This is something that I’ve always wondered but what exactly makes someone an anime fan? I mean is it how they look, how much anime merchandise they have, or could it be how much they know about anime?
The reason why I’m asking this question is because I’ve had people say to me when they find out I like anime that I don’t look like an anime fan. I don’t exactly understand what that means but I took it for that it means that I’m not someone they thought would like anime. Which is weird to me because I didn’t know that you needed to look a certain way for you to like or enjoy something.
Also it makes me wonder that would someone who doesn’t own a lot of anime merchandise be looked as less of fan than someone who has a lot of anime merchandise? The same goes for someone who has seen a lot of different kinds of anime and someone who has only really watched mainstream anime such as Bleach and Naruto?
I guess my definition of an anime fan is just someone that enjoys and respects the medium of what it is. To me you don’t have to look a certain way to enjoy anime. You don’t have to own a lot of merchandise to be a fan and you don’t have to have watched every anime out there to be a fan either.
But what are your thoughts about this topic? I would definitely love to know. Comment down below about what you think and like always I will answer back.
~Anime Reviewer Girl!
Shay Taree 
My definition of a fan is pretty much the same as yours 🙂
Yay! That’s good to hear!
I’ve never understood the thought that an anime fan is supposed to look a certain way or buy certain merchandise or watch every series out there. To me, if you enjoy even an occasional series, you’re a fan. Period.
Yup I definitely agree with you! It shouldn’t matter just as long as you like and respect it.
I do not really look for what they look like or what they own. It feels like it relies on how much they watch. I view someone who is a casual fan of anime is someone that has only seen about 25 series, then again I have seen over 200, so that is I look in it in a sense, but other then that I really do not know, since how I look at it mostly refers to what kind of fan you are.
That definitely makes sense. Since as a fan you may have more in common with someone that’s seen more series compared to those that have seen very little series.
At the same time, in real life you probably would not know I was an anime fan if unless I told you. Most of my cloths tend to be rock shirts or a superhero shirt. So, I agree, with looking the part that you mentioned. I think this is a question that is a little hard to ask in a way.
Yeah it is a hard question to ask. Many people don’t think I’m and anime fan since I can be really girly and I love makeup but I’m also really nerdy. But it’s a question that I had been wondering about.
Same here. I think the people who told you that you don’t look like an anime fan have preconceived notions of how an anime fan is supposed to look like some extreme otaku. I describe myself as an anime fan, but like you people don’t associate it with me when they first see me. I have an uncle who’s an accountant and he’s also an anime fan.
Wow that’s really neat! Also that just goes to show that anyone that can an anime fan.
Indeed. Oh well. The important thing is that we’re happy in the things that we like, regardless of the impressions others have.
Exactly!
Dat meme is seem legit
I chose it since it seemed to fit the topic of my post.
Damn, gotta love Kirino
how to be an anime fan 101: watch Naruto
Lol love this!
that’s a sarcasm but I love Naruto xD
Lol love the sarcasm and I love Naruto too. I think it’s really cool though how many anime lovers started by watching mainstream shows such as Naruto.
my first anime wasnt Naruto. I forgot what it was. I think its either doraemon or shin chan
I love Shin Chan! That show is just so funny! I even got my dad to watch it.
my mom doesnt like shin chan because he’s naughty. I think old anime are awesome compared to some anime these days
Yeah my mom doesn’t like Shin Chan very much either. But I also have to agree with you. I definitely like the plot lines more for the older anime’s sometimes but I can’t lie I do like the animation style more for the newer anime’s. But the older anime’s are why I like anime’s in the first place.
nowadays, they like to create anime with crappy stories and add a lot of fanservices. old anime like GTO has a great story and really entertaining. people in the anime industry should leave the fanservice to hentai creator
and having a great animation but shitty story is useless. I’d rather watch some 80s animation but with great story
Yeah that is true. But I’ve seen a few newer anime’s that are really good.
such as?
Well I really liked Kuroko’s Basketball, Attack On Titan, Sword Art Online, and Wolf Girl And Black Prince.
kuroko no basket is nice but sword art online season 2 is crap. nanatsu no taizai is the best I think
I haven’t seen nanatsu no taizai. But I’m currently watching Sword Art Online season 2 now and I liked the first half of the new season but so far the 2nd half is kind of slow.
mother’s rosario arc is crap like seriously. try watching nanatsu no taizai. you wont be disappointed
It is definitely really slow but I do want to finish it and I’m going to post a review once I do. But I will definitely put nanatsu no taizai on my to watch list. Especially since I’m always looking for new anime to watch.
you are lucky that nanatsu no taizai already reached episode 20. you can later sweep it in one go xD
Yay!!! I love to marathon my anime so that is just perfect! Waiting every week for an anime episode to air sucks sometimes!
pftt…I once finished prince of tennis which had 172 episodes in one week. that was exhausting
Yeah that is exhausting! I have no idea how you did that.
i watched it non-stop. I can do it everyday even when I have classes xD. without compromising my assignments of course. in fact, this blog is my assignment
What that’s so cool! I’m trying to put more anime watching into my schedule but it can be difficult with work. But I’m always doing something anime related everyday. Such as coming up with posts like this haha.
then you should create an anime blog and make money from it xD
Lol I’ve actually been thinking about doing that but we will see.
I’m going to create a blog in 3 years. after I get my degree in journalism
Definitely do it!!! I might do a YouTube channel as well. But I want to wait a little bit too.
nice! I dont think youtube is for me though xD
I’m still thinking about since I want to just focus on this blog for now. But I think I’m going to start posting more topics like this and well of course also reviews. It seems that people really enjoy it.
nobody looks at my blog though…haha. it will take a lot of time
Trust me people definitely will. At first my blog didn’t get a lot of views either.
maybe another few months xD
Yup! Especially if your content is good and you interact with other bloggers you will get a lot of readers and hits on your blog.
btw…you not using free wordpress?
Not anymore. Today I actually decided to pay for a domain name.
how much?
It’s 18 a year unless you choose privacy for your personal information then it’s 26 a year.
can you edit the css code?
Ummm I’m not for sure actually. All I know is that you get a domain name.
besides the domain name, does it features differ from free version? sorry I asked many questions. I’m curious
No exactly the 99 dollars seems to be the one that has more feature. Also it’s okay it’s no problem about the questions.
damn, 99 dollars is way out of my budget xD
Yeah that is a lot of money. But having a domain name just means that you will be easier to search for and more people will find your blog. Well that’s how it’s supposed to work.
hmm…I’ll try that. btw, yoroshiku onegaishimasu. I hope we can share anime news
Of course definitely! Also I’m sure that we will! I’ll definitely check out your blogs when you post.
thanks ∠(・`_´・ ). same here
I think that people without knowing me would not know that I enjoy anime. Voice actor, Greg Ayers, did a good panel at Anime Midwest last year called: “Why your fandom sucks”. He did this not to attack what people liked, but how they acted as fans (exclusivity, condescension) at conventions. His main point being: you like a thing and consider yourself a fan: Great! Just don’t be a jerk and let others enjoy themselves as well. It was a good panel.
That does sound like a good panel I will definitely look it up. I love Greg Ayers panels! But from what I’m noticing about the topic and the comments I’m getting is that there definitely isn’t a specific look when it come to liking anime and being a fan of something and I think that’s awesome!
We are hopefully going to see him again at Anime Midwest this year as well!
That’s really cool! I definitely want to go to more conventions so I can meet some of my favorite voice actors.
My younger son cosplayed as Kululu and is going to see how many voice actors from Sgt Frog he can get to sign his head piece.
I’m sure that he will get a lot! I loved Sgt Frog! It’s such a good show. Definitely one of my favorite comedies!
I really do not like labels and labelling, that being said, I do not think there exists a concrete definition of an anime fan. I guess if you consider yourself as such, then you are 🙂
I really like that and I don’t think there is either since so far everyone that I met that like anime is so different from me and everyone else.
I think a lot of people’s interpretation/image of an “anime fan” is someone that obviously is nerdy and sports on anime merchandise. It’s like the physical aspect of it, because I can tell you that a lot of people I know never thought I was an anime fan. I don’t advertise I’m an anime fan, but rather I talk about anime.
Also the idea of what makes you an anime fan is very subjective. There are people who believe if you can financially support an anime, you are a true anime fan. It’s cause fans are “money base” for animes, and if you can’t contribute you are not an anime fan.
However I disagree with this idea and believe anybody can be an anime fan if they themselves identify as an anime fan. For instance, I consider myself an anime fan cause I watch over 100 series and read over 300 mangas. Even though I can’t financially support my favorite anime/ manga series currently/on the daily basis, it doesn’t mean I’m less as a fan.
I love what you said because it definitely makes a lot of sense.
I always thought that to be an anime fan, you just gotta enjoy anime. Kinda like how people enjoy the Walking Dead or Gotham, you just enjoy what you watch.
I agree with you. As long as you like anime nothing else should matter.
Me personally, I believe as long as you like and respect whatever it is you are watching then its up to you wether you consider yourself a fan or not and that others should just accept your decision.
Yeah I consider that makes someone a fan as well.