Oct
2
I have been really bad about updating this website. However, the activity of this site does not reflect the activity of the organization. Right now, there are several things going on for members to participate in and enjoy. We are working on a photo-style manga. It is still in development stages but once production starts we will release the publications on the website to add to the content of An-Ex.com. Althought, I am not here to talk about the happening of the organization. What I am here to talk about is something that was discussed at a panel at Anime Weekend Atlanta.
The World of Anime Culture. I’ve been immersed in this culture since the beginning of Animation Exclamation. I’ve had experience as a leader of an anime organization and as a general fan. I’ve attended several local anime conventions and with all this I have noticed that anime culture is really great. Anime culture is the only place where you find acceptance as the number one theme. Its very funny to find acceptance in a world whose fan-base is a group of people watching Japanese animation. I would dare to say that you find even more acceptance in the anime community than in the religious community. For example, homosexuality is not shunned in the anime culture it is actually promoted in some respects by the yaoi genre. In the anime community people do not have to hide their “love of cartoons” because in the anime community you can become who you idolize through cosplay. The characters that fans idolize are characters who exhibit qualities of nobility, self-sacrifice, friendship, family, love, honor, and more. You actually see more characters in anime that truly more heroic than in American media.
So, why is the anime community shunned? That is a simple questions but the answer is always “people do not understand others.” In the panel that I attended at Anime Weekend Altanta the presenter talked about the similarities between avid sports fans and anime fan. The similarity between the two groups of fans was amazingly the same in almost every way. The only difference is sports fans are people who celebrate the triumphs of athletes and anime fans celebrate the value of animation and their creators.
The world of acceptance is a world full of weird and crazy things but if you learn to understand something, even if you don’t like it, you will be in a world of peace. I do not have to love everything about the anime community but I understand that other like it and I respect those people. I respect their fandom as I would like my fandom to be respected.
What do you think? Please leave comments on this topic to give your opinion.
