What should I do if I'm an anime fan? Five stages of evolution of an anime artist

There is even a joke that Russian anime makers are so tough that they can guess an anime from a screenshot of the sky or a hand. But, as they say, there is some truth in every joke. These are the real anime people, people you shouldn't mess with when it comes to animation. But how to become a real anime fan? Perhaps even the creators themselves cannot answer this question. But an article is not written to leave the reader without an answer.

Watching anime

So let's start simple. Since it is impossible to become an anime fan without knowing the basics of animation, you need to start watching it as soon as possible. Anime, just like films, is divided into different genres, such as detective, science fiction, comedy or romance. But there are genres that are unique to animated works. For example, shonen-ai, shoujo-ai, spokon or sentai. But how many anime do you need to watch to become an anime fan? There is a hypothesis that you should study 7 works, and then you can call yourself an anime fan.

It's a pity, but I'll have to refute it. Almost every week new goings are released in Japan. About a hundred new anime releases appear in the world every year. So, having watched seven series is a weak reason to call yourself an anime fan. If a person has not yet watched any anime, then he should start with the masterpieces of Hayao Miyazaki. Firstly, every self-respecting anime fan has watched at least one of his films. Secondly, Miyazaki's works are easy to understand and allow you to understand the peculiarities of Japanese animation.

The next step is to watch cult series such as Naruto, Bleach or One Piece, which are considered the great three. Further - easier. You just need to enjoy watching anime. You can choose suitable stories based on your favorite genre and advice from familiar anime fans. You can follow the release of new products or simply review the most popular works. The main thing is to enjoy watching. And it’s not scary that you didn’t like some anime. As they say, every product has its own buyer.

Manga

The anime fan not only watches anime, but also reads japanese comics- manga. The principle of division into genres is exactly the same. Most of the series are adaptations of the manga, and very often their broadcast may be interrupted for a while because they “caught up” with the plot of the manga. This is done in a similar way so that both manga and anime are equally popular, in demand and generate good income.

But now we’re not talking about that, but about how to become an anime fan. So, an anime fan should read at least a few chapters for general development to understand what it is. Reading all the manga in a row is already the prerogative of otaku, who know everything and about everything that is happening in the world of anime.

Cosplay and music

When talking about how to become an anime fan, it wouldn’t hurt to mention your musical preferences. These are mainly opening and ending themes from anime or modern Japanese music. Here everyone chooses Musical direction which he likes best. There is also a stereotype that every anime fan should cosplay. That is, dress like your favorite character, do the same hairstyle and behave the same way. But this is a purely personal matter: some do not have the opportunity, some have little time, and some simply honor their individuality.

Not cosplaying doesn't make someone who admires anime not an anime fan. Although, as practice shows, those who are “hooked” on Japanese animation, at least once, have done their hair like their favorite character and purchased similar accessories.

Fan art, groups, gatherings

After being initiated into the world of manga and Japanese animation and creating a new playlist on your phone, you can move on to the difficult stage. So, how to become an anime fan? Step four! If you want to draw your favorite character in a new role or write your own story about him, there is no need to restrain yourself. This is called fan art, and it is the pride of an anime fan, bringing him closer to the rank of otaku. Professionals are also members of relevant communities on social networks, attend anime conventions and buy anime paraphernalia. They do this solely at the behest of their heart, and not because it is necessary.

How to become an anime fan in 5 minutes?

But seriously, 5 minutes is enough to become an anime fan. You just need to turn on the first episode of the first series, and if suddenly the reckless “one more and go to bed” appears in your head, despite the fact that it’s already starting to get light outside, then you can congratulate the person - he’s “hooked” on anime.

An anime fan is someone who loves Japanese animation and everything connected with it. He can speak a few words of Japanese and has information about when he will be released. New episode and will there be a second season? He really likes it. It may seem that these are people with an innate anime gene, although in reality they are the most ordinary, they just found what they really like.

Stage 1 – “Blissful Ignorance”

Actually, it is not entirely correct to classify this stage among the stages of evolution of an anime artist, since objectively all people who have never seen Japanese animation art are at this stage. Even if one of them saw “Sailor Moon” or “Transformers” in childhood, it had no influence on them, and the word “anime” flies through their synapses without touching anything significant. But since all current anime makers were in this blissful ignorance, I think it’s worth including this First stage to their life path.

Stage 2 – “Enlightenment”

But one day the life of a person who existed serenely at stage 1 is radically changed by anima seen on TV, from friends, or obtained in some other way (as a rule, this happens one of recognized masterpieces genre - NGE, SE Lain, Akira, GitS, RahXephon - although there are exceptions depending on the specific preferences of the subject. For example, I watched “Naruto” online with voice acting for season 1 and so on...). The soul of this innocent person experiences a sensation similar to the one that, according to legends, people felt who spoke with Buddha: the subject falls into delight, euphoria, hysteria, depression, a week-long binge (underline as appropriate), begins to discuss with all his friends what shocked him inner world experiences, searches on the Internet for all possible information about the anime that enlightened him (of course, finding many other anime educational programs along the way), and, of course, begins to scour all his friends in search of a new anime, wanting to experience a similar feeling again. This is how stage 3 creeps up on a person unnoticed.

Stage 3 – “Animemania”

If you describe the symptoms of this stage to a psychiatrist, he will immediately diagnose “Obsession.” A person swallows anima by the handful, eats lunch and dinner for breakfast, and cannot talk about anything else ( classic way dating - “Hello! Do you like anime?”), spends megabytes of traffic downloading AMVs, GMVs, and similar anime stuff, starts learning Japanese, playing J-rock, drawing manga, eating with chopsticks, writing fanfiction (underline as appropriate), and... The most important thing is making dress up as your favorite anime character. “Cosplay! How much in this sound came together for the heart of an otaku,” Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin correctly noted, although he was not an anime fan. ^_^ Usually at this stage the subject meets a certain number of other subjects who share his paranoia... excuse me, passion and they begin to indulge in animemania collectively, bringing uninitiated people at stage 1 into a state of severe emotional shock (or, more simply, awesomeness) The motto of the anime fan at this stage is simple: “Anime forEVA!!!” ^_^

Stage 4 – “Otakuism”

“Who said anime is not a religion???” At this stage, information about the creation of RU.RELIGION.ANIME is taken quite seriously by the subject. ^_^ He can already easily watch a 50-episode anime in one sitting, even with English subtitles(and the coolest otaku have no subtitles at all), determine the name of the anime at first glance from one screenshot, guess the names of the voice actors from the voices of the characters, play any musical instrument opening of “Evangelion”, throw shurikens without a miss and cover up ill-wishers with the purest Japanese obscenities. ^_^ The size of his collection is measured in hundreds of gigabytes, he has read at least a hundred thousand pages of manga, listened to at least a thousand hours of anime OSTs and viewed an innumerable number of hentai pictures. ^_^ And after the hard working day, downloads and downloads of the latest anime, verbal battles on anime forums and intense viewing of a just downloaded episode of a multi-part shounen, he goes out into nature with a company of the same otaku, and, sitting in the shade of trees with a bottle of beer in his hand, discusses his life’s work : “Anime Conquers the World!”

Stage 5 – “Satiation”

And time goes on... Inexorably, grains of sand are dripping - seconds into hourglass Eternity... And one day our anime fan notices that his supply of anima is running out, and he is already tired of waiting for the release of two hundred episodes of Naruto. He goes online, downloads a brand new 26-episode anime from a friend and starts watching, but after the first episode he closes the media player in disgust, thinking something like “I’m so tired of these cliches! Unsure of himself again main character, a bunch of busty girls nearby and viciously stupid enemies... It’s already fucked up!!!” Many people experience anime withdrawal at this stage, the duration of which depends on the degree of addiction of the subject; however, if the subject continues (even to a much greater extent) to a lesser extent) to be interested in new anime releases, weaning off is quite painless. A seemingly long-forgotten interest in films is reappearing (of course, not in Hollywood rubbish, but in real Art: Buñuel, Bergman, Fellini, etc.); Many anime makers at this stage, using the enormous creative charge received from anima, begin to engage in creativity themselves, becoming artists, writers or performers. Many of them continue to watch anime, although in much smaller quantities, finding it a source of inspiration.

This post was written by Anarchist (raininG_MAN) - evangelical scholar and expert on Japanese culture

Anime is not just big-eyed kawaii girls, effeminate guys, ninjas, samurai and a large number of psychedelic. British scientists have proven that anime fans, no matter who they are, love life many times more than mere mortals. We are sure there are several reasons for this.

1. Bright colors everywhere

2. P - educational

3. The imagination almost never rests

Take the same " " - a story about a cute ninja who uses vital energy a huge fox demon living inside to become stronger. Or "", where a group of people are trying to defeat naked cannibal giants. Everything we love, in general.

4. Anime is a storehouse of life wisdom

5. Speaking of friendship

But in general, the number of anime fans in the world (more than you can imagine) seems to hint that finding a person with whom you have a lot in common is not particularly difficult.

6. Anime people always know how to make a bad day good

7. The impossible is possible

8. It's ok to be weird

9. Cosplay

In the society of young people, peculiar subcultures often spread. They are united by a commonality of interests, a number of values, manner of dress and even their own slang. Among these people there are adherents of Japanese cartoon heroes.

But with a more thorough study of the question of who anime people are, one should delve deeper into their ideas about the world, their way of life and the subject of study.

Historical moments of Japanese animation

A special subculture, obsessed with bright, recognizable cartoon characters, appeared at the beginning of the 20th century among Japanese youth. It was at that time that cartoons began to be produced based on popular comic books.

The heroes were so unusual that not only children, but also some adults considered them. In Tokyo, entire shopping centers, where not only anime-themed merchandise is sold, but all the design is done in the appropriate style.

Anime people from the word "anime"

To understand who anime people are, you need to understand the concept of “anime”. It is a Japanese animation, the difference of which is that it is aimed at teenage and even adult audiences.

Japanese cartoon characters are distinguished by their clear depiction of details and the surrounding background. The plot can be completely different. The characters not only differ in style, but can be depicted in different places and even eras.

Not only Japanese fans, but also anime fans in Russia know and try to imitate Miyazaki Hayao, famous director in world animation. His exciting stories with particularly touching music have captivated many connoisseurs of this genre.

Differences among Anime Fans

Unlike punks or hippies, anime fans cannot be said to have any external differences. They don’t do terrible things to their hair, don’t organize processions in cemeteries, and don’t hold rallies in squares. Sometimes they can only be distinguished by small details and peculiar pictures on clothes.

But still on themed parties, which anime fans especially love, they have a blast. Clothes that imitate your favorite characters and all the corresponding paraphernalia are used. The subculture also has a special style of communication. Adherents of the hobby even teach Japanese to use their words when speaking. But here the emphasis is on slang, so we are not talking about complete knowledge of the language.

Anime Dictionary

Especially favorite word animeshnikov is the almighty “NYA”, which, depending on emotions, can mean anything from joy to anger. In order to understand their speech, it is enough to learn the favorite words of anime fans.

1. “Kawaii” is something incomprehensible and “cute”. This is the unspoken pinnacle of knowledge that must be achieved.
2. Sayonara - bye, goodbye.
3. Kenji - Japanese character, which is simply impossible to comprehend. Writing for advanced students.
4. "Oyasume" - good night.
5. "Ohayo" - good morning.

True adherents of the subculture often seem a little crazy. But when the right approach a teenager can benefit from a hobby and learn many useful things.

Classification of participants

Depending on the degree of passion, basic knowledge and time of introduction to the culture, anime fans divide their followers into groups.

Newbie. A person who has just joined the ranks and practically does not know the peculiar slang. However, it may have several examples of anime drawn.

Interested. Has not yet joined any group, but is actively interested in the intricacies of culture, has large collection created by anime. Already knows several “professional” words. Actively attends various specialized events. He actively expands his knowledge about Japan and the history of animation.

Japaneseist. Special group people who view anime coupled with an interest in all things Japanese. They study it just like everything related to the country.

Otaku. A person who is completely absorbed in the subculture knows all the subtleties. He has an extensive collection of his own sketches. However, it is in Russia that otaku are associated only with anime fans. In Japan they are associated with the worship of anything at all.

Signs of a True Otaku

To clearly understand who anime people are, let’s look at the signs of a real Otaku. Not all of them are necessarily fully manifested, but most have a place to be.

1. Thus, Otaku spend a lot of money on everything related to their hobby. They have an extensive collection of anime, music and games based on them.
2. As soon as a new product comes out, they immediately purchase or download it. They visit specialized forums on the Internet, read a lot of specialized literature, or study virtual pages.
3. Be sure to take part in specialized parties, where they take on the images of their favorite characters and join anime clubs.
4. Figures made in the appropriate style are used as decoration and are ready to answer all the questions of the “newbie”.

Particularly noted hobby cultural values Japan and its traditions. But mostly, this applies to anime and slang used by the founders of the subculture.

Anime Lifestyle

To understand who anime fans are, you need to know their lifestyle and interests. Everything, as a rule, begins with a passion for Japanese cartoons and watching them from morning to evening.

Then there is a thirst for repeating images on paper and creating your own, inspired by anime samples and your own imagination. Often an anime guy comes up with a sequel to a particularly favorite cartoon and, trying to surprise a girl, presents his own creation.

People who have joined the anime subculture, in addition to watching and drawing characters, study Japanese mythology, traditions and mystical phenomena. To attract attention, the anime artist does not use techniques that would cause prohibition and condemnation in society, unlike punks or skinheads. They dress up in bright costumes, unique heroes Japanese animation and weird things. Even this action has its own name, which comes from Japanese slang - cosplay.

The eccentricities of the anime subculture

Cheerful, cheerful, looking at the world through children's eyes, fond of Japanese animation and drawing funny, bright characters- these are all anime people. A subculture that can sometimes cause confusion, hostility or denial, but their friendly, inventive actions carry absolutely no bad intentions.

Their cute nyak’kanye when they see something tender and sweet, or “xo’kanye” when mentioning failure, are considered funny, but especially conservative people cause hostility. However, the use of slang is often used by anime fans only within their own circle.

Anime in Russia

In our country, the craze for Japanese animation began with the legendary Pokemon and Sailor Moon. Teenagers began to appear on the streets in bright outfits, with toxic-colored hair and decorated with badges with their beloved heroes.

It is believed that subculture, any kind, is the prerogative of young people. But if a hippie at the age of 40 is perceived as a strange creature, then an anime fan can look ordinary, but embody ideas on paper and even earn money from it.

The basis of anime fans is not only wonderful images, but also special music, the so-called J-Rock - Japanese rock. There are so many styles mixed in, from jazz to metal, that it is difficult to describe the main theme. Bands playing this music, use various instruments, both classical and purely Japanese folk.

Japanese animation is always accompanied by J-Rock, but depending on the character of the hero and the plot, it can sound like a ballad or have all the signs of pop.

Anime people in everyday life

Parents who notice signs of their children's attraction to weird Japanese cartoons needn't worry. The subculture is quite peaceful, their oddities lie only in fantastic plots, naive heroes and a passion for Japanese mythology.

Participants can organize festivals, stage processions, and belong to clubs. But the worst thing that can happen is a teenager’s too frequent and inappropriate imitation of bright characters.

Young people can dye their hair green color, if the hero has the same one, and wear it in educational institution too much bright clothes. Although this occurs more among teenagers. Older young people prefer to highlight their passions with keychains, printed T-shirts and an interesting hairstyle.

When anime characters are depicted, photos of the characters help to understand their essence. They can often be seen with their favorite toys and unique bags.

However, there is also a negative point. Like any subculture, anime takes up a lot of time. Teenagers become addicted to watching new movies. Often fictional characters replace live communication for children. People with weak character They become too dependent and sometimes go too far in their hobby. But this applies more to teenagers who have no friends, and anime becomes their only outlet.

There is also a rather positive point. This is the desire to realize oneself in creativity, a kind and cheerful attitude towards life. Teenagers who take things seriously draw real masterpieces and learn a lot of useful things about the history of Japan.