Anime Fandom on the Internet, Part 1

WHEREAS, this blog has sat for a long time without an update; and

WHEREAS, I have an upcoming class that will focus on the topic of
SUBCULTURES; and

WHEREAS, certain others
are pushing forward with their own blog dreams while this site has been left to
languish in comparison; and

WHEREAS, plans are already in motion to supercede this blog with
another one and it would be good to get at least some content here
before that happens,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that a brief guide to Anime related fandom
resources on the internet appear on this site forthwith!

As a subculture, the world Anime fandom in the west is both broad and narrow at the same time. It can take a variety of forms (watching, collecting, cosplay, modeling, AMV-making, fansubbing, etc..) and overlaps with a lot of other stuff (J-POP, video games, manga, gaming, etc...). The very fact that it is based on the products of another nation, and one with a quite different language and culture, has affected Japanese Animation's availability to American (and other western fans), leading to the creation of quite different subgroups within its fandom. This fandom, in turn, is also very different, in a number of key ways, from fandom in Japan itself. I hope that this guide will give some sense of the variety and internal issues of this subculture.

Basically, Anime is available in the U.S. either through legal DVDs or through not so legal fan subtitled versions. Without going into a lengthy history of Anime's reception in America, I want to make the basic point here that the number of companies releasing anime and the number of titles available on U.S. DVD has increased dramatically in recent years. But even if you include those titles not yet licenced by American distributors, but subtitled and distributed by the fans themselves, it is still a fraction of the huge amount of material that has been released in Japan over the last few decades, and that continues to be produced there, with somewhere around a hundred new titles appearing just this year.

A keen observer of Anime fandom is John Oppliger, who edits news at the commercial site AnimeNation.com and answers fan questions in his "Ask John" column. He has often adddressed such perenial fan issues as the subtitled or dubbed debate (ie here and here) and the fansub issue (here, here and most recently here). I find his answers to be clear, well-thought-out, and intelligently expressed.

The main center for Anime news about legitimately licenced titles is AnimeOnDVD.com, and its one of the few internet sites I check out almost everyday. News and reviews about what's being released make it an essential source, although I don't always agree with Chris Beveridge's opinions. Despite the reviews' lack of a certain, let's say elegance at times, I like the fact that they are unpretentious and provide some basic info one might need in making watching/purchasing decisions. The forums are a real center of fandom where a variety of issues in the fan community are continuously worked out.

Another basic news site is AnimeNewsNetwork, which has interesting tidbits, an active forum, and is particularly useful for its Anime and Manga encyclopedia--a much needed resource. The columns and reviews tend towards the fanboyish at times though--I don't visit this one as often.