how do you deal with Anime Snobs?

[Taufiq91]

Anyone who truly enjoys anime and manga has had their anime Snob moments; whether they are actual Anime Snobbery is to be debated, is choosing Miyazaki/Evangelion over Clannad considered snobbery or just good sense? No one person has all the perfect answers on anime, it’s all subjective.

So, how do you all deal with Film Snobs and how do you control the Anime Snob in you?

Examples on Anime Snob moments are encouraged.

[Asuras]

Wait. I'm confused. How is someone a snob by preferring one anime over another? >.>

[Taufiq91]

Originally Posted by Asuras

Wait. I'm confused. How is someone a snob by preferring one anime over another? >.>

Well, here's an example of what an anime snob would say:

Anime Snob: "My genre of anime is better than your genre of anime, and your genre of anime is killing the industry, and taht's a fact"

I'm pretty sure you've met those type of people on the net or gatherings.

It's not about preferring an anime over another, it's about preferring an anime and shoving it down your threat for the sake of superiority. That's snobbery.

[Kameruka]

I just can't stand how Legend of the Galactic Heroes fans toward Code Geass fans like myself. Yes CG is flawed but it never try to be LotGH in first place.

[Master_Yoma]

Well I dont know any anime snobs but as for me I keep and open mind and watch any thing at less once

[Tempester]

Originally Posted by Taufiq91

how do you control the Anime Snob in you?

That's some good word choice there. As we get more experienced with various types of anime it's almost impossible to not develop at least a tiny feeling of superiority. Most of the time, this is a positive feeling: one needs pride to love one's hobbies and get through life. But at times this pride can manifest in ugly forms, such as disrespect for others' tastes in anime.

I'll use Naruto as a personal example.

I can't deny that I get unpleasant feelings when I see endless Naruto cosplayers bragging about how they know all the ninjutsu abilities and squealing about this ship and that ship. I can't deny that I get a warm, proud feeling when I go home and watch Monster or Haibane Renmei.

I've set a general rule about fandoms to control myself:
Do not associate an anime's quality with the negative side of its fandom. The positive side of a fandom can complement your enjoyment, but if an anime gets too "mainstream" and the fandom starts getting obnoxious, try not to let that taint your view of the anime.

The reason I haven't watched or read Naruto yet is not because it has a bad fandom, but because I simply don't have the patience to start a long running series that isn't even over yet. Since the pacing of these types of series are generally slow, I can't stand the thought of waiting out a whole week between chapters just to get 20 pages of characters exchanging a tiny bit of dialogue and a couple punches, concluding with an annoying cliffhanger ending. Not to mention that a really long series is daunting even if it is finished, as I have yet to start watching Maison Ikkoku and Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

So as I haven't watched or read Naruto yet, I believe I have no right to proclaim that it is a bad anime and manga. Even if other people outright hate it, I am in no position to make any firm judgments on its quality. I apply this to Bleach and One Piece as well.

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by Tempester

The reason I haven't watched or read Naruto yet is not because it has a bad fandom, but because I simply don't have the patience to start a long running series that isn't even over yet. Since the pacing of these types of series are generally slow, I can't stand the thought of waiting out a whole week between chapters just to get 20 pages of characters exchanging a tiny bit of dialogue and a couple punches, concluding with an annoying cliffhanger ending. Not to mention that a really long series is daunting even if it is finished, as I have yet to start watching Maison Ikkoku and Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

So as I haven't watched or read Naruto yet, I believe I have no right to proclaim that it is a bad anime and manga. Even if other people outright hate it, I am in no position to make any firm judgments on its quality. I apply this to Bleach and One Piece as well.

This generally explains everything for me, I wanted to stay with a long series like Naruto, One Piece, or even Bleach, but they all just seem way too drawn out that I just sorta stopped at a certain episode. So I can't really say anything negatively against the fans since I don't have the dedication they have to watch it fully.

[SilverSyko]

I wouldn't say I'm snobby when it comes to what series' I watch as there's only a handful I ever truly disliked, It's just hard to get interested in new series' for me lately. Everything new just seems to be stuff done before and/or fanservice-driven shows.

I'd say I'm more fond of long-running series' that actually go somewhere with their stories. Managing to create a long and deep tale while keeping the end goal in mind and not delaying with pointless detours is what I consider fantastic entertainment. A new chapter/episode every week is fair I feel too, and while it makes me eager sometimes to see what happens next, I just deal with it and find other things to do.

If something's short it fails to make a lasting impression on me and my interest after it's over quickly wanes. Not that they're bad or anything but they're just not very memorable. There's some great ideas out there I feel they could do so much more with, yet decide not to, and it really hurts the impact the series has. (i.e. Fate/stay night)

In summary, short series' are good for pass-time entertainment and fun while they last, but if you truly want to make something memorable it needs to be long, deep, intricate, have a likeable cast and above all, entertaining.

[flying ^]

to me, those anime snobs include those who only watch Miyazaki & Gibli joint and they ignore everything else that makes anime anime

[Tsuyukusa]

I avoid the animenewsnetwork forum.

[Jof12788]

Sadly, I've met these types of anime snobs, whether it be on this forum or numerous anime communities.

While I'm not much of an Evangelion fan, I've grown tired of these "elitist" always attacking the new rebuild series and being over-analogical about Shinji being a badass, when he's supposed to be a weak coward. Or how you get singled out by the masses if you don't like Highschool of the Dead or Angel Beats which despite their flaws are highly regarded as masterpieces of 2010. And let's not forget those who proudly proclaim that the glory days of anime are over and how anime series were much better when they were 12 years old.

I tend to get very specific about what anime I like to watch. I don't like jumping the bandwagon whenever a certain series gets popular, despite the fact that I've done that in some cases. However I tend to identify the flaws of some of the anime that I like. Though I do tend to get pretty frustrated whenever someone calls out the anime that I like say that "it is crap." But rather than get in a huge argument with them, I just usually ignore them. It's not worth it to waste time on egotistical fans who want to harass you just because you're taste in anime is different than theirs.

To me there is no such thing as the "greatest anime ever." Every anime has their flaws. We are all different fans with different taste, which makes the shows we like great.

[Marcus H.]

Well, the most basic anime snobs in the Internet are those who hate the Big Three (One Piece, Naruto and Bleach) and those who hate moeblob anime. For the latter, there have been anime series wrongfully categorized as moeblob anime, like Angel Beats (which has hurt a bit due to Yuri Nakamura's character design).

The fanbase snobs are usual more rampant within the Big Three Fanbases as well (Naruto fans hate Bleach and One Piece, for example) and especially with fans of fansubbed anime being put under scrutiny by fans of legally released anime titles.

[ddwkc]

There are Shonen anime snobs, LOGH snobs, Miyasaki Snobs, Ghibli Snobs, Satoshi Kon snobs, wreck but popular anime snobs, old anime snobs, new anime snobs, Clannad/Air/Kanon snobs, moe snobs, anti fan-service snobs, etc etc etc.

Just ignore them all and try to not make the animes/genre you like better by making other animes/genres smaller or worse.

[TinyRedLeaf]

I think this is a more complicated question than at first appears, and is related to a thread started about a year and a half ago by relentlessflame: Do you consider yourself an "Anime Critic"?

The underlying issue, really, is how to account for "aesthetic taste". It seems to me, for example, that "slice-of-life" anime with more serious, mature themes tend to attract the more thoughtful kind of fans who I readily identify with. Hence what I wrote nearly three years ago:

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Wandering Kinght, Slice of Life and Sorrow-K have already clarified that "slice-of-life" anime are not limited to comedy. They can also be dramas, or even "travelogues" like Mushishi and Kino no Tabi.

Executions of the genre, on the other hand, seem to vary. It appears that "slice-of-life" can either be character-driven or setting-driven. By definition, it is apparently not plot-driven, in that "slice-of-life" literally means giving you several vignettes of a given setting or character, which may or may not be connected by an overarching plot.

However, fans of this genre appear to have one common trait - we're rather snotty and pretentious. Or, to put it nicely, we tend to be more discerning individuals. It's not so much that we're stuck up. Rather, it's because we tend to look for something more than just superficial gloss. Meaning to say, we tend to look for art that is not just aesthetically pleasing, but also intellectually appealing.

If, in the process of describing the many reasons I enjoy the shows that I do, I come across as an arrogant prick who likes to demonstrate that "he knows more than you do", then to a large extent I won't apologise for being a "snob".

That's because it was never my intention to brag, and I don't see why I should be sorry for hurting someone else's self-esteem in such cases.

As for whether I'm really a snob, well, action speaks louder than words. Over the past few months, I've picked up several series that are definitely not the usual kind of "intellectual" fare I generally prefer... and guess what? I enjoyed most of them on their own merits, from Highschool of the Dead to Otome Youkai Zakuro.

But if you were to ask me, I'd still say without hesitation that shows like Aoi Bungaku, Tatami Galaxy or Mononoke are far superior anime by leaps and bounds. Is it because I have better taste? Maybe so, maybe not. But I'll be damned if I had to hide my admiration for such anime just to avoid hurting other people's frail feelings.

[Reckoner]

People are kidding themselves if they don't think their own taste is the best one. We can try to have this idealized conceptualization of "everyone's opinions are equal," but that is just not true in practice. At one point or another you're going to look at someone's opinion and think that yours is just flat out better.

We all have different criteria for entertainment, and I'll be damned if I ever say that someone else's criteria is better than my own. I won't insult you for what you like, but don't expect me to sit there and not criticize what you like.

Some may call this anime snobbery, but it's just being honest. So long as you are respectful with your opinions, there should not be a problem.

Originally Posted by Jof12788

While I'm not much of an Evangelion fan, I've grown tired of these "elitist" always attacking the new rebuild series and being over-analogical about Shinji being a badass, when he's supposed to be a weak coward.

Sorry bro, Rebuild is trash.

[0utf0xZer0]

@TinyRedLeaf: I wouldn't really consider you a snob - you might consider Tatami Galaxy superior to Otome Youkai Zakuro, but your posts concerning Zakuro indicated you were still able to find a lot of value in it. When I think of anime snobs, I tend to think of the people who can't see the value in anything but intellectually heavy shows, or who can't wrap their heads around the idea that a perfectly intelligent person would want to watch intellectually light material.

As for the question of whether intellectually heavy shows are superior, I don't tend to concern myself with it too much. There's some shows I admire for their intellectual content, other I admire because I found them immensely enjoyable, and I really don't know how I'd even begin to compare them. I prefer to save my brainpower so I can devote it to the question of what makes certain kinds of moe shows and characters appealing - which is, in fact, something I do because I enjoy it and not just because I'm trying to show certain stereotypes of moe and its fans are grossly simplistic.

Edit:

Originally Posted by Reckoner

At one point or another you're going to look at someone's opinion and think that yours is just flat out better.

This happens to me quite frequently, I'm just nice about it most of the time.

[FlavorOfLife]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

I won't insult you for what you like, but don't expect me to sit there and not criticize what you like.

Some may call this anime snobbery, but it's just being honest. So long as you are respectful with your opinions, there should not be a problem.

Originally Posted by Reckoner

Sorry bro, Rebuild is trash.

Real irony there.

[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

This happens to me quite frequently, I'm just nice about it most of the time.

Hah. Well I certainly do have to curtail myself many times. Especially if I see someone saying something like that Dragonaut is the best anime of all time

Originally Posted by FlavorOfLife

Real irony there.

Insulting a series =/= insulting a person. Differentiate please.

[FlavorOfLife]

Originally Posted by Taufiq91

Anyone who truly enjoys anime and manga has had their anime Snob moments; whether they are actual Anime Snobbery is to be debated, is choosing Miyazaki/Evangelion over Clannad considered snobbery or just good sense? No one person has all the perfect answers on anime, it’s all subjective.

So, how do you all deal with Film Snobs and how do you control the Anime Snob in you?

Examples on Anime Snob moments are encouraged.

For "anime snobs", the problem some have is that they fail to understand 1 very simple fact. People are different. Even the same person is different each decade. Some may find Ika Musume only amusing, others find it hilarious. Some may find K-On a waste of time, while others find it nostalgic. For example, I like to say to people who hate K-On to come back to it after 10 years, the feeling is different then.

The bigger problem i find are those that crow about something without understanding it. Angel Beats is one recent example with the regular screams of plotholes when a lot of the plot is actually implied or details are not needed and to a lesser extent, those that refuse to accept reincarnation as what happened in the final episode (religious issues i believe)

As for controlling the "anime snob" inside, i just remind myself that people are different and use logic. Also important is the fact that despite you having spent decades of watching anime, some person who never posts may very well easily exceed that thus crowing about such things is a kind of misplaced pride or attempt to gain a position of "authority".

Somethings you just have to accept, such as my dislike of HotD's vibrating breasts looking like vibrating tummy fats but others do not link those 2 together.

[FlavorOfLife]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

Insulting a series =/= insulting a person. Differentiate please.

I believe you said this
"So long as you are respectful with your opinions, there should not be a problem."

Your opinion was very respectful hence i found it illuminating