Anyone ever take a look at this site's clubs section? It's fascinating in a way, like stepping into a portal into a world with its own domestic and foreign entanglements. Ecchi fan? Come over H&E, we've got a stranglehold on ecchi clubs because we were smart and adapted to the post-Discord era of clubs the fastest and therefore were able to get the bulk of Discord activity for ecchi fans, which is starving Ecchi Squad and E/H out quite handily whenever so much club activity across the whole site has migrated to Discord. Slice of Life? Fuck it, Comfy Camp, they had that whole messy split with Usagi and the Slice of Life club to carve out their own niche and they took the majority of SoL's activity with them due to Usagi making the worst cessation in the history of cessations. Seasonals? Anime Guild. Moe? Anime Paradise Club. I'm less involved in keeping up with clubs more geared towards critical discourse and reviews, but I know CnC is a thing that had a decent-ish activity slate at one point in the recent past at the very least, but that's one of the few active club servers I don't have an alt in so that whole thing is largely obscured to me, only have secondhand knowledge. Heard it's dead even more recently, but iunno.
It reminds me of Morrowind. You want to play a rogue? House Hlaalu, the pro-Imperial and most progressive faction. Mage? Telvanni, conservative and isolationist and xenophobic as fuck. It's fascinating to watch everything unfold and try to understand the mechanisms of how things are working, but you're going to have a very hard time fitting in if you don't choose your group based on what type of fan you are/class you play, and the rest of that is laid out before you. Wanted to play a mage but join the progressive Hlaalu and not the xenophobic as fuck Telvanni? Good fucking luck, you can do it, but you're going to have a much, much, *much* harder time. This is how I feel this community tends to work.
But depending on what type of fan you are, there's a fucking club for it on this site somewhere, with a fucking discord server, that runs its own events, so on and so forth, and they all have their own admittance practices and ways of communicating and shit. They will have their own communities. And if you're more interested in community and less interested in discourse, then finding the right niche for you and tracking down the right club on this site - the one where people actually gather at - is the way to go. And that might not be exactly what you want it to be like sometimes, so you can easily end up feeling isolated if the Telvanni/Hlaalu metaphor I desparately tried using ends up being true.
It's legitimately fascinating how eager we are to be away from other anime fans and closer to our own niche. We tribe up. We try carving out our own little subcultures instead of ascribing to a larger anime/manga subculture. We both like anime and manga, but chances are that you and I aren't like each other. And chances are that I don't want to be like you and at best can only tolerate your perspective. Most people don't even do that and simply devolve into backwards shittalking about other types of fans on a collective in a way that's shockingly reminiscent of some other real world behavior I can't quite put my finger on for some reason, but it's truly pathetic how far some people go all the same.
This fandom is tribal as hell. I'm not for a unitary fandom, either, mind you. We're too big, and people are too invested in this medium for different reasons to ever progress beyond tolerance of each other's existences. And I dig it when people are tolerant of other types of fans and advocate that, but overall I think that's still idealistic.
But yeah, people should get into the club scene on this site more if they want to see how irreversibly fractured this fandom is. @Pullman is spot on, as sad as it sounds. AD really is probably the best place for community for people who aren't going to group up with a specific niche.
Anime community doesn't exist, it's a bazillion tiny communities. And they all suck. Except mine, of course. But overall, this is a shitty fandom to join if you want to be a part of a community.
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As for why we hate each other so much?
Imagine, YOU LIKE ECCHI? VIRGIN NECKBEARD BASEMENT DWELLER INCEL NAZI. Imagine, CODE GEASS IS THE ONLY MECHA I LIKE LMAO EVEYRYTHING ELSE SUCKS, I'VE NEVER SEEN ANY OTHER MECHA BUT THIS IS HOW ALL MECHA SHOULD BE. Imagine, YOU ARE AN ELITIST BECAUSE OF HOW YOU WATCH ANIME AND BECAUSE YOU LIKE THIS THING, STOP LOOKING DOWN ON ME YOU PRETENTIOUS PIECE OF SHIT. Imagine, EW YOU LIKE SLICE OF LIFE WHAT ARE YOU A PEDOPHILE? YOU'RE DISGUSTING.
Mean scores, favorites, fucking everything. It's such a superficial community in this way, the stupid shit people care about.
You really like something annnnnnnnd you have to deal with a horde of non-fans acting this way. There's no way around it. But you can go to a place with people like you and not hear this from all sides~~~
It's amazing how we wonder why we hate each other so much whenever shit like this is so common. Why do people group up into niches in the first place, one might ask, but I think people who have basic observational skills could pick up as much within 5 minutes of using this very discussion board.
Snickers? Hug? What you need? Who hurt you? How can I help?
Mattinator95 said: I agree I dislike that about this community as well
Especially death threat's to voice actors
can we differentiate between otaku behavior from anime fan behavior? Also those two kind of people should stay away from each other because it's imposible to fine any "affinity"
Exactly, it's not even just about fandom and such but every single form of human gathering or organzation is going to have multiple and extreme variations of its core values. And trying to beat everyone with the same stick isn't just unfair but plane ignorant. It's like some people have never heard of fanaticism, cultism or radicalism. They're literally everywhere but don't make the groups they originally came from to be inherently bad or feel responsable for those actions
Not like that's exclusive to the anime fandom. As other's have already pointed out, the 'us vs them' mentality is quite prevalent in most communities, especially on the internet.
Because the ones in question are social rejects who don't think positively about others. Because their kids or both. Weeaboos live too deep under a rock to even know what objective and subjective is.
The only fans I take issue with are fans who think stuff like Neo Yokio is legit anime. Other than that, I don't really join in on the hate if I can help it.
Complaints about ecchi, fan service, and hentai get to me though...
As a general rule, I actually don't think they do. Any interest or hobby group, especially a relatively niche one, is bound to have more likeminded people on average than random samples from the general population. Anime fans come from all walks of life, age groups, and nationalities, but apart from that they all intrinsically share this special bond over love or massive appreciation for something that is in their country/culture a niche product and niche existence.
First of all, people have been flaming each other on the internet since at least the mid 90s. Over every conceivable topic known to man. People write low effort one line or even one word comments or write huge novellas, but either way, expressing disagreement and conflict over interests and values on every topic has been a constant on the internet in every forum and webpage comment section ever.
On anime, if it ever seems like that is more prevalent, here on the MAL forum or in any other venue, it's probably because some anime fans have strong personalities and strong wills, are tactless and real or borderline autistic or schizoid types and can be obsessive and controlling about their hobby, which is integral to their identity. And they care infinitely more about it than politeness or getting along with other people. This group will be knowledgeable and passionate, but can be vicious and vitriolic when pushed over what may appear from the outside petty minutiae and pedantic issues.
People similar to this exist in all hobby groups and all walks of life.
“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.”
-Friedrich Nietzsche
Aggregate scoring is bad for the anime fandom
I personally consider a nuisance to the hobby:
- anyone reluctant to think by themselves and regularly hyping stuff before they even air.
- anyone unable to form a coherent and intellectually honest opinion not based on fanboyism
- anyone always shilling the same tired crap based on "relatability" (god forbids more exotic setting, direction and characterization) or based on cuteness above else.
- anyone not willing to give a chance to retro animation (because it looks ugly lel) in order to understand animation history better and form a more educated critical sense.
- anyone who perceives it as a social club rather than an artistic medium
The 2000s were a blessed decade to me, as there were shows for all types of taste, not just about waifus, titillation or mindless empowerment fantasy.
it's Because people get defensive over things they like whether the argument against is well thought out or borderline jest
Also, the anonymity factor amplifies this~
LunaEstlinOct 1, 2019 9:43 PM
It’s okay to look back at the past, just don’t stare too long
Kurt_Irving said: Because the ones in question are social rejects who don't think positively about others. Because their kids or both. Weeaboos live too deep under a rock to even know what objective and subjective is.
You would think with them being on the computer all day it would be easy to get a clue.
Because they care too much and can't handle it when someone else voices criticism about their favorite show or character. They view criticism levied at their favorite show or character as an attack on themselves.
Like asking why music fans or movie fans don't share the same opinions. Because the anime "fandom" is fragmented and an amalgamation of different fandoms forcibly classified under one banner for the convenience of the West. This distinction doesn't exist in Japan. Thankfully, this has been changing in recent years as the medium became mainstream and is seen as just another form of entertainment.
But in game and anime communities, most people are real "nerds" and start throwing feces if someone doesn't give their favorite anime a 10/10.
Problem is that these elitists unfortunately have no grass to touch and are part of every possible community. And to balance their lives, they at least try to be at the top when it comes to the internet.
Because some anime fans are of the same mental age as a five-year-old =P
They cant handle anyone disagreeing with them, having a different opinion, and favorites cant be criticized. No one is allowed to have a ship they disagree with. And if you dare to have a gay ship, Oh my, you will see what hatred is all about LOL
I ignore those simple-minded people and their outbursts
Let them hate =) I will still ship lesbians together,,,YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES
I also think it's very silly to hate each other over Japanese fucking cartoons =P People should be free to enjoy what they want without being prosecuted, or taking it personally that someone has a different taste. Art should be free and the beauty is in the eyes of the beholder
Ranpyone said: Like they form groups and such ... shouldn't we stick together
You gave yourself the answer right there, or at least a major part of the answer. Why would you even suggest that watching anime could/would/should turn different people into a "we"? You unconsciously consider yourself part of a group (aka a subset of all people) defined by a super random and completely arbitrary denominator. If that comes naturally to you, where is the issue with people doing the very same thing over sub criteria within your arbitrary larger group?
Or is your actual question why people form groups at all? Or why they fight at all? Or why they like to combine those two things?