How to love anime more?

isolate yourself from the world for a few years and spend that whole time watching anime
when the characters on the screen become your only friends you'll start to feel the passion

going mad helps, too

You obviously don't love anime. You love the idea of having an identity. What you're seeing in these otaku characters and your idealized concept of a "true anime fan" is nothing more than a sense of identity, which you clearly feel like you lack. The truth is, the identity of an otaku is not cool or interesting. Those characters are, at best, self deprecating stereotypes laughing about the worst parts of otaku culture. The Genshiken cast are all awkward dorks who struggle to interact with people outside their little circle, while on the opposite side of the spectrum, Umaru-chan is a savant at everything else she does in life and hides her otaku nature.

Being an otaku neet is not a valuable identity to strive for. However, you clearly have a natural tendency to over-analyze stuff, which would probably be a great way to transition from your otaku neet trajectory into an anime anthropologist. Don't be so worried about being "right" or whatever. Accept that nearly everything is a spectrum and start charting those spectrums with that brain of yours.

I'd love to read a post where you simply compare opinions and interests and examine correlary relationships between those on different platforms than your fourth "how do i become anime fan" post.

Well, yes, I've been always looking for a community and for a sense of "knowing what to strive for".
I think I wrote recently how I really resonated with Medalist and the plot of it's main character feeling like she was never good at anything and REALLY wanted to be good at something to feel that she has any value.

Just like me.

I feel that there's a thin line between those two.
Last year I was going more in the "anthropologist direction", but I ended up finding the hard way that I was just now knowledgeable enough for that (See What's nescessary to make an anime video-essay?)

Could you elaborate more on that?

you need to find a different hobby then. watching anime is not something someone can get good at. sitting on your ass and staring at a screen for hours is not an accomplishment.

pick up a sport, learn an instrument, there are plenty of things that require active participation, allow you to be part of a community, and will grant you a sense of accomplishment.

or, if you really want anime to be the one and only thing that dictates your life, do something with it besides just watching and writing borderline insane threads in an obscure internet forum full of weirdos. make video essays, or write a book or something.

I was not insinuating they would be taking on any serious academic scrutiny. OP seeks identity, and needs a direction to channel their energy in order to feel that sense of identity.

They obviously already are examining the behavior of the various parts of the online anime community, but are doing so with the intent to use that knowledge as a blueprint to reinforce an adopted identity. My suggestion was to reflect that energy outward, taking on the same kind of role an anthropologist might. They examine a group of people and share their thoughts and ideas about their behaviors to a community of people. This is essentially what OP already does regularly, but in a productive way that assumes an identity based on action rather than imitation.

OP doesn't need to seek out a degree or professional accolades to solve their problem. What they need is purpose, and that purpose likely is best found in the passion they (presumably, but possibly don't) already have for anime.


I think you need to simply look at the data you are already consciously or subconsciously gathering and form your own opinions based on that data. Nobody online cares about you in any significant capacity, and I say that to mean that nobody will have any positive or negative opinion about you based on your subjective definition of what a true anime fan is - if they want to dislike you, they will, and vice-versa. So your energies are better spent on using the information you have to generate meaningful conversations that extend beyond how they affect you directly.

The part you quoted there was nothing more than an off-the-cuff idea for a basic topic of how anime fans behave and how that trend changes based on a given variable. You're clearly plugged in to a number of online community spaces, but you only ever use your knowledge of the cultural practices of those spaces in a way to attempt to establish a non-existent level of prestige within those groups, completely missing the fact that it's exactly that type of behavior that diminishes or completely wrecks your reputation in those spaces.

...but doctor...
I already do that.

@BilboBaggins365



Almost missed your comment here direct at me....

Being an Otaku isn’t inherently unhealthy shit. I grew up around a guy who still fucking collects G.I. Joe action figures from the 80s. He sets up huge battle dioramas in his basement and even bought over 200+ identical Cobra Troopers... kind of like someone buying up over 200 of the same damn Star Wars Stormtrooper action figure. lol

But in his daily life? He’s a regular businessman, very successful, owns two fully restored 70s Corvettes and lives in basically a Mansion twice the size of my own house. His hobby doesn’t make him unhealthy, it’s just something he enjoys in his free time. I have even been over his house a few times in the past and we watched a few old school episodes of G.I. Joe together while drinking beers and laughing at the fact no one ever actually gets shot in those cartoons. lol

The "weirdo" thing about this obsession the OP has is that the lifestyle of an Anime Otaku isn't anything that glamours to begin with... So why even idolize or demonize it? It's one thing for someone to idolize the lifestyle of people who are successful, rich, or even famous... but it's another thing to idolize the stereotypical generic Anime Otaku... That's almost equivalent to someone who isn't really a "Gooner", but idolizes and is obsessed with their stereotypical vision of a "Gooner". lol

Sure, but even if we accept your point that there are more fucking “socially insecure” Otaku than socially balanced ones, my question is... how is that shit really different from any other hobby? You’ve got sports fans who treat stats like a religion, golfers and fishers who pour thousands into gear, car guys who sink every paycheck into restorations, gamers with thousands of hours in a single title, and even workaholics who literally define their identity around their career.

The issue isn’t the hobby, it’s the person and their own mental health. If someone like thewiru suddenly dropped their obsession with Anime and threw themselves into being obsessed with the stereotypical “Gooner”, their problems wouldn’t vanish. They’d just shifted their mental health issues on the Gooning lifestyle instead. lol

And to be real, leaning on that shit about “socially insecure Otaku” stereotype is just recycling a fucking misconception. I know more Otaku who are balanced and healthy than not. Sure, there are awkward ones, but they’re likely a minority. They only fucking stand out because stereotypes always highlight the extremes such as shit like the viral images of the socially awkward “freaks”. In reality, they’re just a fraction of the fandom.

Also, at least being into Anime doesn’t come with the very real damage of drugs, gambling, or alcoholism. It’s entertainment, escapism, and community... no fucking different than football season, Comic-Con, or Netflix binges. Try telling a group of very scary looking hardcore football freaks that their passion is “unhealthy”, they need to stop buying season tickets, merch, and watching every fucking game. Good luck, with that shit. lol

Sure, some people lean on their hobby as a crutch or escape... but that’s not unique to Otaku culture. People drown themselves in work, sports, gaming, or booze for the exact same reasons. If someone needs a “drug”, I’d rather it be giant robot cartoons than actual narcotics.

The truth is, “Otaku” gets singled out because it's fucking mostly imagined to look eccentric. But at the end of the day, it’s just one form of passion. Passion only becomes unhealthy when it wrecks ones life. Until it gets to that point, who the hell should tell them otherwise what is and what is not healthy to them? Some people spend every fucking night at a bar until they’re puking on the sidewalk. Others stay home and watch Mecha or magical girl shows. Personally? I’ll take the fucking second option any day. lol

You obviously don't love anime. You love the idea of having an identity. What you're seeing in these otaku characters and your idealized concept of a "true anime fan" is nothing more than a sense of identity, which you clearly feel like you lack. The truth is, the identity of an otaku is not cool or interesting. Those characters are, at best, self deprecating stereotypes laughing about the worst parts of otaku culture. The Genshiken cast are all awkward dorks who struggle to interact with people outside their little circle, while on the opposite side of the spectrum, Umaru-chan is a savant at everything else she does in life and hides her otaku nature.

Being an otaku neet is not a valuable identity to strive for. However, you clearly have a natural tendency to over-analyze stuff, which would probably be a great way to transition from your otaku neet trajectory into an anime anthropologist. Don't be so worried about being "right" or whatever. Accept that nearly everything is a spectrum and start charting those spectrums with that brain of yours.

I'd love to read a post where you simply compare opinions and interests and examine correlary relationships between those on different platforms than your fourth "how do i become anime fan" post.

OK, how?

I lowkey wanted to.
What's nescessary to make an anime video-essay?

Yeah, I get you’re talking about obsession in general, but that’s my whole point. Obsession is just a fucking individual trait, not something baked into the fucking DNA of a hobby. Golf, sports, Anime, Star Wars, etc… whatever. There’s always a subset of people who let it overrun their lives. That’s not the hobby being inherently unhealthy, that’s the person struggling with balance.

And this whole "emotional distance" thing, that shit just sounds nice, but if you apply it too broadly, you strip the passion that makes shit fun. People care, sometimes too much, but caring isn't inherently bad. Tell a diehard sports fan at a live ball game to be more "detached" and they’d laugh you out of the stadium. Same with musicians, collectors, artists, whatever.

Yeah, if someone’s rent money is fucking vanishing into Blu-rays or they’re skipping work for shit like Gacha pull, that’s unhealthy. But being deeply invested in something like buying merch, hitting conventions, and even creating fan art shit, etc... that shit is just passion. Passion isn’t pathology. Every intense hobby looks obsessive from the outside, but shit only becomes a problem when it starts wrecking stability. Until then, calling it "obsession" is just slapping a fucking negative word on "enthusiasm".

Hell, by your logic we should be telling light novel and manga artists to tone down their "obsession" too. Or better yet, tell someone who dotes on their wife and kids every day that they’re being obsessive with family. See how well that shit goes over. lol

Are you mistaking me for someone else?

step 1: do something.
step 2: if it's fun, continue doing it. if not, try doing something else.


what a meaningless and empty quote, especially considering the subject matter. "not many people will" - watching lots of anime doesn't make you any different from the billions of other people who watch TV for hours everyday.

@CC Not you, someone you have brought on to your social media team lol. Just kinda hollow.