I didn’t realize this, but according to this article in the Toronto Star, anime and manga fans are at the bottom of the “nerd ladder,” as Dave Alexander of Rue Morgue magazine put it.
“Closed quarters do not make a good arena for giant props … when you’re walking around in a crowded convention centre and you see a guy with a sword made out of papier-mâché twice the size of his body, it can be pretty annoying.”
The anime fans, he says, also seem to be louder and more boisterous than the typically staid Trekkies and Star Wars fanatics (though he grants that sweaty Jedi mimicking lightsaber battles in the lobby can be equally obnoxious).
But the unkindest cut of all came from an anime fan:
“The general joke is that it’s for virgins.”
As opposed to the sci fi and fantasy genres, which attract only the studliest of the studly. Perhaps we need to send some of those manly Dark Horse fans to Toronto to sort these guys out.
Manganews has an interesting discussion thread on the appeal of Boys Love manga. The initial posting includes a series of questions and footnotes, which are worth checking out on their own. The discussion is thoughtful and draws together insights on society as a whole and the individuals’ private lives.
Tokyopop has an interview up with Koge-Donbo, whose most recent release over here is actually a Broccoli title, Yoki Koto Kiku. The “interview” is really notes from a press conference at Anime Expo, so there are no direct quotes, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Fun fact: She majored in zoology in college, a course of study that hasn’t come up much in her professional life. (Via ComiPress.)
Telophase likes Re:Play, a new global manga from Tokyopop about musicians. I’m not sure how my daughter heard about it, but she made me make a special trip to B&N to pick it up and she seemed to like it as well. As usual, everyone in the family has to read it before me, so I haven’t had a look at it yet.
Lifestyle advice from the Tokyopop columns:
A Hello Kitty thermos looks cooler when it’s next to a Hello Kitty alarm clock and Frisbee. Grouping like items makes them resemble an arty collection.
Coolness is often viewed as how social a person is. I think manga and anime is one of the most social hobbies out there. From my experience manga/anime fans get together to go to Miyazaki movies, sushi, ramen, japanese festivals, conventions and etc.
Anime maybe. Manga…. no way.
The more you are into manga the people you talk to. You might see more sun than an anime freak, simply because you have to go to the book store or comic convention (yes there are plenty other shows outside of ComiKet) to get the stuff. However, you could in theory loose yourself in a manga magazine for hours! Read 10 of them in a week (I went through so many last month I cannot remember plot lines anymore) and then live becomes less real. And dont forget the tankoubon and etc etc…
I might hang out in ramen or curry shops but not often with other manga fans. We are too busy reading to talk to each other. While anime fans can talk through the commercials or just go Mystery Science Theater 3000 and do their own commentary tracks.
Unless you are making manga or anime the team factor is not high. ComiKet was a great example of that. Sharpened elbows, tough boots, trained eyes and politeness out the window (mind you there is still order but people run into each other or toss their wheeled bags into your way all the time). The place is like Animal Kingdom
And have you ever gone to dinner with a manga rep…. Wow. I mean wow! (just kidding… kinda)
In my experience, I have never met a person who is exclusive to manga or anime. I would consider myself pretty much a manga fan but even I am exposed to anime through Miyazaki films and late night Cartoon Network.
So when I hang with my otaku peepz, the converstaion is more often like Genshiken — we catch up on latest Naruto chapters, upcoming Bleach anime on CN, Transformers movie casting and then conversation moves on to normal conversation.
I’m not going to throw any of my nerd homies under the bus. I dislike articles that make a story out of highlighting a micro-culture. The people reading it form a quick opinion without understanding what it’s al about.
Toronto Star? Boy they love to piss off their large Asian population by printing such garbage. Most Asians who read manga and watch anime are not nerds. Reading manga is part of everyone’s part of growing up. I can understand such myopic BS from a place without many Asians around, but Toronto? Sad.
Most Asians who read manga and watch anime are not nerds. Reading manga is part of everyone’s part of growing up.
True but there is a saying in Japan that is something like ~ most people read manga until they are 20 and then well…. ~
Maybe I am seeing the article from a different perspective. I think its not respecting fans much. But I also am not considering people who are in the process of “growing up” when I read this. Most trekkies aren’t growing up in that sense (though sometimes I wish they would).
Maybe they think anime/manga fans are younger, which would mean they could be virgin to fandom. I hate to generalize but the likelihood of being exposed to anime in particular and becoming an “otaku” (and I use that loosely because they tend to be specific and thus under Jack’s bus) could happen by watching afterschool and saturday morning TV. Star Trek… with those outfits might be scary for tweens. And figuring out the Star Wars chronology might require a degree to put together.