[Radd]

Originally Posted by Khar

1. Age:

25

2. Location (just country is fine):

United States

3. Gender*:

Male

4. Do you consider yourself to be an anime fan?

A fan of animation in general.

5. If yes, how much of one? (if no, why are you answering this? o.o)

I'll give most anime a chance, but I'm very picky as to what I like.

6. Do you generally associate yourself with the shounen/shojo anime/manga genre of your gender (shounen = stereotypically "male", containing action, adventure, fights, etc. [examples: Naruto, InuYasha, DBZ]; shojo = stereotypically "female", containing romance, humor, "cutesy" characters [examples: Fushigi Yuugi, Chobits, Sailor Moon]?

Not really.

7. Why or why not?

The best stories (anime, books, whatever) are often appealing despite any illusionary gender gap.

8. Do you think anime is becoming more mainstream where you are?

I think anime has been mainstream for quite some time where I live now, and in many places I've lived in or visited across the country.

9. Why or why not?

Anime conventions are seeing larger and larger attendance every year, well into the thousands. Anime is not only found on regular television (wich it has for years, ever since Fred Ladd brought over Tetsujin 28 and Tetsuwan Atom as Gigantor and Astroboy), but most people these days realize it's origins. Nearly every videostore or rental place has a section devoted to Japanese animation, and we even see it being released in theatres, both in limited releases (Cowboy Bebop and Spirited Away) and in wide releases (The Pokemon movies).

10. What do you see for the "future" of anime where you are, that is, will every show become as popular as Pokemon? "Gotta jutsu 'em all" maybe? o.O Or will anime remain a somewhat-underground "geeky" pastime?

I think the cultural fascination Americans have with the Japanese will die down in the coming years, just as our facination with Australians and the British did in decades past. However, I think the anime industry will continue to have a strong following in America for as long as there are few alternatives in the animation industry. A part of the popularity of anime is that in america, the animation industry is so small, and shrinking all the time, with a heavy emphasis on the idea that animation is for small children. There's simply no competition in the mainstream market.

There is a similar situation with the american comic book industry. It is failing because of falsely percived beliefs of the american comic market held by the companies making the comics, leaving the market wide open for anyone that better understands the consumers to come in and take over.

11. Speaking of stereotypes, is anime still a geeky pastime? This may tie in the "becoming mainstream" question, but perhaps not.

Not really, though society has changed to the point where people who would have been considered geeks and outcasts 5-10 years ago are now the majority, and don't always consider themselves to fit into that category.

12. Why or why not?

See above.

13. If you could get rid of that stereotype of only geeks watching anime, the geeks that can't get girlfriends and can't get a life, would you want to?

I wasn't aware any of these stereotypes still existed now. Apparently my girlfriend didn't either. See above.

14. Why or why not?

See above.

15. Will anime becoming more mainstream get rid of that stereotype, you think?

I think it already has. See above.

16. Why or why not?

See above.

17. Lastly, if there was anything you could say to the general mainstream television audience (think American Idol and Survivor fans here if need be) regarding anime and its sometimes-associated stereotypes, what would it be?

This question implies that I care what they may or may not think. I don't. Additionally, I don't think they do either, so what is there to say?


However, I do think that those running the american animation industry are digging a hole that I'm not really certain they will ever be able to recover from if they allow this state of affairs to continue. I also think the average anime 'otaku' is helping this situation either, both with the common anime fanatics belief that american animation is somehow inately inferior to that produced by the japanese, or by the masses' habit of glorifying the aspects of anime drive off potential fans. (Sex, violence, and the stereotype of big eyes and small mouths that was only ever really true for a short time during the 80's and even then not completely so).