do you guys tell people you watch anime?

[starry_sky45]

I usually only talk about anime if I am asked about it. But I see no reason in hiding that you watch it. Who cares what people think? But thats just my personal opinion.

[anbuhero]

I try not to mention the fact that i watch anime to certain friends i hang around with, though i'd happily talk bout it with friends that also like anime privately.

If the other friends hears the word anime they come up with all these stupid comments like "there no story to it", "its for kids" or the worst i've heard was "they are so badly drawn". things like that gets me really frustrated. So i tend not to talk bout anime unless i know i'm surrounded by people i know likes anime.

[oompa loompa]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

My biggest entertainment interests are pro hockey (I'm a Montreal Canadiens fan) and anime. Of these two, one is the national pastime and widely talked about (hockey), and the other has a much smaller group of fans locally (anime).

Given that fact, I tend to talk about hockey most with casual friends and relatives, and don't really feel a need to offer up the fact that I'm a big anime fan (the times I've hinted at it to anybody but other anime fans, I'd get suspicious looks - it's just not worth the hassle, in my opinion; especially since I can gladly talk about hockey in real life).

i hear ya... except its soccer for me.. ive tried being open about to people, and i find even the most ' open minded ' of my friends just dont seem to get it. im not a very ethical or moral guy anyways , i dont see any reason why i should bring trouble to myself. trouble as in an uneccessary hassle of explaining ' no its not for kids, no it has themes like this' etc etc.

[Sun Shine]

If someone is getting to know me and wondering what my interests are, I'll tell them. Although it is one of my most active interests after art and real football (Soccer), it is generally just a pass time when I'm bored and not with my friends or am just sat about the house doing nothing.

[IHaveCrayons]

I usually don't. If someone brings it up or asks me directly I'll kind of test the water and see reaction I get. Though, I don't necessarily hide that I watch anime I don't broadcast the information. It's all about social networking really when it goes beyond my close circle of friends. I could seem like the least likely person to watch anime if the need arises.

[Solais]

I tell them, but for most cases they don't even know what anime is.

[Fweakin]

I don't find much occasion to. Like many others, I have a vast array of more mainstream and more important hobbies, so if I'm talking to someone, I'm much more likely to talk about those rather than my smaller, niche hobbies.

It's all about knowing the right place and person. I might bring it up if I'm talking to a film student, however will not see a reason to mention it to my ultra-mainstream friends who would much rather talk about other things, and frankly, so would I. I get no joy out of explaining anime to people who, 1) don't share a similar love and, 2) don't give a damn

[Tran225]

I talk about anime at school and some may fit in the conversation but there are times where one would come up to me and call me a loser for watching that stuff.... but whatever i dont care what they think lol

[Vexx]

I suppose you could just say you're a fan of "japanese pop culture" and let them stew on what that meant.

[Kyrie]

I don't bring it up unless I'm asked, liek if they see me reading a manga or something. Then they go on a tangant of how liking cartoons/comics is stupid -_-

But I don't hide it and I don't talk about it to anyone who doesn't want to hear it.

[Vexx]

I always find it fascinating when people are made so insecure by someone else's hobby that they *must* make fun of it or deride it. They treat it like a personal attack on their own values

Personally, I think wearing clown clothes (baggy pants around the bottom of the butt and backwards baseball cap) just looks really pathetically dorkish. But hey, that's just because I like to be able to run properly and shade my eyes

[-KarumA-]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I always find it fascinating when people are made so insecure by someone else's hobby that they *must* make fun of it or deride it. They treat it like a personal attack on their own values

i agree on that...
i had numerous occasions when people labled me a freak for my hobbies involving anime...
though my boyfriend was very content about it when i told him though i was very embarrassed when i eventually told him that i write fanfictions and not of the general male/female pairing...
that is something i keep to myself because most people label you a hentai freak right after... even if that isn't my case at all... seriously a fic of over 300 pages in such a pairing isn't just about people making out when the cathegory is sciencefiction/mecha...

i only tell people that are interested in it but they usually notice it about me fromt he way i act and the words i use...
i read a lot fo manga at school and buy it during the breaks because the comicstore is about 5 minutes away from my school, i tell them when they ask about it but it has never been a real problem because there are numerous people in my class into anime.. mostly because when they thought it was just kiddy shows i gave them some good examples and made them addicted int he process as well though only on a general level...
i only hate it when you tell someone and they think you are just like them and only watch Naruto or Bleach... i stopped watching it at some point and keep up with the recent shows rather than the most populair old ones in the US and populair long runnign series.. when i tell themt hat i do watch One Piece they ask me what that is... and i find it quite a loss that i told them i was into it because i would have to hear every little have you seen thsi or that in bleach question...
i usually dont tell even other anime watchers unless i am certain they watch something other than Elfenlied, Bleach or Naruto.. but such a person i have never met before in my school

[NexgenXVII]

wow, look at all the post. Anywho, reason I asked is because I have only met 4-5 people that watch anime since I first started watching it when I was 16. I agree that it is not a topic to start a conversation but it is however hard to bring up. (for me especially) I am by no means a person of low self-esteem or have anything to be embarrassed about other than watching anime. If a person does bring it up first then its no problem for me to talk about it. I sometimes know more about it than they do. Maybe its just the place that I'm from that this sub-culture is not as popular. It would really be great to meet other "fans" of anime that are not overly obsessed with it.

[LR2]

Originally Posted by starry_sky45

I usually only talk about anime if I am asked about it. But I see no reason in hiding that you watch it. Who cares what people think? But thats just my personal opinion.

I share the same philosophy as you. That said, all of my close friends know that I am at least interested in anime. However, most of my acquaintances probably don't know that I watch anime.

There is just somethings that aren't important enough to talk about. For example, most of my acquaintances also probably don't know that I practice magic, have a Sony laptop, like gummy bears, and wear contacts.

[Da~Mike]

Ah. I guess I didn't have to sift through all those threads to find something that I'd always wondered (at least to a certain extent).

I keep several of my hobbies as a 'closet-hobby', some of which obviously include anime and manga. Unlike in Japan, where reading manga is essentially the same as reading a book (or so I've heard), comics is either for children or for socially inept geeks (or at least how the vast majority of the world likes to think of us).
It's even worse for anime, with adults or teenagers watching cartoons. Even telling people you watch the Simpsons or Family Guy regularly will earn you a few uncomfortable glances.

So, due to the way society reacts to us at large, I refrain from ever disclosing it except to those who are close to me or those who I know I can talk to about it.

Imagine going to a job interview at some fancy investment bank. If the first hobby (or if you even mention it as a hobby) you have is anime, you can expect to lose that job offer unless you're bloody outstanding compared to the hordes of seemingly normal applicants.

Right now, anime and manga in the west is still (or simply is) a geek's hobby and let's face it, the way society stands as it is, it still doesn't like us.
No point giving bullets for people to shoot you with.

Don't ask, don't tell. We're effectively the gays of society.

[King Lycan]

lol so true man were the Butt-end of society

[michelle21]

I think its really cute if guys watch anime depending on what type you watch it show alot about you so forget what people say cause deep down thier the loser.

[escimo]

If it comes up in a conversation, sure I tell.
I don't run around converting people but I'm not ashamed by it either. I don't see any reason for either.

As the general public sees anime as nothing more than just cartoons (tom&jerry stuff) and cartoons are for kids, there are people that have prejudices towards anime. And naturally there are people that have tasted it and didn't just don't like it.
Prejudiced ones can give me a bit of a beef about it but I couldn't care less. I fit in very few social norms so that's nothing new.

[juggen]

do you tell people you watch anime?
-Yes.

[aka Providence]

I don't, with two exceptions. One reason for me telling people is when I'm asked, the other if I want to strike some anime conversations with people (rare case). I was born with a very grumpy-looking face, so people usually find it surprising that I watch anime (more shock comes when I mention titles such as Lucky Star). Anime is purely a hobby for me, so I don't see the need to show it off above the other stuff I like.