personal fears about talking to other people about "toons".

I do still talk to anyone that has a liking for comics about anime and manga, although I always try to go with the main stream, most popular or 'serious' ones (not good trying to start a conversation with Strike Witches for example), and if they don't have anything bad to say but the typical cliches, for stuff like Akira, Ghost in the Shell or even DBZ, then you can move on forward with lesser known animes.

Seconding -Kh- why should I care if it is unpopular or not if I enjoy it, I'm actually glad it isn't so main stream here that would be crazy.

I guess this lonely part also depends on where you live, as a yaoi fangirl and doujinshi collector you won't see many people here having the same hobby, specially in this farmers region.

There are some people here that watch anime as well, but they simply watch the mainstream shounen or things that I have already seen years ago when it aired, so yeh internet is for me a best off solution since no one here would understand my ranting on how happy I am because I got a new doujinshi book

I don't class it as a lonely hobby. Afterall, we have forums to discuss with other fans which I generally like to do a lot. Either way, much of my anime I watch with my boyfriend. He will always watch my series' even if he doesn't like them ;)

Poor boy. :D

I think many people are right here. Since this hobby connects the whole world, its not that lonely, isnt it? ;)

Most of my hobbies are and were "lonely" hobbies but I consider that a feature and not a bug. Because it means I have the freedom to do what I want and when I want it. Also, I prefer to meet my IRL friends without having a fixed topic or schedule and instead to talk with them over a beer or a glass of wine about whatever comes to our minds (might include anime). I'm absolutely no club person.

Well its always been kinda lonely for me as I dont know anyone else interested in anime.
And im fine with watching by myself but I do feel the need to talk about anime with others, and thats why I come to these forums.

Lonely?

Seeing all the people that gather at a con I can't see how it's a lonely hobby. Sure, you might not find someone that likes anime near you, but maybe you just need to introduce them to it. A few years ago I introduced a friend of mine to anime, showing her my manga and watching some stuff together, now she's got more manga than me! lol!

For me yes, but I've always been a bit anti-social... My idea of a day out is being dragged to the beach by my family and sitting on the sand, eating some chips then going home to play games.

Probably why i picked anime, don't really know myself though lol

Really It's by choice, I could go to anime cons(though theres not many in QLD, My bro said brisbane had a few), Some of my friends are even into anime a little bit, but i chose not to for some reason.

All of my hobbies(well, entire life) are things i do by myself - Games & anime ftw.