Anime and manga attracts an eclectic set of people from all demographics. With this, comes anime fans of all interests. What does it say about the person him or herself if they have a strong taste in a particular category of anime? In my experiences lurking communities like MAL, I've found 6 significant kinds of anime fans. In no particular order and of course, fans are not always contained to one category, but overlap. However, there is always that one genre or category they enjoy the most.
1. Shounen Action Fans - this entails fans whose favorite series are the popular gateway titles such as Naruto, One Piece, Soul Eater, Hajime no Ippo, SAO, etc. These are the probably the most "fresh" of the anime fans who have not delved too deeply into other less known titles. But they ARE the purest in terms of fandom. They aren't hounding for overly complex situations, too much drama, or themes that could be too much thinking for them to not really care about. Simple enjoyment, action, feel good hero moments, underdog situations, cool scenes, are what keeps these watchers glued to their seats and it's no doubt this is the most popular category of fans.
2. Shounen/Shoujo Romance Fans - this comprises fans who may enjoy shoujo romances/drama like Marmalade Boy, Kare Kano, Hana Kimi, Maid-sama, ORR shounen/harem series like Love Hina, Ichigo 100%, Shuffle, etc. They are glued to their seats to see what will unfold next in the drama, who will end up with who? Or just watching the next episode in rapid fire rooting for the hopeless protagonist to be finally get together with the girl or boy of their dreams. Relationships, school dramas, and simple cuteness and the comedies that come from friendships give off that feel good feeling to fans of this genre. This particular genre gives off enjoyment in a vicarious manner, often even trying to relate the character or setting to their own. They hold memories, relationships, and friends dear and these kinds of animes are a reflection of their personal lives or sentiments in many ways.
3. Seinen Thriller Fans - this draws a very thin line between shounen action and adult thrillers, but their favorite animes are the seinen rated psychological thrillers. This includes series such as Claymore, Psycho-pass, Cowboy Bebop, Gungrave, Gantz, Death Note and so forth. Entering constantly bleak worlds with rare happy endings, gore, death, and many motifs. This is not to say they would enjoy gore in their lives obviously, but their tastes have transcended constant feel-good shounens of underdog protagonists winning it all and nothing significantly bad happening to any of your favorite characters. In a way, it's a high of drama that the fan enjoys, that rush of adrenaline of feeling excitement of realism, the confusion that stems from the mysteries, the grief from watching a tragedy, and conflict of emotions from heavy hitting themes. These fans have higher standards for realism in their action and conflicts and find a love in expert fast-paced, episode by episode storytelling vs the shounen style of long stalled out fights. They have no patience for half assed themes or settings, and are the kinds of people that like to dive straight into the heart of an event or story without the blurred out cover of a lens.
4. Life Lesson Fans - this comprises fans whose favorite series are titles such as Mushishi, Kino Journey, Honey and Clover, Natsume Yujinchou, Ano Hi Mita, Usagi Drop, etc. This is somewhat of a parallel to the romance fans in those seeking a vicarious high or maybe wishing to learn or grow in their personalities. These are the kinds of fans that love to think, that love to learn, and that love to have an open-mind to explore the themes and relationships around them. They find a relaxing calm watching Ginko calmly solving a village's Mushishi problem that stems from a sociological issue, or watching Daikichi from Usagi Drop get advice from fellow parents on how to deal with giving up so much to gaining something else so much more valuable. These fans love the journey of character development and are more aware of their psychological/sociological surroundings. These people have the virtues of patience, self-awareness, and understanding. In terms of demographics, usually the older crowd 23+.
5. Comedy Fans - this can overlap a lot with romance and life lesson titles but overall, these fans are more invested in the comedic aspects. Such fans love titles such as Gintama, Beelzebub, Daily lives of highschool boys, School Rumble, Lucky Star, Haruhi Suzumiya, Fumoffu, etc. With heavy overlap between other genres, these fans distinguish themselves by being those that seek the funny moments in an anime, and love laughter more than any other kind of response to a situation on the tv screen. They say laughter is the best medicine, and in times of dull situations, sad moments, or terrified times, they will come to the comedic series to cheer themselves up. But in most situations, they are the most casual of us all and have a simple enjoyment of things that that make them chuckle.
6. The Well Rounded Fans - these are people who find their favorite titles aren't contained to simply one genre. They enjoy their tastes from the simple romance Love Hina to the adult themes of Grave of the Fireflies. They are not repulsed or put off by the mention of any particular genre, and their enjoyment of a particular series is set on a more complex set of criteria. Not only are these fans incredibly open-minded, they are also perhaps really fickle or erratic. In one instance, they are in the mood to watch a mindless comedy like Lucky Star, but in the next instance, they are in the mood to watch the drama tearjerker of 5 cm. They don't like settling in one genre and are the most outwarded (is that a word?) of people that want to explore things outside their comfort zone or bubble. They have a kind of curiosity to them and will save judgement until after first impressions. I don't know anyone who has started out being this kind of fan off the bat.
So what category do you fall under and do you agree or disagree with any of the points made? Please excuse the generalizations, it's all pure observation as well as how I've observed my own tastes grow. I don't think it's common for one person to settle in one category obviously. Especially for those that have their shounen actions being their gateway drugs into the world of other anime.
↧