For roughly my first three years of being an anime fan, I only had a couple of friends who shared my interest. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my interest in anime started with my Pokemon obsession in middle school, which unfortunately my peers did not share in the least. Thus, I thought myself odd for loving Pokemon/anime so much, and the idea of any large group of people gathering together to talk and share in their common anime interest, was something I never thought could exist…
My first encounter with any form of anime social gathering was the first time I went to my high school anime club, sometime in late 2001. It was the first time I had ever been surrounded by peers who were as passionate about the same thing as I was. It sounds silly now, but I’ll never forget how ecstatic I was when I went to that first meeting. Unfortunately, with the club lasting only a measly half hour during our lunch break, and me still being relatively shy, I wasn’t able to make any long-lasting friends from that club. But the feeling of comradeship, and enjoying anime with others, was enough for me at the time. My experience in middle school had hurt my self-esteem about liking anime, but my high school anime club definitely helped bring it back.
My second experience with an anime social gathering was also my first anime convention – Anime Expo 2005. I soon learned that the feeling of comradeship I experienced in my high school anime club would pale in comparison to being at an anime convention amongst not a few, but thousands of people from all over the country who shared the same interest as me. Not just the fans, but everything going on at the convention was centered around the hobby that I thought only a select few oddballs like me were into. It was this first experience at an anime convention that finally made me realize that being an anime fan wasn’t as unusual as I had thought, and that anime really was a medium growing in popularity outside Japan.
Unfortunately, my community college didn’t have an anime club, but I continued to go to all the smaller anime conventions I could, as well as Anime Expo 2007. I found myself becoming more social at these conventions that I ever had been before – all by coincidence, I ran into about ten people at AX ’07 that I knew from high school or my college Japanese classes. I even chatted with fellow fans I didn’t know while waiting in line and such. As I’ve mentioned before, even up until high school I was hopelessly shy, rarely opening my mouth to anyone I didn’t know. Looking back at how I was at these early conventions, I had certainly come a long way.
Finally, the opportunity to join another anime club came in late 2007 when I transferred to a university. The main part of that anime club consisted of three hours of watching anime on a big screen with fellow fans in an auditorium. Compared to my high school anime club, which had half the number of members and a disorganized viewing schedule, I met a lot of fun people at this club and watched a good variety of anime on a consistent basis. We also did many off campus activities such as eating out and going to karaoke together. However, during my second and final year at the university, I noticed a few of the members would hang out in the hallway or an adjacent room because they wanted to socialize with each other rather than watch anime for three hours. Slowly, I found myself gravitating towards that group – instead of watching all six anime episodes in the “viewing” room, I would watch just a couple and then spend the rest of my time in the “socializing” room. Eventually, I wanted to spend all three hours in the socializing room. I realized that I enjoyed it a lot more because I can watch anime at home but only have these few hours a week to interact with other fans. That soon became my main reason for going to club – not to watch anime, but to meet with my friends and fellow fans, have anime discussions with them, and share random things on my laptop like YouTube videos, Saimoe, and pixiv illustrations. Of course, I can do this all online now, but there’s still that special something that can only come from doing these things in person. Overall, it was a fantastic club (2DT, who was in the club with me, can vouch for it XD) and I regret that I didn’t spend more time in the socializing room during my first year there. I didn’t realize this highlight of my college years would be so sorely missed.
After my experience with my college anime club, being able to socialize with other fans is now what I’m mostly looking for in any anime club. I recently started going to an anime club at a local college, and although they mostly watch anime for hours straight, I’m slowly finding a few people who prefer to socialize rather than watch. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make the distinct division between the “viewing” room and the “socializing” room like my old club, but I’ll try. And even at my most recent Anime Expos (’08 and ’10), the social aspect of meeting friends and fellow fans there has been one of my main highlights.
I can’t speak for all fans, but I personally feel that most of us spend enough time doing anime-related things on the computer, so clubs and conventions provide great opportunities to see the real faces, tones, vibes, and personalities of the fans that typed text alone cannot tell us. They also allow a soft-spoken person like me to actually become a bit of a conversationalist. Not that anime is the only thing I can talk about, but I tend to be anti-social around people I feel awkward with, i.e., people who I think would think less of me if they knew of my anime obsession. Anime clubs and conventions have done wonders for my social skills and network of friends. The Internet-driven world of today is making human interaction between fans more difficult to come by, so I want to meet as many fellow fans in person as I can. I’ve made quite a few long-lasting friends this way and I never know what good memories lie ahead ^_^
Good story… I never got the chance to participate in one because the university I am currently attending (Rutgers-Newark) does not have one. However, my sister had participate in a anime club at her university and she would always tell me the bad experiences she had in it. Unlike me, she kind of lost interest in anime while mine is growing. She still reads manga though…
The bad experiences from my sister caused me to be reluctant to join one. I think it has more to do with the people in the club…
Yes, I’ve heard bad stories about the people in other anime clubs (creepy older men, stinky people, snobby people, etc.,), but not at the clubs I’ve been to, especially the one at my university. As far as anime clubs go with their range of activities and members, that one is a gem =)
Never really got into anime club at uni since… well, its atmosphere was never really my kind of thing. I do know a few friends who tried to get me to go, but I ended up passing on that. I was consuming more during my own personal time anyway and whatever socialization I needed, I got through participating in internet forums.
I don’t think my involvement in the community really hit its stride until about… 2 years ago? I really got into the medium more, started putting more coherent thoughts about and actually made friends with online personas, as lame as that might sound. But it worked! Fast forward to the last AX meetup and some of the more recent events and I’ll have to say it’s a blast! The barrier to entry is a bit lower since you actually have a better grasp for how other people approach things because of their blogs, and so, it’s actually a lot easier this way.
Going to clubs and conventions made me realize that getting to know someone online and meeting them in person can be very different experiences (not always in a bad way I mean). After meeting them in person, you can put a face, expression, mood, voice, etc., behind the writing, and that “completes” the blogger in my opinion. Not that online friendships can’t be complete of course, but I still think a little human contact is important, even in this day and age =)
I’m glad our AX meet-up and karaoke events have helped you reach out =D
As for anime cons, I’d say most of the fun is in hanging out with people you know, imo. That’s why Fanime will always be my favorite con – it’s the closest to where I live, it’s the con where I know the most people. Of course, that’s not to say that you can’t make new friends at anime cons too. But usually, I go to cons with friends from anime club.
Anime clubs are really inconsistent – it depends a lot on if there are people in the club like you or not. For example, I really enjoyed my high school’s anime club, but my uni club I’m finding bit harder to fit in.
Yes, meeting up with friends is one of my highlights of going to cons, Anime Expo especially since I’ve lived in CA all my life and have met many anime people since high school. Quite a few times I’ve met up with friends at AX that I hadn’t seen for years =O
I’ve been lucky with anime clubs, but I do know that they can be infamous =P
I have bittersweet memories of my previous anime club back on the east coast. It had a very firm clique made up of tech and engineering geeks who weren’t very welcoming to other people who didn’t match their own personalities. But I also dated someone I met through the club, which was good until things turned sour and we broke up. Every silver lining has a dark cloud.
I would enjoy anime clubs and conventions more if I had more people who shared my tastes in anime. Sadly, although I’m quite open to different kinds of anime, I find that not that many people reciprocate that kind of openness, and very often our conversations run dry because there isn’t enough of a common fandom between us. Usually it’s younger people who watch all the current series that I don’t keep up with, but I guess the generation gap can’t be helped. In fact, I’m beginning to reassess if I should even call myself an anime fan at all, given that I have trouble keeping up with what’s going on. Sorry this is turning out to be a rather dark and somber comment. I guess I’ve been rather disappointed by the social aspect of clubs and cons. But I’m glad you’re finding the local anime club enjoyable! =)
I can imagine an anime club like your old one. I’m sure the clubs I’ve been to have had those kinds of people, but I simply ignore them and make friends with the more welcoming members.
To me, a real fan is someone who truly loves the anime that they watch, not someone who can watch the most anime. The person who’s familiar with relatively fewer titles, but has unbridled fanboy/girl love for certain ones, as well as openness to share in the fanboy/girl feelings of others, is to me a bigger fan than someone who has seen hundreds more titles but spends more time criticizing and griping about them than just enjoying them. From what I’ve seen about your feelings for Aria, Ghost in the Shell, Macross, etc., and your willingness to share in my Haruhi fangirling even though you’re not as big a fan of the series as me, already proves to me that you are indeed a true fan =) True fans who are willing to share in the fandom of others are actually hard to come by, so don’t feel discouraged if you can’t find many, especially in person.
I think I need to commend you on your continuous vigor and positivity with regards to anime clubs and cons. Although it’s safe to say that there is always a lot of negativity within an anime club, and that social contact within cons are limited unless you already have otaku acquaintances, you thought it was still considerable to have or attend them.
Being discouraged unlike the rest of us, it’s quite amazing you’re still at it.
Thanks for commending ^^ There are very few people I feel truly comfortable being myself around – most of them are anime fans, hence one of the reasons I seek out clubs and cons is for the social comfort.
When I was in eighth grade, I went to my middle’s school anime club. It was kind of lame.
Two years ago, I went to my first cons, and was overwhelmed and excited and my mind died of the sheer awesomeness. It made me very happy, and I talked to a bunch of people (and had a little bit of an argument with a vendor dressed as Hisagi about the xxxHOLiC art haha).
My high school doesn’t have an anime club, but I see a bunch of people (some of whom I associate with) wearing anime shirts and such.
A library in a nearby town has an anime club, which I now attend one a month.
I don’t think my middle school had any clubs…and it was definitely too snobby to have anything like an anime club XP I’m not surprised yours was disorganized considering it was put on by middle schoolers XD
LOL, I remember seeing people walking around my high school with anime shirts (I was one of them ^^) It would always give me a little feeling of kinship whenever I saw them.
Once a month is a long time in between meetings (how long is each meeting?) but it’s certainly better than nothing =)
The meeting was about four hours actually, but that’s also because we watched Howl’s Moving Castle xD
Today at school, my friend’s boyfriend was Sasuke (I constantly hugged him like a nerd), there was an Akatsuki member, a Snorlax, and my one friend dressed up like a creepy neko man.
And a good majority of my close friends are also anime fans :)
I never got the chance to go to any anime conventions, and I didn’t really HAVE any friends who liked it (or that I knew about) until I was out of highschool (23 now). Never joined a club or anything, even in college after I started being more open about my love of it. :D
I wish I had the chance to do that kind of stuff back then. Luckily now I have quite a few friends who are into anime (some because of me), and I’m even getting my girlfriend into it! (I tried a variety, but we’ve stuck on Haruhi for her “intro to anime”. Go fig, right?) And as for what Shance said, I agree. I think it’s amazing you’ve stuck with it the way you have. I know precisely what it’s like to think/feel everyone is against your hobby lol.
Cool, glad you have some anime friends now ^_^ Better late than never.
And thanks, I actually never thought it was such a chore having faith in the social aspects of anime clubs and cons all these years. Of course, I didn’t like every person or thing about them, but like how I view anime, I try to focus on the things I do like about them rather than the bad, and that’s helped a lot =)
During my time at university I never had the time to get into the anime club, though one of my roomates was in it. It wouldn’t have served me well until my final semester to understand more of the cultural references in the shows though. I wonder sometimes if I missed out, but I don’t regret not joining.
The only experience I can relate with would be the North American premiere of the Haruhi movie that you and I went to back in May. It’s still one of the fondest memories I have. Being around a bunch of Haruhi fans and seeing the first showing of the movie with English subtitles (even with the mishap with the third/fourth reel) was an incredible experience. I’ll have to make it to a con one day (no Koizumi cosplay though).
I’d imagine you wouldn’t have enjoyed an anime club back then, since you’ve only really gotten into a lot of anime within the past year. But there’s still plenty of time to meet other fans even without clubs ^^
Yes, the U.S. premiere of the Haruhi movie was a fantastic experience. I hope you’re able to come to Anime Expo one year so we can not only meet up again in person, but also share in the excitement of your first anime con =D
There was no anime club in my middle school or high school (I think I’m probably 4-5 years older than you so that’s probably not surprising) and my college was a total joke with almost no clubs to speak of at all, so I haven’t had the chance to try an anime club. I think I’d have enjoyed it and that it would have been a good experience for me, if only to help get me used to actually talking about this stuff with real people face to face, which I hardly ever do in real life outside of my girlfriend.
I’ve been to a convention a few times, but haven’t really been able to “meet” other fans at them. I’m not really sure how this is done, outside of the much-discussed phenomenons of paddling and “glomping” (which I despise and am much too old for anyway). Maybe I just need to try talking to strangers more? I get the feeling that everyone who’s there is already there with a group of other fans, or is on their way to meet someone else they know. Even though there’s probably plenty of “ins” to start a conversation (the clothes/outfits that people are wearing, the panel that you’re about to enter, etc.), it’s still hard for me to break the ice sometimes.
“Not that anime is the only thing I can talk about, but I tend to be anti-social around people I feel awkward with, i.e., people who I think would think less of me if they knew of my anime obsession.”
I think this is one of my biggest problems in trying to meet new people and make new friends these days. Like you, anime isn’t the only thing I can talk about, nor is it my only passion or interest. But it’s something I enjoy very, very much, to the point where I feel that it’s become a big part of my identity. So I don’t think I could help but to take it personally if someone found out about my fondness for it and reacted in a confused or less-than-positive-way. So I sort of feel like it’s got to be a common ground that I need to share with others before moving onto anything else. This is probably a bad attitude to have but I can’t help it.
That wasn’t the point of your post at all but it’s something that I’ve wanted to get off my chest for a while and the way you worded it is pretty much exactly how I feel about it, too.
The two colleges I’ve attended are where I met the majority of my anime friends. Besides clubs, another great place to meet fellow fans is Japan-related classes. Even if you’re not a student anymore, you should see if you can join a local college anime club or take a Japan-related class just for fun. Wearing anime-related apparel when you go increases your chances as well XD
Yeah, conventions aren’t really the best place to meet brand new people as opposed to meeting up with friends/acquaintances you already have. The best way to make friends at an anime con is to find meet-ups specifically for that purpose (I went to two at this past AX). Or, just go to events for anime series/topics that particularly interest you and talk to people there =)
Glad you can sympathize with the same problem I have. For most people that I feel comfortable with, I’ll tell them that I like anime but won’t go into detail. If I feel really comfortable with them and feel that they’re open-minded, I might admit a little more than I would with an ignorant person (like loving Pokemon games and watching more anime than regular TV). If I don’t feel comfortable with them, I’ll try to avoid the topic, but I won’t lie if it comes up. Like you, I know I would feel hurt if the person I’m talking to has an ignorant view of anime (which most Americans do), so the only non-fans I’ll talk to about it are those I feel are open-minded enough to not have ignorant preconceptions about it.
Just stumbled onto this blog and found some nice, thought provoking posts. This post was probably one of the better ones I’ve read in awhile. Subscribed to feed now. ;D
Anyways, I’m in my last year of high school right now and there’s no anime club of any sort here. Even if there was one, I think I would be too concerned with how others would think to attend. Planning on leaving all this “identity and popularity/norm” bs behind after I graduate to uni, but until then I guess I’m stuck with being a closet anime fan.
I’ve recently met or found out about other people who watch anime, but I’m not really sure how to approach them, or if they’re just casual watchers who watch the mainstream stuff.