Converting the normals

[Clayton]

So who here has, much like a vampire, tried to convert someone into an otaku simply so you will have someone who you can talk to without them acting like you're insane?

[bhl88]

Either I try to convert them by showing the philosophical side of anime (or I just show them the music with video or dance). I managed to convert a few people already with the tactic. Then when they get curious, I just give them a list of anime (Haruhi, Lucky Star, K-ON!, Genshiken, etc.)

[Daniel E.]

Funny thing is that the two dudes that got me into anime and manga, are no longer into anime and manga themselves.

[Azuma Denton]

Never try to convert people into anime & manga.
Unless they're willing to come to this side by themselves. If that's the case, i'll be gladly plunge them into the deepest hole.

[Master_Yoma]

I tried but failed its so hard to covert some one

[Vexx]

I select the victim and the choice of anime carefully.... I can't say I've created any "obsessed fans" but I do have a small flock of people who let me filter through the chaff for them. Biggest hits so far:
Ichigo Masimaro, Spice&Wolf, Kamichu!, ARIA, REC, (Totoro, Spirited Away), Kyounogononi, selected subsets of L*S, K-ON, Hidamari, AzuDa, and similar.

My earliest victim, my wife did sit through Love Hina (our first experiment with anime back in 2004?) but said "no more of those kind of comedies unless you think its brilliant" (I might try Kanon on her at some point). She likes the non-harem romance comedies... I think her biggest issue is getting through the usual "takes 3 episodes to get started" in a story. Some subtitles fight with her astigmatism to give her a headache. OTOH, we're part way through Moribito. She's also the proud owner of a TTGL Yoko "skullpiece" cellphone strap and she just got a replica of Yoko's 'skull' hairpiece she wears to work (it goes with her "cute-morbid" fashion sense).

[Nosauz]

I really don't understand the need to convert people to watching anime. The only real method to "converting" the non believers is to make an anime movie that truly is superb like Dune or Star Wars Episode IV-VI. Basically it's to bring legitimacy to the medium more so than conquering one non believer at a time. Once you can tell a story better than anyone else can then you'll see people change their opinions of anime.

[Seitsuki]

'Truly superb'.. well that's a matter of opinion isn't it. Some would say there are already masterpieces, such as various Ghibli films (which actually have won international acclaim), possibly Grave of the Fireflies, and others.. certainly you cannot argue that there have been no movies/series which do not have superbly crafted characters, engaging plot, stunnig visuals and whatever else. the problem rather I think lies in the whole perception of anime. Most 'Westerners' still have the 'cartoons are for kids' mentality, and/or have been exposed to mainstream rather childish series such as Naruto, Bleach etc and so start off with a negative view which is hard to dispel. Certainly with movies, for every A New Hope there are ten Doom's and Battlefield Earth's- it is the selection that counts. same with anime, sure there will be those who discover the greats themselves but the best way is still to show them yourself.

...but that said in our anime club of around 60 people, we have all of two Caucasians with the rest invariably Asian ^^;

[Nosauz]

Still the perception of Movies especially in America is that it can lead to great story telling, the same goes to novels. The main thing is probably the medium hasn't matured enough, and if you think about it it truly is based on the mediums maturity. The movie medium actually used to be slapstick ala Charlie Chaplin and company and until people started to treat it as a medium to tell elaborate compelling stories for a long time movies didn't compel people to think critically about them. As the number of acclaimed movies/series goes up the more accepted the medium will be. Just look at animation, with South Parks super success it has led to some serious thoughts on comedy and it's use of animation. Of course since these are based on subjective notions, in the end they will be niche but the awareness of the complexity of anime just hasn't caught on to the common denominator. I'll just blame it on terrible dubbing in the early nineties and the pervasive notions of japanese and peculiar/weird interests.

[Last Sinner]

I don't like the term 'convert'. It almost makes it sound like that people that are currently anime fans are naturally better than people that aren't or that it's something that has to be done forcefully. I think a 'see if they like it' without being aggressive or forceful is a better approach. One of the aspects of anime fans that non-anime fans don't like is the amount of them that only talk about anime and can't talk about anything else.

Around where I live Code Geass was definitely the series that hooked in the most people and made them want to watch anime long-term. It has less nuances and cliches than a typical series that a viewer would need to be familiar with to get the joke/meaning. Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Samurai Champloo, Death Note - those are other series I got non-anime fans to watch and get interested in seeing some more. I.e. Series that have some Western world cultural aspects and they can relate to. Of course, that is for people in the West - I'm sure it's different in other areas of the world. Miyazaki is an obvious option for someone who is able to break cultural boundaries since he weaves Elizabethan Western World and traditional Japanese influences so well.

I personally think the best approach is to find common ground in the middle - give them something that they have a better chance of understanding and see how they go. Don't be forceful, don't rant on about the medium - just let them find their way. And make sure you show them something that will break the common misconception that anime is merely kiddy fodder like Pokemon, DBZ and Yu-Gi-Oh, as that is a strong misconception in the West. In the West, animation = cartoon = kids. In the East, it's somewhat more for all ages. So that's a barrier that needs to be overcome as well.

[Poetic Justice]

I converted a lot of people by making them watch the first episode of death note. I tell them that the series ends at episode 25 and they should not believe anything otherwise.

[0utf0xZer0]

Most of my friends at university are actually people I know through the university anime club, so I've never really had much chance to convert people. My brother and I did manage to get my best friend from high school into anime simply because he was looking for something to do at one point and asked if he could borrow some of my stuff, but the rest of my close high school friends (mainly computer gamers) have been pretty resistant. I may try and reconnect with some other former high school classmates and some point and I might have better luck with them, but I'm not going to push it really heavily.

I've thought about showing Spice and Wolf to my dad since he reads a lot of fantasy novels. Same with my aunt - she falls into the crowd that stereotypes anime into being about sex and violence, but I think she's intelligent enough to see there's more to S&W than nudity.

[Clayton]

Originally Posted by Nosauz

I really don't understand the need to convert people to watching anime. The only real method to "converting" the non believers is to make an anime movie that truly is superb like Dune or Star Wars Episode IV-VI. Basically it's to bring legitimacy to the medium more so than conquering one non believer at a time. Once you can tell a story better than anyone else can then you'll see people change their opinions of anime.

Mostly it stems from wanting to discuss anime without the other person making you feel like you're insane.

[bhl88]

I still like the term 'convert', as no one would say, "it's for kids". <- this in the US and elsewhere.

Europeans already experienced animation so they are fine with it, especially France.

[airstorm]

I myself was converted by a, lets say, 'friend' at university. I was one of those 'you sad git watching those silly cartoons' types, so he put on something very not for kids (Ninja Resurrection I think, though I perhaps shouldn't admit to that) and I was blown away. I ended up leaving his flat with a bag full of anime and the rest is history.

I haven't made many successful conversions myself and has been mentioned above, if someone is not at all open to it, you won't convert them by force. However, from my successes, I do know you have to pick the right thing to start off with. You only really get one chance so its important to know them and pick something that will hook them on the first go. I got one person with the shock tactics of Elfen Lied and another with the clever characterisation of Evangelion.

But yes, the aim has been to get more people to share and talk about this world with. You're not crazy if there's two of you. Wait...

[Max Stirner]

I've never actively pursued or found the need to actively pursue converts. Actually, one of the main stereotypes of anime fans where I live is that they are obsessive and dogmatic about the anime they watch and collect. Anime works for me and that is really all that matters; I don't really care whether my friends or any other acquaintences understand or approve of such an activity.

That being said, I would think showing a high-quality anime movie (Miyazaki, Sotoshi Kon films, etc.) would be a good way to go. Movies are not as large an investment as an entire anime series is, they show off the strong suits of anime in a short amount of time and the stories are usually much easier to follow. Those are my two cents anyway.

[ChainLegacy]

I did a little bit in the past. My friends liked quite a few different anime, actually. If you choose a series that entertains as well as introduces them to the cooler, perhaps misunderstood qualities of the medium it can pique their interest. Though for me, I have begun to lose interest in anime myself so not too much anymore.

[DragoonKain3]

There are three things...

1) Personal Taste - this is pretty obvious, as letting an action film fan watch something like Honey & Clover is a recipe for disaster, no matter how good H&C was.

2) Dubs - 'normals' have a very heavy inclination towards dubs (as long as you don't show them 90's era type dubbing); they'd rather take a mediocre dub over the best sub any day of the week.

3) Movies - I personally have more success with showing them shorter stuff, get them interested there, and slowly work them with longer series. Some people don't have much free time, after all.


No, I haven't made someone as fanatical about anime as I am (ie. watch at least three episodes of almost every fansubbed anime that comes each cour), but I've got a quite a number of friends who I lend anime DVDs from time to time who wouldn't otherwise watch anime at all.

[Kotohono]

Reading this makes me glad some of close friends in RL are already in anime, so I've never needed to "convert" them. Now if I could just slowly lure them into more moe, and/or yuri shows then I'd be set :3.

[Arbitres]

I don't like the term 'convert'. It almost makes it sound like that people that are currently anime fans are naturally better than people that aren't or that it's something that has to be done forcefully. I think a 'see if they like it' without being aggressive or forceful is a better approach. One of the aspects of anime fans that non-anime fans don't like is the amount of them that only talk about anime and can't talk about anything else.

Around where I live Code Geass was definitely the series that hooked in the most people and made them want to watch anime long-term. It has less nuances and cliches than a typical series that a viewer would need to be familiar with to get the joke/meaning. Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Samurai Champloo, Death Note - those are other series I got non-anime fans to watch and get interested in seeing some more. I.e. Series that have some Western world cultural aspects and they can relate to. Of course, that is for people in the West - I'm sure it's different in other areas of the world. Miyazaki is an obvious option for someone who is able to break cultural boundaries since he weaves Elizabethan Western World and traditional Japanese influences so well.

I personally think the best approach is to find common ground in the middle - give them something that they have a better chance of understanding and see how they go. Don't be forceful, don't rant on about the medium - just let them find their way. And make sure you show them something that will break the common misconception that anime is merely kiddy fodder like Pokemon, DBZ and Yu-Gi-Oh, as that is a strong misconception in the West. In the West, animation = cartoon = kids. In the East, it's somewhat more for all ages. So that's a barrier that needs to be overcome as well.

I'll refrain from what I was going to say and simply echo Last Sinner. Must more eloquent in presentation then I'd be.

Though there is more stereotypes at work then Sin stated, I think that about summarizes it up.

Ironically I simply melted into anime, I wasn't converted by anyone. But rather a third party called television. I got myself into the mecha genre because of Gundam 08 MS Team (Which aired on Toonami like a good deal of the other anime that help solidify my anime conviction.)

I think I wouldn't nearly be as happy or the Arbitres I am today without anime. Anime can be an excellent moral guide in some way - and in some ways... not so much.

Anyways I think if someone came to me for anime advice, I'd ask them what they'd be into. Like swordsman or space travel or so forth. That is a good way to approach the situation, by discerning what the person would be interested in.

That's about it on my part.