Do you get annoyed at "experts" who actually only know one or two series?
By Leca
@lecanis (16647)
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
September 15, 2007 11:53am CST
Okay, this is a major pet peeve of mine. Living in the United States, there are really only a few series that play on tv channels that most people get. So I realize that not everyone will have seen as much anime as I have.
However, it's frustrating when someone says "Oh I love anime. I know all about it! It's my favorite thing in the whole world!" and then you ask them what series they have seen and they can only tell you one or two. It makes me want to scream. I mean, it's great that anime is becoming mainstream enough that people actually admit they like it (I'm used to it being consider a nerd thing) but it's frustrating when you actually want to talk about anime with someone and they've only seen Dragon Ball Z or Inuyasha or Sailor Moon! Not saying that I have anything against those shows, but I don't think seeing just a couple animes makes you an expert!
I don't even think I'm an expert, and I've seen more anime series that I could really list here. There is so much anime out there, so many different types of anime, a whole world of anime to discover. I could probably do nothing but watch anime with all my time and there would still be tons of it I hadn't seen. So how come my fellow Americans seem to think they know it all after watching one or two series?
Anyone else feel this way, or know people like this?
5 people like this
5 responses
@LadyDulce (830)
• United States
15 Sep 07
Lol, I feel the same way, though not quite about anime. I fall into the "one or two" category there, though I'm a die-hard Inuyasha and Shin Chan fan. I think it's because most Americans simply aren't aware of the MANY series out there. I wasn't until I started dating the king of the geeks, lol.
Blessed Be
3 people like this
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
15 Sep 07
Haha, see I think it's great that you say you are a die-hard fan of those specific series, and not claim to know more about anime than you do. I admire people who can admit that they don't know everything about something. =)
Hehe, dating the king of the geeks would help I suppose! I actually really didn't start watching a lot of anime until about 8 years ago when I moved in with a group of people who watched practically nothing but anime (including my now-husband). Many of them (especially my husband) have actually gotten to where they watch less anime than I do now!
I must admit if it weren't for my constant use of the internet I probably wouldn't know a lot of the series I know. I've watched some of the really obscure stuff that's hard to find. In fact, I once downloaded almost every episode of a series and watched them, then discovered I was missing the end, and wound up having to have another fan of that series send me the last few episodes on VHS because we couldn't find them anywhere online. (That was Oniisama E..., also known as Brother, Dear Brother, really old and obscure anime).
1 person likes this
@raijin (10345)
• Philippines
15 Sep 07
Well I guess they just want to earn for their daily quota's here, try to finish their average through responding on your posts on which they think is easy to respond at!;)
I once loved watching animes like BLEACH, Full Metal Alchemist, One Piece, Slam Dunk and a whole lot more. But the problem why I don't respond to that post of your's is because, I am not updated and not that knowledgeable on the episodes. We have some of them showed here in our local channels (Philippines), but I just can't seem to find a time to watch the daily episodes in one sitting!;)
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
15 Sep 07
Oh, I wasn't really thinking about on mylot, but in life in general. That's a good point though, thanks for bringing it up! =)
*nods* There are times when I don't respond to discussions about anime because I haven't seen the full series as well. I only have so much time on my hands, since I usually work full time (though I'm on medical leave right now) as well as having a husband and child. So I can only watch so much anime at a time, and there are many newer series that I don't know anything about... most of my knowledge is about older ones.
Thanks for responding to my discussion! It is hard to find anime sometimes anyway, I actually find most of mine online because many of the series I like haven't come out in the U.S. yet. It's only over the few years that it seems like there's been a lot more anime here, and some of the series I originally watched online I'm finally able to watch on TV or buy at the store. =)
@raijin (10345)
• Philippines
16 Sep 07
I'm sorry for the mistake, but thanks also for being so understanding.
Yes, there are people who think they are "experts." I'm thankful that I am not one of them, my friends talk about animes everytime but I don't join their discussion because I am not aware of whst they're talking about. I join at times just to ask questions on certain subjects, to atleast get some updates!;)
Some of the animes my friends watch on tv can also be viewed on youtube, so if ever they want to watch in-advance, they'd go online. And if ever they missed one specific episode, they'd consult youtube and watch it right there..
1 person likes this
@thekiwi (588)
• United States
16 Sep 07
yes i get flustered...Although, me myself, has seen a couple shows, i do not declare myself an anime expert...just an newbie really.
I think when people think anime, they only think, inuyasha, or sailormoon, or DBZ, and the few that you see on adultswim. They think its new, and whatever is on tv is all they have of anime until something new comes out. They dont realize, there are lots, and lots, of other good anime shows.
So they just assume your talking about the basic, DBZ, sailor moon, ect.
*shrugs*
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
16 Sep 07
Yup, I don't even declare myself an expert, and I've been watching anime pretty heavily for years. But I haven't seen a lot of the newer series, so people will mention things and I'll be like "Huh?" so I don't figure I'm an expert really.
I guess that's why it annoys me when people only know the new or the popular ones, because most of the anime I like is older and not well-known. So I never get to talk about it with anyone! =P
@Arkadus (895)
• Canada
12 Oct 07
Yeah that makes no sense at all. I've played three diffent types of solitaire, that makes me an expert at card games! somehow that logic doesn't work. In my opionion if a person's only anime source is the dubbing industry then there is no room for them to call themselves an expert on anime. Expert on Anime that's been released in (insert your country here), yes.
But that's only the penguin sitting on the chunk of ice that's managed to get itself frozen onto the tip of the iceberg. There is a whole I can't even think of a word that's large enough scale for it... but there's a lot of anime out there. And a good sect of it is stuff that will probably almost 100% guaranteed never going to be dubbed, let alone aired in a country outside of Area 11.
1 person likes this
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
12 Oct 07
*giggles* That's a very good analogy!
You have a good point about the dubbing industry. I watch a lot of fansubs, because most of the series I like aren't released where I live, though lately more and more of them have been coming out. It's funny to see people getting excited NOW about series I watched several years ago via fansubs, because they're actually coming out in the US now.
There is indeed a lot of good anime out there, and a lot of it is just never going to be dubbed, or aired outside of that area. It's kind of sad sometimes because some shows that are very good never make it to where I live, so there's no one here to talk to them about since most people ONLY watch whatever comes on tv or is released here.
1 person likes this
@theprogamer (10534)
• United States
15 Sep 07
I've seen a lot and I'm barely an expert. Plus a lot of it I saw as a kid so my memory on a few things does start blending together. I've certainly seen a lot of series in full or parts of it so I do know enough.
I do have disdain for people who say "Oh I like anime" but all they know is DBZ and Naruto or something. When I list animes I've seen some of these supposed experts look at me as if I'm from another planet!
I'll have respect for an expert anime watcher in the states if they've seen animes like Excel Saga, Pani Poni Dash, Rizelmine, Lucky Star (parody animes) and they can actually understand a good number of parodies inside the series.
Oh yea. Experts quit posing, posing, posing, desu.
1 person likes this
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
16 Sep 07
*giggles* I have to really laugh at that one because I'm a Naruto fan, but I was a Naruto fan before it came out in the United States too. =P
Excel Saga is hilarious, and does have a lot of great references in it! It's always fun finding those little things too.
I think for me it doesn't even matter which series people have seen, just that they've seen more than the ones that are on American TV, or that they've seen at least enough to have an idea how many different types of anime there are and how varied the plotlines are. I get frustrated with people who think all anime is about mechs, or about fighting, or about schoolgirls, or whatever. It just makes me want to scream!
