Wooo, all these blog entries make it look like this site actually does something! Heh.

I think it's official. I'm an anime geek. Or rather, I'm a wannabe anime geek, as I haven't got enough/watched enough anime to know all the popular shows or at least some of the lesser known shows. That's not to say that it's what you've watched or how much of it, but the enjoyment you get out of doing it. You know what people are like though. It's sad, I know. I should go out and fulfil the stereotype and buy myself an anorak, grow a wispy beard, and put on weight.

I've recently started attending an anime club called Jafwa, which meets weekly to show all sorts of good (and bad) anime. Attendees are also avid anime fans, and they come in all shapes and sizes. It's truly scary to see what comes out of the woodwork. You just don't know that there are people that look that scary out there :) No. That's a lie. There just happens to be a fair percentage of people there who happen to fit the "stereotype".

Aside:

Ever wonder where stereotypes come from? Don't most stereotypes have some negative connotations? My quickly put together hypothesis goes something along the lines of this. A stereotype originates from those who do have some form of dislike against the subject group. Actually, no, it can even just be against that which the group is associated with. The person associates people who do like that subject group (or who are associated with it), and categorises them based on "negative" characteristics of those people. Those characteristics are at the some time exaggerated and distorted, and form the base of the stereotype.

Of course, whether this is true or not is something I can't answer. It's just "The World As Chris Sees It".

It's still inherent in today's society that people will try to not associate themselves with those that "fit" some stereotype. However much people intellectually acknowledge that they shouldn't, there's still the underlying social programming which causes them to do it.

Is this a stereotype?

Resume:

Luckily for me I go to Jafwa with a group of people I feel comfortable around (didn't help today though, they were LATE!). They're long time anime fans, and are all up with the scene. They're kind and generous enough to lend me their stuff, and I can watch and catch up at my leisure. Lucky me :)

My taste in anime is weird and has surprised me so far. Is it weird though? Are my tastes different from other anime fans? It's still a surprise to me though. Initially introduced to "Evangelion", "Akira", and "Ghost in the Shell", I thought that I would like that "serious", "meaningful", and "adult" (not hentai, baka!) style shows. I've watched all sorts of stuff from "Cowboy Bebop", "Lain", "Azumanga Daioh", "Kanon", "Kenshin", "Bubblegum Crisis", etc. These cover a wide range of different anime genres, some of which I'd never think that I'd ever remotely enjoy (like "Azumanga Daioh" or "Kanon"). I find it interesting that I'm able to enjoy some of those things, some of which are clearly aimed at kids, or are the romantic types, etc (btw: from what I've seen, I hate "Love Hina"). I begin to question what/why about them I like. I also think it also offers insights about the watcher too.

At the very least, it's another one of those interests that I was talking about before. I think that while there's the enjoyable aspect of the act of watching anime, it also opens a door to something else.

Oh, and my Megatokyo manga finally arrived yesterday. Hooray!

Woo, long post...