Archive for April, 2008

Apr

Are you an Anime fan or an Anime addict?

Posted by: Ryman in Anime Nation, J Culture

I see this question on various forums, and sometimes I get this too in real life. If you love to watch Anime, you are either a fan or an addict.

According to Merriam-Webster:
Fan (probably short for fanatic) is an enthusiastic devotee usually as a spectator or an ardent admirer or enthusiast.
Addict is to devote or surrender (oneself) to something habitually or obsessively.

And let me add this one:
Otaku (おたく or オタク) is a term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly Anime and Manga.

Now that’s out of the way, let’s continue.

If you love to watch Animes and reads a lot of Mangas then you are already considered as an Otaku. Being an Otaku doesn’t really mean that you are already obsessed with Anime and Manga, it just means that you love it and you like it. But there are still some that argues if you are just a fan or already an addict.

Let’s see…

You are a fan if you watched at least 5 or more different Anime titles. You’re already an addict if you watched more than 20 different Anime titles and still counting…
I’ve already watched more than 20 Animes and over 200 episodes. (Fan:0/Addict:1)

You are a fan if you only like a specific genre of Anime (i.e. action, mecha for boys or shoujo, romance for girls). An addict likes all of the genre. Like for example, you are a guy and you like Sailor Moon, or if you are a girl and you watch Dragon Ball Z.
I watch all types of Animes. (Fan:0/Addict:2)

A fan usually watch an Anime on TV stations when they are aired locally either on commercial or cable. An addict already has watched the Anime even before it reaches their country.
Must finish downloading… must finish downloading… (Fan:0/Addict:3)

A fan have watched the Anime version, but haven’t read the Manga (or vise-versa). An addict have seen both adaptations.
I don’t have Mangas yet. (Fan:1/Addict:3)

A fan visits an Anime-related event. An addict not only visits the said event, but also participates by cosplaying.
I don’t cosplay. (Fan:2/Addict:3)

You can still be an Anime fan if you only cosplayed once or twice. An addict already cosplayed on all major, and even minor Anime-related events.
Haven’t cosplayed yet (Fan:2/Addict:3)

A fan likes the Anime they are watching that is already dubbed (translated) to their native language. An addict likes the original Japanese language version, and even without translated subtitles, they can understand it.
I like the Japanese language versions (Fan:2/Addict:4)

Not their native language, a fan knows a few simple Japanese words. An addict already knows how to speak Japanese… fluently.
I’m still learning (Fan:3/Addict:4)

On reading Mangas, a fan likes the version where the text is already translated and written in English letters. Addicts can already read Japanese hiragana or katakana.
I can’t read Kanji, but I like to read translated Mangas. (Fan:4/Addict:4)

An Anime fan has a few soundtracks on their MP3 players from the Animes they like. An addict’s MP3 player contains only songs that comes from Anime, and/or Japanese and nothing else.
45% of the songs on my MP3 player is Japanese. (Fan:5/Addict:4)

A fan likes the Anime because of the characters (how they are drawn) and their personalities. An addict not only have read the Manga version of the Anime, but also seen the live-action (J-dorama) version of it (i.e. Hana Yori Dango, Great Teacher Onizuka, You’re Under Arrest, Sailor Moon, etc.).
I already liked J-doramas. (Fan:5/Addict:5)

Fans join in on various Anime related forums and communities. The addicts are the ones who created these said forums and manages them.
Please join Animeelites.com. I’m just a member BTW. ^_^ (Fan:6/Addict:5)