Anime Taboo

chops1990

Just something I'm curious about. I dunno if I'd call myself an Otaku persay I've watched/watching a few animes I've enjoyed and was surprised how diverse it is and all the different genre's.

I was on some anime site before and someone had posted this topic.

Do ya ever notice a kinda taboo about anime? As in people thinking it's wierd and the people who watch it are too.

Kinda stupid thread but sure let's see what happens.

amacachi

Meh, most of my mates know I like it, one also likes it, one said it's pointless unless it's Hentai, the rest think it's ****. Am I worried? No, because I think their attempts at playing music are ****. :pac:

chops1990

haha good answer!

Butterscotch

Awh this is an interesting topic. I guess some people who watch some anime maybe see anime as perverted like when the wind blows a girl's skirt all the lads stop in their tracks and check out her panties. There are these, "panty shots" which can be common in anime. I actually like them as I see it as light hearted, funny and a little realistic.

There is also fanboy/fangirl culture which a person has a major attachment to a fictional character and rather be with the 2D person. You actually get some of this on figure.fm which is an interesting place. Men have a big attachment to dolfies which are pretty little dolls. The "otaku" has a negative stereotype especially in Japan. They are seen as wasters, uneducated, can't get a job, don't shower and just stay in their room f**ping to their character of desire. My sister actually said to me, "I feel that most anime fans are socially retarted" which I find a little true but don't get me wrong, I can be bad communicating with people. Of course these negative stereotypes are not always true, I have come across very intelligent anime fans and are very successful. I actually see many anime/manga fans being creative as most of them draw, do model building and make costumes.

The whole otaku and fan culture either negative or positive really interests me. You should watch Otaku no video a great watch.

gearoidof

Any obsession is unhealthy.

Those who watch anime almost exclusively have an obsession. In that light, it would be a taboo.
There is an idea that they're cartoons and thus are for kids, and so adults shouldn't watch them.

But generally most people just think it's weird because a lot of anime watchers I know obsess over it.

Varik

Any person with an obsession is an otaku in Japan regardless of the area of focus, guy i know lives there and has a normal(Japanese level) of interest in anime and manga but ask him about ancient Japanese literature or poetry and he's off.

Not sure i the worst as if i needed to make a choice between anime/manga and the rest of my hobbies/interest i choice the rest. there is a whole lot worse interest than this (train spotters).

Cy_Revenant

Easy to understand why there's a taboo when you put the fact that most people see animation as something for children, beside all these releases of ecchi fan service filled high school drivel that gets pumped out by the industry.

If I watched half that stuff, I'd be ashamed of it too.

Actually, thinking on it, I wouldn't call it a taboo. But you'd have to admit it's a bit odd if you sit around watching shows from Japan that are aimed at teenagers and kids. It's easy to see why someone might give you a cocked eyebrow if they see Highschool girls flashing panties on your laptop.

As for your surprise over the diversity, you really shouldn't be. Anime is just a term applied to animated TV shows and films from Japan. The fact that they're animated should place no limits on the story, style, content or genre of the work.

Personally, I don't see a good anime as being far removed from any other quality TV show. Such as something from the BBC or HBO. Though every time I look at a new seasons releases I'm reminded again of Sturgeon's Law.

Azure_sky

chops1990 wrote: »

Just something I'm curious about. I dunno if I'd call myself an Otaku persay I've watched/watching a few animes I've enjoyed and was surprised how diverse it is and all the different genre's.

I was on some anime site before and someone had posted this topic.

Do ya ever notice a kinda taboo about anime? As in people thinking it's wierd and the people who watch it are too.

Kinda stupid thread but sure let's see what happens.

People, even intelligent people, mistake anime for hentai.

chops1990

Good points from everyone. I tend to agree that it's the "panty shots" in some series that wierds people out. There is a lot of shows that raise moral issues which is very interesting and makes ya think.

Mindkiller

chops1990 wrote: »

Do ya ever notice a kinda taboo about anime? As in people thinking it's wierd and the people who watch it are too.

Fan service. And I don't blame them. Fan service is absolutely pathetic.

Not that I mean to infer that all anime watching folk are equally pathetic by extension. I watch it occasionally myself.
I stuggle to find anything worthwhile produced in the past 10 years though.

K.O.Kiki

Azure_sky wrote: »

People, even intelligent people, mistake anime for hentai.

Man I loves me some hentai

animalhuger

Its ok it aint the best thing to watch tho

Rawr

I also get the feeling that opinion of Anime is that of taboo and general avoidance.

I've wondered why myself. Hentai has been mentioned, and I guess that it has a lot to do with it, but even there I'm certain that a lot of people know that this is a specific sub-genre of Anime (or 'Manga' as some will mistakingly call Japanese cartoons).

My guess is that a lot of Anime targeted at children lately is to blame for this. Plenty of kid's Anime are pretty good, and have been for a long time in my opinion. However a lot of them now have seem to become cut-and-paste copies of cash-cow franchises from the recent past (Pokemon, YuGiOh...etc...).

Thus for most, their only likely encounter with Anime is a poorly-made and silly kids Anime. Thus, this is my guess as to why a lot of people don't see beyond these kind of shows to the rich selection of sub-genres and shows that exist in Anime, and can probably satisfy most tastes.

That's my guess on the Anime-taboo anyway. Personally, couldn't care less about the taboo. I watch Anime, I love it, and no perception of it would ever make me feel otherwise.

Varik

Cartoons were not original meant for just kids, the early Disney films were made with a wider appeal and just seem to be for kids now due to the changing standards for people, it was the advent of tv that made cartoons move to be just for children. Japanese animation never suffered this problem even with the tv and still remains the way those old Disney films were at there release, meant for everyone.

Cy_Revenant

Varik wrote: »

Cartoons were not original meant for just kids, the early Disney films were made with a wider appeal and just seem to be for kids now due to the changing standards for people, it was the advent of tv that made cartoons move to be just for children. Japanese animation never suffered this problem even with the tv and still remains the way those old Disney films were at there release, meant for everyone.

See the Comic Code and other similar movements in the US.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics_Code_Authority

They had a somewhat stifling effect on creative output.