Anime Have fans ever turned you away from a series?

[Magus]

Ought to be an interesting conversation. Got the idea from this article.

http://www.toonzone.net/blog/blogs/228/why-youre-killing-anime/ (I'm still trying to figure out the whole "url" thing)

I thought the article was an interesting read. It basically talks about how the hardcore/elitist fans could be driving away the casual fans with there attitudes towards dubs/subs (and other things) and whatnot. It goes into DVD purchases which I really can't speak on since I don't really buy anime or manga. (Gotta put my money elsewhere at the moment)

I really found this one snippet intriguing:

[quote name='Zach Logan @ Toonzone']What I am deriding here is the general attitude of the anime fan. This is what is destroying the anime you love, both here and in Japan. Fandom too often gets embroiled in its own inflexible and unnecessary arguments. People often get wrapped up in their own communityâ??s culture for a given series that they forget people on the outside may be incredibly turned off by this kind of behavior. Because the Internet is cut off from actual reality, those fanatics forget the impression they may be making on those who come upon their posts or rants. Fiercely dedicated fandom has simultaneously kept anime alive while being an accomplice to its downfall.[/quote]

I find this intriguing because I just recently dropped Naruto (One Piece is teetering on this point as well) for this exact reason. I know I shouldn't let the fandom dictate what I watch/read, but sometimes when you try to hold a casual conversation and people wanna act like a series is soooo perfect, has no flaws and bite your head off/get all uptight for not liking certain aspects of it, it ultimately caused me to lose interest and quit the series. The same thing can be said about the DB franchise for me. Every once in a while I would have a tendency just to go back and watch it just because, but ever since I started going to this other forum and ran into this DBZ elitist, saying "it should be watched this way", always whining about how Funi butchered it, I've lost any and all interest I once had for the series. (Trying to get into DBZ: Kai has been brutal since all I can imagine is how this elitist rambles about what's been edited and how much of a "new" experience it is)

So what about you? (I'm probably alone here though) Have fans ever gotten so far under your skin till they turned you away from a series? Edited June 3, 2010 by Rebellion

[Katana]

[size="1"][color=royalblue]I wouldn't say fans have turned me off from a series, because, well, I can't think of a series I stopped liking because of the fanbase. I was into Naruto early on in the days of its manga release and then again when the show aired on Toonami, but stopped watching when it hit fillers and never picked it up since. I lost interest and didn't feel it was worth putting the effort into to watch again. Same goes for any series I discontinued (Bleach, Lucky Star, others I cannot recall at the moment). If I like something, I will continue liking it because I get enjoyment from it.

If I [i]do[/i] despair with the fanbase, I do something really simple - I don't associate with them. I will not go in active searches for LiveJournal communities or deviantArt pieces (maybe a couple I'll fave and comment), I won't really talk about them if somebody brings them up in Chat, etc. I primarily do this with Kingdom Hearts - a video game franchise I did enjoy and got entertainment from, but absolutely cringe at the fanbase for.

More than anything, if I'm willing to talk about the show and advocate for it, then that means I like the fanbase. If I don't, that's the "I like to pretend I don't know you" part of me coming out.

The fandom I'm most at-odds with is Doctor Who. I love the show, and I do love a lot of the things people make from it, so it's not like I don't seek out fanart/fiction. [Whovian rant] It's mostly how people whine and complain over the new season and things that have changed because, well, they HAVE TO. But these members of the fanbase can't move on, and it seems like I'm the only one who LIKES the changes. [/Whovian rant] Contrast that with my friends who actually like the show and we're all fanspazzy over it. I had this conversation with Sangome, which led to her saying something along the lines of "this is why I consider 'fanbase' 'me and my friends'".

This also leads into "everyone sucks but me" territory. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather have a fanbase to fall back on then nobody at all, but man if it isn't annoying at times.[/color][/size]

[Nony]

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: There have been several times where the fandom/fanbase has turned me away (mostly just temporarily) from a series. Naruto was one of them back in the day, and then I just decided I didn't like the series period, fanbase or no. However, along the same shounen vein, I dropped out of Bleach, yet it's not like I hated the fanbase there. So yeah.
A more interesting example is the fact that the .hack fanbase has kind of been pissing me off lately, or at least a particular sect of it. It's kind of like what Kat mentioned; they're just so whiny sometimes. It turned me off from .hack for a little bit, even though I'm such a self-professed .hack'tard. Oh well, I'm back into it again, so all is well. I'm still distancing myself from the fanbase for now though, for previously mentioned reasons as well as the fact that I don't want to see any spoilers for .hack//Link. 8D

[CaNz]

not really.... but they piss me off so much that i dont talk about anime with anyone i am not friends with (only applies if i am not online... here anything goes, though you wont see to many of my posts in manga alley) I dont ever want to talk about how awesome L was and how you totally hated Lite for killing him and how L totally shoulda won, or how sasuke is almost as cute as his big brother(bit of an exaggeration... but just a bit)
liking something is fine, but getting emotional over a story to the point of social outbursts to strangers... too much.

[Boo]

Otakus scare me away from Anime as a whole.

But this happens with a lot of stuff. Especially indie music and the likes where people will go all "OMG I AM SO INDIE, I BUY VINYLS OF BANDS THAT DON'T EVEN EXIST YET!" Edited June 3, 2010 by Lady Shy

[Gavin]

[font="Tahoma"][size="2"]Not really. Every fandom has some vocal extremist fans which you're going to have to just take as par for the course. Of all the anime fandoms I've lurked/been part of none of them come anywhere close to the vitriol of Star Wars fans with a bone to pick, Lord knows the migration from Bantam to Del-Ray probably desensitised me to anything less than all out war.[/size][/font]

[Shinmaru]

Never, mostly because I can't stand the idea of someone else dictating how much I should enjoy a piece of entertainment. I might be less willing to speak up about it, just because I don't like getting into dumb arguments, but I'm not going to stop enjoying [b]DBZ[/b] (dumb as it is) just because a lot of fans grow out of the series and then immediately hate it.

[The Spectacular Professor]

[font="Comic Sans MS"]Usually my only problem with fanbases is when I'm part of one that has a particularly vocal minority of imbeciles. I've butted heads with them, to be sure, but the thing I dislike most is getting lumped with the loudmouthed morons who just have to make a spectacle of themselves just because they're the only part of the fanbase anyone ever remembers. It doesn't happen that often anymore, but it's a bit discouraging when it does. Case in point, being a fan of any of the current Shonen Holy Trinity (One Piece, Naruto, Bleach) means you're a militant basher of the two that aren't your favorite and there's no actual reasoning behind your arguments. Furthermore, your chosen series can do no wrong.

This is absurd because Eiichiro Oda has messed up before and I only riff on Naruto because it's legitimately bad by its own merits.[/font]

[Pleiades Rising]

Nah, I never really payed much attention to those rabid fanbases. Actually, when I'm interested in watching an anime, I just ask some trusted friends if they've seen it, and if they have, then I know they'll give me balanced opinions on a given anime. They'll give me the good and the bad, then allow me to make up my mind. So, those hardcore fanbases don't really have any effects on how I choose my anime. Sometimes I don't even seek out an opinion on something I want to watch, but instead I'll do a little search on it's basic storyline and plot. From there, if it seems like it'll interest me, I'll have a go.

Like Shin', I enjoy a good night of watching DBZ and its 12 episode long screamfests, regardless of what fandom says or thinks.

[rotlung]

I actually have to admitt to being on of the extreme fans from time to time. Usually if I get to talking about anime IRL I keep it casual and try not to look like a dork. However if I'm in a comic shop or someplace similar I tend to express my likes and dislikes of a given series.

One Piece is my best example because I like and have enjoyed almost every adventure in the series (mainly didn't like a couple flashbacks and some of the filler episodes). I admit that I will talk very highly of the show but that doesn't mean I tell people u have to watch this......No show is perfect.


Also @ Shinmaru... I was definatly one of those DBZ fans that grew out of it. I still won't bash it that much. The other day I did catch a episode of DBZ kai and "HIS POWER LVL IS OVER 9000!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[Shinmaru]

Haha, I don't really have a problem with fans growing out of a series. It happens. Just because you liked something once doesn't mean you have to like it forever. But I don't get people who spend all their time bashing a show to hell and back. That's a waste of time, I think lol.

[Horendithas]

[color="#4B0082"][font="Arial"]The only thing absurd or rabid fans do is turn me away from wanting to associate with [i]them[/i]. Makes no difference on the actual series or show. I either like it or I don't and whether or not someone else does or not, I don't really care. It is nice to watch it with someone who can enjoy it too, but I'd rather watch it alone if they're gonna be an idiot over it in [i]either[/i] direction. lol[/font][/color]

[Allamorph]

[FONT=Calibri]People so far seem to be focusing on the rabid-fan side of things, but what about even just one person ruining something for you by just using their own personality?

For instanceâ??and I know this isn't anime-related, but it's the best example I can think ofâ??an acquaintance of mine is a pretty solid Gorillaz fan, but this person likes to flaunt their self-perceived mental depth and superiority over anyone, often without consciously realising they were doing so, and so I hated the band for a long time just because of this person. Got a chance to listen to a new album by them recently and I'm hooked, but this person kept me from being able to like them for years.

So in that light, has something like that ever happened to you with an anime series, to the point where you didn't even feel like giving the series the first chance at all?[/FONT]

[Magus]

[quote name='Allamorph' date='26 June 2010 - 02:13 AM' timestamp='1277532838' post='696000']
[FONT=Calibri]For instanceâ??and I know this isn't anime-related, but it's the best example I can think ofâ??an acquaintance of mine is a pretty solid Gorillaz fan, [b]but this person likes to flaunt their self-perceived mental depth and superiority over anyone[/b], often without consciously realising they were doing so, and so I hated the band for a long time just because of this person. Got a chance to listen to a new album by them recently and I'm hooked, but this person kept me from being able to like them for years.

So in that light, has something like that ever happened to you with an anime series, to the point where you didn't even feel like giving the series the first chance at all?[/FONT]
[/quote]

This is exactly what I was getting at when I originally made this topic. (It didn't come out this way at all, lol, my fault) Like I said in the opening post, I used to be a big fan of DBZ, and I eventually grew out of it. Tried getting back into it a couple of times, but getting used to other series afterwards caused me to not really care for much of anything the series once had. Anyway, that elitist I was aluding to is very similar to your acquaintance. Nothing against the guy and all, but he acts as if he's just that deal when it comes to DBZ. Thinking he needs to explain any and everything there is when people have something to say about DB if it sounds negative. But yeah, the point being is that I was turned away from the series because of stuff like that. (Meh, the guy acts the same way when it comes to Naruto and One Piece >_>)

[CaNz]

in that case... yes. I am a Pokefan like so many others here... so when the Digimon craze took over wiith all the guys turning on the lovable pokemon i was mad. I didnt care that everyone said the monsters were cooler and the action was intense (compared to pokemon mind you) I wasnt having it. I liked Pokemon and i dont listen to people when they say watch this because you show sucks. I finally caught on at halfway through season two and saw how cool it was and got into it.

thats the only time i can remember avoiding an anime though...

[Horendithas]

[color="#4B0082"][font="Arial"]I understand what you're trying to get at Allamorph. However if something looks like it might be interesting I tend to check it out anyway since I'm curious. Though I can say that people going overboard on stuff like Harry Potter and Twilight did have me rolling my eyes before I checked either one out. And I [i]did[/i] put it off for a while since the idea of potentially liking something the idiots did was less than appealing. Though when I finally got around to it I wasn't all that impressed. I was less put off by Harry Potter though. Unlike Twilight it was at least better written.

I also had a run in with some English majors who were fanatics over Tolkien. I had already read it and disliked it though so their opinion had no influence on that. It certainly didn't help though. Most stuck bunch of twits I'd ever had the misfortune to meet.[/font][/color]

[Allamorph]

[quote name='Indi-Cat'][color="#4b0082"][font="Arial"]I understand what you're trying to get at Allamorph. However if something looks like it might be interesting I tend to check it out anyway since I'm curious.[/font][/color][/quote]
[FONT=Calibri]That's actually not what I'm getting at. I'm referring to a situation where your only exposure to the medium is through someone in such a way that it is strongly insinuated that unless you like it then you are not legitimately a person.

I.e., why Tom hates talking about jazz.[/FONT]

[Otakuness:)]

No.
A lot of people were trying to convince me not to watch Death Note, (because they were Code Geass fans) but I ended up watching it. Then after that I watched some of it, but yes, they do have similar topics.
I'm tired of the whole "Code Geass vs Death Note" thing...I like both animes, and that's the way it'll stay.

[CaNz]

[quote name='Otakuness:)' date='05 July 2010 - 07:19 PM' timestamp='1278382774' post='696623']
I'm tired of the whole "Code Geass vs Death Note" thing...I like both animes, and that's the way it'll stay.
[/quote]

staying above the influence is always a good thing... i tend to regret doing anything because of outside influences alone. anime fans can just be so daunting at times.
a family members boyfriend is a bass player of a band, and has specific musical tastes. i dont know why he feels that he can judge in the first place but every time i play a song he doesn't like he tells me all the bands that are "better." all of the time with flawed logic like 'more creative' or 'better musicians'
i dont see how one genre can even relate to another in terms of creativity.. and playing faster or more difficult notes does not mean better musician since better music writing and use of rhythm and tempo are equally important. bottom line is snobs will always say something, making sense has little to do with it. comparing anime just varies from person to person too much. I loved hamtaro i can safely assume 90% of males age 21 would dislike hamtaro, maybe more. i disliked dragon-ball z yet most guys my age would say the opposite. so in my opinion hamtaro was better than dbz... i go into an anme convention and say that id be laughed at(and maybe get a hamtaro fans number) by the majority of people there.

this only makes me mad because all the big name animes completely overshadow smaller ones. no one watches dead leaves over FLCL or Gungrave over trigun... i wish more people would try both.

[Botar]

[quote name='Magus' date='02 June 2010 - 10:05 PM' timestamp='1275530700' post='694345']
(Trying to get into DBZ: Kai has been brutal since all I can imagine is how this elitist rambles about what's been edited and how much of a "new" experience it is)
[/quote]

They did a number on it, but i don't think fans killed it for me.

I can't really imagine that fans could kill an anime for me, for the soul reason that I rarely read what other say about said anime

[Horendithas]

[quote name='Allamorph' date='27 June 2010 - 05:06 PM' timestamp='1277679969' post='696058']
[FONT=Calibri]That's actually not what I'm getting at. I'm referring to a situation where your only exposure to the medium is through someone in such a way that it is strongly insinuated that unless you like it then you are not legitimately a person..[/FONT][/quote]
[color="#4B0082"][font="Arial"]This is partially true about that group of English majors who adored Tolkien. The only real difference was I had already been exposed to the material in question. But they [i]did[/i] attempt to treat me like I was sub-human and ignorant since I didn't care for it. Like there was something wrong with me for not liking it. =/[/font][/color]