Each generation of human beings is different from the others, be it fashion, food, or politics. The same is now applying to anime and the fans of it.
“Just now?” you’re asking as you stare at the monitor.
“Indeed, now,” I reply. “Okay okay, fine, maybe not just now, but, like, past ten years or so.”
“That’s not what I call recent,” somebody quips in reply.
“IT’S RECENT ENOUGH!” screams the writer.
Take a look back in time – let’s say, to 1998. Things were simpler back then: Mp3 players hardly existed, the VHS was still going strong, and a strange series called Pokémon was airing. That series, like it or not, was the entry point for many younger anime fans. But although it drove parents insane and made the video game fly off the shelves, it still wasn’t called anime.
It wasn’t until about 2000 or so did an action-orientated block on Cartoon Network, strangely (and simply) entitled “Toonami”, did anime start to really kick off. For four years, dedicated fans would rush home from school, dump off their backpacks, and click on the TV to watch a three-hour block of “action” shows. To prove it’s age, the anime shows being aired included Zoids, G Gundam, Rurouni Kenshin, and, indeed, the original DragonBall. It was a golden age for fans…until a block aimed at pre-teens aired, entitled “Miguzi”. Toonami was shipped off to Saturday nights, and so it stays until further notice.
In any case, it’s hard to say that anime hasn’t changed the world we live in by some tiny little bit. Okay, these changes haven’t cured the common cold, discovered life beyond the earth, or answer what the meaning of life is, but still, you can’t deny it.
What has made the anime industry so popular – and why now? While Toonami was indeed a major kick-off, many kids didn’t even know they were watching “anime”. And though it may be difficult to precisely pin-point why, in the past two-three years, anime has become so popular, there are some major helpers:
From VHS to DVD: Nowadays, it hard to think back to the days in which fans had to buy anime on VHS tapes, spending sums of over thirty dollars to watch a mere two episodes. Now, with DVD commonplace almost everywhere you go, people have been treated from four to even seven episodes a disc. While the typical price is still around $30, you are getting way more for you buck than before.
“A Whole Aisle of Manga!” Walk into any Borders, Barnes and Noble, or Waldenbooks, and you’re bound to find the manga section eventually. Maybe it’s only two bookcases, or maybe it spans an entire aisle or two – complete with wall scrolls, figurines, and caps. Either way, these quantities have blown some people away when beforehand, manga was hard to find, even in comic shops. Add to the fact that a typical volume runs at around ten dollars, and you’ve got yourself a winner.
Adult Swim: Those two little words that either make you think of black bump cards or old people at the pool. Adult Swim is pretty much known as the only (sub) network to show anime intended for teenagers and adults. I can’t even begin to tell you how many people have said, “Oh yeah, Fullmetal Alchemist – I got into that when the showed the commercials on Adult Swim.” These are words coming from people that usually don’t even watch anime. So alas – thank you, AS.
Okay, fine. Anime fans have a lot of thanking to do to Time Warner for all their anime showings. We also have to thank the bookstores for hoping on the wave of manga madness. Oh, and don’t forget about the clever people who came up with the DVD format. Sheesh. Lots of people to kiss up to…
“But how are we otaku changing?” screams a fan as they eat a bowl of ramen.
“Yeah, you’re wasting my time here!” shouts another as they rewind their 3:00 am recording.
“SIT DOWN!” the author shrieks in fury. After a moment, she pops out a cough drop.
In Japan, it’s generally though of as a bad thing to be considered an anime otaku. What are the major qualifications for this? Well, you pretty much had to be a guy obsessed over girls in maid outfits, be on a do-or-die mission of getting “up-skirt” camera shots, have no experience with actual woman, be desperate enough to buy buxom figurines and pretend they were your girlfriend, and generally be a great big loser. Oh, and you had to have a horrible taste in fashion.
Not anymore.
Whilst the majority of public anime fans are male, a recent surge in otaku culture has made girls announce their fandom as well. However, because of the negative connotation with the word “otaku”, female fans are calling themselves “otome”. What is an otome? A maiden.
Of course, with boys being boys and not wanting to be outdone by girls, male fans are somewhat changing their ways…if only in their title. Although older fans are still calling themselves otaku (a term which’ll endear for just about eternity), younger ones are dubbing themselves “ota-kei”. What does that mean? Um…“otaku-type”.
“I don’t live in Japan,” mutters a reader actually willing to go this far.
“Yeah, I live…well…I don’t live there,” another agrees.
“Yeah, well, just…hang on or something, alright?!” the writer says through a clenched jaw.
How about us?
“Otaku” is still the staple word for anime and manga fans outside of Japan. For us, however, the word has a lot less harsher meaning, and is generally thrown around to anybody who enjoys the genre. When asked for a description of otaku, some fans just sorta shrug and say, “Well…it’s…a person who really likes anime and manga, and who isn’t afraid to say they like it.”
The main problem with coming up with a straight answer? We’re so diverse and so different that you can’t really sum us up in one word. Some of us our total geeks, but others aren’t. Some might have weird obsessions, but others appear perfectly normal. There are others that have amazing creative skills, whether writing, drawing, music, or anything in-between. Others amongst us are the more down-to-earth type, specializing in math, science, or business. There are even jocks and social butterflies – trademarks that are complete opposites of the stereotypical Japanese otaku.
Well, whatever we are, there’s at least one thing connecting us all together: A fondness for things anime and manga. And as long we keep doing what we do, the rewards are going to keep coming.
