Because knowing is half the battle – the other half we believe is filled with nougat
With no convention this weekend I wanted to talk about something kinda off topic but still quite fun. Anime is a great medium for many things. Some real positive things that you may or may not be aware of. I think that topics like this need to be shared whenever they can. It is very easy to focus on the bad news going on in the world right now so I’m going to take this time to take a more optimistic look at anime. I’m breaking this little piece of editorial into two parts – Five positive things I learned from anime fans and five positive things you can do with anime. Here is the first installment, I hope this at the very least puts a smile on your face.
5 positive things I learned from anime fans
1. Anime fans are the most social pop-culture fans out there
This isn’t a slam against comic, sci-fi, gaming, or any other fans out there. There are a lot of great people out there as well, but anime fans seem to be just more of a social on average than others. I worked in card games and comics before anime and even though I was fan myself it amazed me how many anime fans would walk up and talk to me about everything and anything with out any real hesitation. Anime fans were always open to bringing in new people into their group and treating them as if they have been friends for years.
I know some of you may be going, ‘well of course that’s how we act. Doesn’t everyone?’ Actually, not really. I once saw five fans at Otakon who didn’t know each other cosplaying from FMA who just happened to come by our booth at the same time. Over the weekend the five of them were inseparable. You would have thought they had all drove down to the show together and went to the same school for the past ten or so years. Anime fans will met new friends at conventions and go on to be each others bridesmaids and groomsmen even. Hell, some fans even find their future spouse.
The support for other fans is amazing as well. At Anime Expo a while back in one of the karaoke rooms there was a kid on stage who was very shy about being onstage but had enough guts to walk up there. He froze as soon as the song started playing. People by the numbers started cheering him on and shouting out words of encouragement. He ended up never singing a word but the whole room gave him a standing ovation for just getting up there.
2. Anime fans are scarily honest
At first you may not see why this is such a great thing since the truth doesn’t always mean good news. Honestly, hearing both the good and the bad help greatly with everything we have going on at FUNimation. If we know what you really like and what you really don’t like we can change things to stay on the right direction. A lot of companies out there spend a lot of money on focus groups and even then you don’t know how solid the information you get truly is. With anime fans you ALWAYS know where you stand if you ask for it or not.
Back in the ‘edited for tv DBZ’ days I can recall a few fans saying things like; ‘you suck’, the ever popular ‘your show made me cry’, or ‘I will be waiting for you in the parking lot after the hall closes’. All in all good fun you can imagine. What we did gain from this, other than fists full of cash that is, was that there was a market outside of the masses that wanted an uncut version of the series. Without this information who knows what DBZ version may have come out next.
exactly.
On the other side, the fans still come up and thank us for acquiring One Piece. Anime Central was the following weekend and the fans where practically lining up at our booth to tell us how happy they were with this. I shook so many hands you would have thought I was running for Mayor. This caused me to get the worst con funk ever and was sick for 3 days afterward. It was great to see the fans loving the acquisition, but I just hope next time it doesn’t come with 102 degree fever as well. This leads us to the next item on the list…
3. The passion of the anime fan is serious business
Have you ever heard someone call anime a ‘cartoon’ and launch into a 15 minute tirade on how its an art form and a genre that deserves respect? This is perfectly fine if you have, I know I have and still do at least once a year month. This is called passion, and anime fans have it in spades. What other hobby or interest has fans working for months on a highly detailed costume for a one time performance act with a group of friends who don’t all live with in driving distance at a convention two time zones away?
This passion keeps us on our toes for sure. We have had a lot of fans argue they know more about our shows than we do. I usually don’t fight them on this fact. I agree, I don’t know what the mistakes were with the Russian translation for Hellsing or what Akira Toriyama had for breakfast the day he thought up Trunks. I’m sure you can tell me though.
What got you to learn more of the Japanese language on your own than the Spanish language that was taught in school? Passion. What got that guy you know to get that Goku tattoo on that guys leg then decide that wasn’t extreme enough and had more DBZ added to his back? Passion. What got those anime fans who work in tech support to reprogram six DDR Arcade machines to play ALL the anime theme songs for the last 10 years for your local convention? Passion!
4. The commitment of an anime fan rivals that of an Alaskan mailman
The guy who camped out the night before for Linkin Park tickets looks down right impatient to the anime fan who waited almost ten years for Kodocha to come to the US. Anime fans will watch 50 episodes of a series they aren’t 100% sure they like yet to ‘give it a chance’ before deciding. That’s two full seasons in the US!
Anime fans are willing to purchase a 300-page book from Japan from their favorite series with not an English word to be found anywhere in it just so they can get the overall idea of what is happening, own the original source material, and maybe have some artwork only available over seas of a minor character from two story arcs ago. If this isn’t the definition of commitment, I don’t know what is.
5. Anime in America will NEVER go away as long as there are anime fans out there
From far and wide we have talked to a great many fans who have asked if the US anime industry is in trouble. So many that it shows, ironically, that the industry will be fine as long as we have fans as deeply involved in the care and future of it. Could the industry be doing better? Yes, of course. There are very few industries out there that are 100% happy with the overall state of the economy. This does not mean the end of the US anime industry. Not by a long shot.
Every time we go out to a convention, we meet a great variety of fans. First time con goer, fans who have just gotten back into anime, die hard otaku, people who are starting to learn about anime, and many others. No mater what reason each of them enjoys anime, they all want it to keep seeing it coming out in the US. We have seen greater numbers of fans coming out each and every year, with more and more of them asking what can they do to help. We are happy to say that it is easier than you may think. Just keep doing what great fans do – support the industry and the original creators behind it.
Buying DVDs from your local anime shop to ordering box sets online is a great example. Downloading and/or watching legal videos of new anime titles, sharing them with others, and commenting on what you thought about the show helps each and everyone of us in the US. Not to mention everyone who worked on the show in Japan. You would be surprised how supporting your industry locally can help Japan create new anime globally.
We talk to more and more fans who are doing the above items whenever they can (we understand you may have a few other items that you have to spend money on other than anime) and little by little it is starting to make a difference. Hell look at our stock jump over the last few months! US anime fans have a lot of power behind them and as long as they do not giving up on us, we will not give up on them.
Alright, that’s it for now. Look for next installment in the near future. For now feel free to comment on what you think about the above statements, post any and all positive stories you would like to share about being an anime fan, and/or just pass it a long to others you think may enjoy it. Talk to you soon!
48 Responses to “Because knowing is half the battle – the other half we believe is filled with nougat”
dragon0 on August 11th, 2009 at 11:15 pm says:
Was there any real doubt Adam. We LOVE you guys. There should be a holliday set aside for you guys that hallmark can’t get their hands on. Srtickly for us anime fans and thoes like FUNimation that brings the goods to us. Thank YOU Adam and the FUNimation crew. 
Tera on August 11th, 2009 at 11:24 pm says:
about number 1
I think the reason anime fans are so social is because…well, if you are comfortable enough with yourself to put on a costume most of the population would consider downright stupid, you are confident enough to get out there and make friends. 
Tyrenol on August 12th, 2009 at 1:01 am says:
@ AdamS:
Points 1~5 about anime being a positive thing is not the problem, The problem is “when the bottom drops out” both within the industry and the fanbase.
I’ll ask the question about the pillot cases and tissue boxes with the anime girls on them, the hazing and bullying, the screaming of certain titles until blue-in-the-face 
, the belief that anime girls are better than real women, and the desire for everyone to sexualize girls who are under the age of consent. I’m not saying that it’s you people who visit this blog; just that it’s not hard to find if you start looking.
Yet I remain positive for these reasons:
* For every group of badly-plotted guy-hating pro-moe pro-otaku animu, they’ll always be one good anime that isn’t on the bandwagon.
* The latest anime parody h-doujin, live action h-cosplay, or h-anime would always end up down the pipeline.
* Expert English dubbing from FUNi (thank you), Kitty Media Blasters, and Viz.
Richie on August 12th, 2009 at 1:32 am says:
I always assumed the other half was violence.
Guess I was horribly wrong.
http://www.snorgtees.com/knowingishalfthebattle-p-620.html?osCsid=ef1632ed2bd8fd6739412d2534628965
Very good points though. It makes me a little prouder to be an anime fan (And also gives me something to point to when my friends question me, especially when we get together at 4AM to get con tickets early because it was too late to get them online.)
Megan on August 12th, 2009 at 9:56 am says:
All of this is true! I’ve been to 10 cons and they’re always fun.
kit-kat on August 12th, 2009 at 10:33 am says:
@Richie
That t-shirt site is pretty cool 
Thanks for the link!
joelgundam01 on August 12th, 2009 at 11:44 am says:
Very nice artical! I kind of wish that number 2 was also done in the game industry. 
darkdeath174 on August 12th, 2009 at 12:29 pm says:
shouldnt number 5 be “Anime in North America will NEVER go away as long as there are anime fans out there” poor old canada left out yet again
Meh on August 12th, 2009 at 2:28 pm says:
I’ve showed my support by pre ordering every funimation blu ray release. Because I’m nice in all <3
Prede on August 12th, 2009 at 3:40 pm says:
Mario must you always bash ADV every chance you get 
? They don’t care about the fans? They cared enough to license a hell of a lot of anime a few years ago, that everyone “wanted” but apparently not enough to buy. They took a few losses to give some people what they wanted…so…I don’t see how you can say that. Plus they rescued some amazing series from CPM so they didn’t go away forever, for the fans… And Dragoon does not run their twitter /roll eyes
Anyway this was a very inspiring post. I sure hope number 5 is nothing but the truth! I liked every single point of this though, and look forward to the next list.
LordGeo on August 12th, 2009 at 3:56 pm says:
Mario just has problems… And really, I think even FUNimation would have to admit that the dub for Dragon Ball Z, though well-performed nonetheless, is far from the ideal version of DBZ. Mario also doesn’t realize that for companies that don’t have their own dubbing studios (which is pretty much everyone except FUNimation and ADV [though ADV's studio has been quiet for a while]), what the actual company does for both sub-only and dual-audio DVDs is the same exact thing! Companies like Viz, Bandai, and Media Blasters go to 3rd party studios like Ocean, Blue Water, BangZoom! and NYAV Post (all really great studios) for the dubbing of their licenses; the studios handle the dubbing while the licensing company does all the “lazy work” that is done for both sub-only and dual-audio DVDs. But let’s not digress…
Anyway, this was a nicely written piece, though I always felt that it wasn’t hard to find these 5 positive things about anime fans… But it’s always nice to read a reminder; here’s hoping for some of my oh-so-hoped for animes to get licensed one day (Ring ni Kakero 1 being on the top of that list… Come on, I had to sneak it in somewhere)
Tyrenol on August 12th, 2009 at 3:57 pm says:
@ darkdeath174:
I believe the proper way of saying this is: “Anime in the West will NEVER go away…” Or we can just say “Anime will NEVER go away…”
IMMHO, anime needs to stop hating on people who aren’t them and atleast try to earn some acceptance from the world. Hayao Miyazaki’s teamed up with Disney, Yoshiyuki Tomino’s winning awards outside of Asia, and FUNi’s more popular than Oprah. Hey.
@ Prede:
The problem with ADV (and Bandai/Sunrise) is that they cared for THEIR fans and not OTHER fans. See… It’s kinda hard to sell your product when the very product you’re trying to sell is secretly saying “Screw Any Culture That’s Not Ours!”
Nobody’s stupid. But apparently… ..there are some people within the anime industry… …somewhere… …who thinks we are.
Richard J. on August 12th, 2009 at 4:07 pm says:
@ Shiroi Hane and dragon0: I’m missing something and not getting your comments about the BFF thing. Could I get a liner note?
@ Adam S.: We’re mostly nice folks, so you shouldn’t be too surprised by positive comments. Though as you mentioned, we WILL tell you what we think of you. With the mostly positive comments, that means we must like you a lot!
Knowing is half the battle. The other half is strategic withdrawal. – Kenichi Shirahama of Kenichi: The Mightest Disciple.
dragon0 on August 12th, 2009 at 4:42 pm says:
@Richard J
Trust me its nothing big. Shiroi Hane was pointing to the BF(F’s). The (’s) normally used in combining (is) to the previous word. Like I said nothing major. But I’m not judging, I am not the best speller/typer, and I’ll be the first to admit to it. Besides this page is for us to reinforce the positives listed above.
KudosForce on August 13th, 2009 at 6:47 am says:
Well, you fellows certainly understand what kind of people we are.
As an anime fan, I have pure dedication and support for any series that is awesome.
Granted, I may not always be readily able to buy anime all the time, but I do it when I can. Over the years, I have learned to carefully handpick the best anime that could appeal to me in some way or another, whether it be by making me bust a gut, find out how terrifying/depressing it can be, see how good the story and characters are or even how awesome it can get.
One day, I plan to slowly initiate my parents to this unique form of entertainment, so that we can have some quality time and enjoy it. My sister does watch anime and own manga, though, so I am not alone in that department.
I have faith for the day that you, Funimation, will consider in licensing/rescuing anime that I hope to see being brought over in R1, so that I can happily buy them and watch them someday (Bobobo-Bo Bo-Bobo being at the very top of the list).
It is a pleasant experience to discuss anime with a community that shares the same passion that I have, even if I will never see the people in person. No hesitation, you know?
That said, it’s nice to see that you understand what makes us, as a community, tick. For that, that makes me relieved. 
dragon0 on August 13th, 2009 at 8:20 am says:
well put.
Adam S. on August 13th, 2009 at 9:12 am says:
@dragon0: Glad you noticed the redundancy on the ‘BFF’s for 4-eva!’ text I threw up on the FMA cosplay pic.
I posted that for fun since you see that on the internet from time to time. It’s like when someone says they are going to the ATM machine. You’re going to the Auto Teller Machine machine?
dragon0 on August 13th, 2009 at 9:43 am says:
Its just one of thoes things we have gotten used to without thinking about it. I see things like that alot were I live but I realy don’t pay all that much attention to them. Same with this. Had someone else not also had seen it, I probably would have just ignored it. Its funny regardless.
RobinRenee on August 13th, 2009 at 4:43 pm says:
Adam, about that picture… the cosplayers and Vic are from Fullmetal Alchemist, not EVA, right?
</dumb joke> 
Richard J. on August 13th, 2009 at 5:41 pm says:
@ dragon0: We must be used to that kind of redundancy, I never even noticed it and I re-read it several times. I was trying to hard and thought I was missing some kind of show reference or something. 
dragon0 on August 13th, 2009 at 10:37 pm says:
@ Richard J
We are. We see it, pretty often without thought. Kinda like a reflex, it just happen without thought. Don’t think about to hard, save that concentration for watching anime.
ElTrio1 on August 14th, 2009 at 3:54 pm says:
This article is sooo amazingly true! It puts a fire underneath me, I will always love anime and I don’t think that will ever change! 
Joellen Sudbrock on February 22nd, 2010 at 10:33 am says:
Hi, thanks for the information.
