I’ve noticed you’ve given meaningful responses to my comments, can we be Blog Buddies? (blogroll)

xmisery: That’s definitely what I’ll try to do in the future. :3

I’ve learned that it’s just cool to laugh it off, bring a friend and say “hey, ’twas a nice try ey” Could be worse

I went to a Neil Gaiman signing and book talk the other day. You heard of The Sandman, no? People in the line to get things signed were dressed up like Sandman characters and dandies. It was the closest thing to Cosplay I’ve ever experienced, and even though it wasn’t Japanese, I felt the comradery between fans deeply. Nobody was dissing each other there.

I guess since I haven’t tried Cosplay I can’t judge too much, but I do understand the sense of belonging these fans feel, and the fun they get from the dressing up.

Maybe experiencing something closer to your own culture before you dive into Cosplay would build a better understanding of fandoms.

In the same way, that fat sweaty otaku at the con, doesn’t represent me. He’s got nothing to do with me at all…

Indeed. A lot of my reaction there is due to thinking that I’m also representing the anime culture by being a fan. And from that, I’m thinking “why aren’t these people representing the anime culture as well as they could?” But that’s just conceited, and I’m trying to get out of that mindset. How am I supposed to know what these people can or should do, for example? It’s silly thinking like that.

digitalboy: As long as you aren’t blasting it from hell to high water instead of just leaving it alone.

Os: You can help it, I’d like to think. I don’t like to think that I’m better than anyone else, and it’s sad when this does happen, and in a hobby that I love as well. :/

And even if you turn out to be an asshole, we’ll love you anyway. :3

Caitlin: I think the problem is that in this aspect, a lot of us are pessimistic that anime will ever get mainstream overall acceptance. Especially when there are darker aspects of anime that people try to hide rather than explain that they in fact do exist.

A show like Kanokon is going to exist whether people like it or not, but you admit that it exists, that you don’t care about it, and move on. It’s not like a lot of people are going to say “THIS IS WHY ANIME IS BAD!”, as much as we fear that. But we can’t progress without making mistakes, and I just hope that the fan culture is able to allow itself to fail sometimes.

koneko-chan: As I said before, it’s the “unusual” aspect that anime has in terms of where it originated that also hinders a seamless acceptance. And I’m not sure how long it will take for things in the US to become more open and accommodating to something like anime, but it seems like it might take a while.

And as for “unenlightened” fans, I don’t look at them like that, but just as people with different interests. But just because there are different interests doesn’t mean that there’s not any common ground between them, other than sharing a passion for anime that is.

I find this not about otaku elitism but more about being an enlightened anime fan. No matter how you slice it, anime culture is reflective of its source culture, Japan. In America, anime has grown along more or less with sci-fi, fantasy and nerd culture. The unfortunate result is this culture disconnect. Mainstream American anime fans still mostly equate anime to a Western sci-fi, fantasy and action cartoon art form. Many don’t realize that there is an inherent Asian culture behind anime. This is why moe culture still has not been respected by mainstream American anime fandom. There’s no Western culture equivalent to moe. Thus, moe has become a disgusting anime anomaly in the Western mindset.

As for feeling bad about your fellow American otaku, that’s understandable. I find myself recommending shows which reveal elements of Japanese culture to these kinds of fans more often. I often consider myself a purveyor of Asian culture along with promoting anime culture. If anything, at least those unenlightened (cuz saying “stupid” is kinda mean) fans went to a cherry blossom festival and at least experienced some traditional Asian culture.

Yay for cherry blossom festivals. Philadelphia had theirs last weekend as well. But I burned myself so much from work last week that I was just too tired to go.