Ask John: Are There Still Many Old School Anime Otaku in America?
Question:
As a fan who was introduced to anime by 1980s sci-fi and horror OAVs I have been surprised to see things like Akira, Wicked City and Wings of Honneamise out of print on DVD. It made me wonder. Do you think that many anime fans from that era are still watching and enjoying anime? Are they just dwarfed by an influx of new fans introduced by different means?
Answer:
I’d like to provide a more thorough answer than I can, but regrettably my personal social circle is rather small. So I’ll have to rely on as much speculation as certain fact. I’m not one of America’s earliest serious anime fans, but since I began watching untranslated Japanese language anime in 1986 I do have more experience that many of today’s fans. No one knows exactly how many American otaku existed in the 1980s and early 90s, so it’s impossible to determine how many of them are still active and involved in the hobby today. Some of America’s veteran otaku, like Steve Pearl, have unfortunately passed away. Many of the otaku of the 70s and 80s are now middle-aged people that have outgrown or burned out their interest in anime. The otaku friends I had during the 90s remain my friends now, but practically all of them have stopped eagerly and frequently watching anime. I’m bemused when I hear present day American otaku refer to extinct or unheard of fansubbing groups like Tomodachi, Kodocha, Techno Girls, Sachi, and Omni because I actively communicated with these fansubbers and requested tapes from them while they were active ten or more years ago. So these group names don’t seem unfamiliar to me at all. I do personally know, and know of American anime fans that have been constantly watching anime since the 70s, 80s, and even the 90s. But I have to concede that the majority of America’s anime fans from past decades seem to have quietly extracted themselves from the hobby.
I’m living proof that burn-out on anime is not inevitable. I began watching imported anime like Fandora, Dirty Pair, and Galaxy Cyclone Braiger in the mid 1980s and I’ve been constantly watching anime – both new and old – ever since. In fact, over the years my interest in anime has only grown. Like many young fans, during my novice years I was most interested in contemporary action, sci-fi, and horror anime. These days I keep up to date with numerous current Japanese television series while also comfortably watching anime that’s 20, 30, and even 40 years old and seeking out obscure shows and titles I’m unfamiliar with, including Super Zugan, Video Senshi Lazerion, Marshmallow Times, Yama Nezumi Rockychack, Dash! Yonekuro, Tsuruhime Jaa, and Pastel Yumi. Falling out of love with anime or remaining fascinated is entirely a matter of individual personal character and desire. Outgrowing anime is possible, but hardly inevitable. American otaku including Toren Smith and Fred Schodt have been obsessive fans for decades. Japanese animators including Hayao Miyazaki, Yoshiyuki Tomino, and Noboru Ishiguro have remained active well into their senior years. I have heard the common complaint that modern anime doesn’t resemble golden age anime, or that modern anime lacks the creativity and originality that keeps it interesting. I don’t agree, but I do grant that these are valid reasons for veteran fans to lose interest in anime. I have the impression that most of America’s otaku from the 70s through 90s have lost interest in anime, have been distracted away from anime, or have lost their desire to be engrossed in anime. That’s natural. Everyone remembers something that was once fascinating but no longer holds the same magical appeal. At the same time, everyone has certain things that have remained beloved. Fans who are active in today’s American otaku community who have been anime fans for ten years or more are a minority, but I’m certain that at least a small number of them are still avid fans today.
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Wicked City and Akira aren’t out of print. Just have to know where to look for ’em. As for myself, I’m willing to watch newer stuff if the opening songs are any good and if the marketing’s interesting. Anyway, my only problem with this generation of anime is that everyone’s trying to cash in on the “tweens with super powers” gimmick. That’s probably why the only current SJ series I really go for is Eyeshield. [And maybe Rosario+Vampire, ‘cus it doesn’t take itself as seriously as its competition.]
I’ve been active since 1997, which doesn’t touch John’s time in the hobby, but it’s still 13 years of fandom. The oldest anime friend I have clocks in about as long, with a close second being in for 12 years with a three-way tie between two who have been in more or less for 11 years. We all sport massive collections that we proudly display, and one of them and myself dedicate a room to holding it all.
The guy who got me into it was into anime at least during the early 90’s, but his interest took a dive about 10 years ago and he ended up tossing his collection (a heartbreaking story, to be sure).
The mascot for GarasuNoShiCon is in his late thirties I believe, and he insists on only classic anime, but I’ve been exposing him to some top-quality new material.
Anime devotion does (or did) take a lot of effort and (still) requires a lot of money, something that doesn’t appeal to “maturing” fans. There are exceptions, but it seems a lot of people leave anime behind for one reason or another.
To GATS: Akira is definitely out of print, since Geneon US went under and I don’t think anyone has picked it up. I’m not sure if Urban Vision is even active anymore, and I’m not sure they’re making any more copies of Wicked City. Sure, you can get these two rather easily, but the companies in question aren’t making any my copies of them, so feasibly, once the ones that are out there sell out, they’re aren’t going to be any more available ever. A show like Evangelion keeps getting re-released in one form or another, so it remains in print, and I’m sure Sentai (if they still own the rights to it) will keep releasing it as long as it’s viable.
I rememeber watching black and white Astroboy Saturday mornings in 1964 or 1965. And then any that came on TV. When laserdisc (and some vhs tapes) came out I was in heaven!!!
My devout interest in anime started in the 90’s, around the time Ninja Scroll was hitting its stride in the USA, so I guess I’ve passed the decade mark without losing interest (if anything, my interest has grown as my income level has increased, as I’m actively building my Blu-ray anime collection).
But my first memories of anime was when Belle & Sebastian was airing on TV in the 80’s. I was but a wee lad.
Like many others my age, I was first introduced to anime during the mid-90s when the likes of Sailor Moon began airing every day on TV. From there I went both backwards and forwards, watching Evangelion, Trigun, Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, etc. when they began to air a few years later, but also renting out the more old-school anime films and OVAs such as Black Jack, Akira, and the first Studio Ghibli productions. In comparison to a lot of other devout anime fans out there, I haven’t been an otaku for very long. Still, I hope to further my anime education with more of the classics along with the newer stuff, and I don’t see my anime obsession ending any time soon.
I don’t live in the U.S., but I mark the day I got a Brazilian fansub of Akira as the day I began actively watching anime (not counting TV broadcasts of lots of series), and that was in 1993, I think.
So, that makes for aproximately 17 years of fandom, and my interest is still alive. I really can’t get into some of the contemporary trends in anime (like moe), but there’s a lot of good stuff out there still.
I’ve gone backwards (old series from the 70’s and 60’s), enjoy some of the more off-beat contemporary productions (from Satoshi Kon, Masaaki Yuasa, Koji Morimoto and others), and the feel the joy of watching millions of OVAs available now that I never thought I’d see, and that my younger self would’ve loved.
It’s a big part of my identity, I think I’ll never burn out.
…sounds like an awesome idea for a national fanclub, Anime Fans Over XX. Unfortunately, I’m from the early 1990s sect of fans, and although I can recall the western distribution market’s earlier days, I guess I can’t call myself old school-proper.
14 year fan here, starting with Vampire Hunter D on the late night local anime show here in Chicago, and Sailor Moon in the mornings. Still going strong, even stronger than when I had started, as I watch religiously watch and pay attention to the new seasons as if they were playoff games.
From my experiences so far, I’ve noticed that the Old School Otakus are extremely rare now at the cons I frequent (ACEN, and no I don’t blame them either). In the late 90’s and early 2000’s, the con was full of these people to share stories and talk with. Since then, the audience has been getting younger and younger. There’s always that hardcore dude I see every year carrying around the Zeon flag, which kinda gives me faith in the older fan base, which I thought had been extinct.
As the fanbase grew larger, anime fans have seemingly become more hostile as well. Back in the day, you could walk up to anyone at a con and have a lively conversation about anime. Nowadays, people get their feathered ruffled over the slightest things, like tiny translation errors,”Manga vs Anime” comparisons, and simply watching series that someone does not like. All in all, the anime fan base has become more unpleasant.
I can understand why these older fans burn out and not express any interest in the newer stuff. In the past couple of years, a lot of the stuff has been blurring together and one who has seen a lot of anime can’t help but compare them to other series that they have watched. For example, I checked out the new Oomori Himari show last night, and all it blurred so much with three shows I watched last year, that I couldn’t even watch the whole thing. For people who were weaned on the Golden Age and earlier: They are used to a lavish, detailed burst of unbridled creativity, so the newer stuff these days just can’t cut it.
This was a great question, and it’s comforting to see older fans here still pursuing their love of the art.
Though my level of activity dropped in the mid-90s (when I was busy providing for a family of eight), I have been actively involved in anime fandom since Robotech premiered in 1985, though I remember watching Astroboy and Kimba, The White Lion in the 1960s when I was a small child and seeing Battle of the Planets (Gatchaman) and Star Blazers (Space Battleship Yamato) in the 1970s. I was motivated to promote anime at first, trying to enlighten the public that animation wasn’t just for children (still the perception of a lot of the American public) by starting a fan club in my local area and appearing at various comic conventions, sci-fi/fantasy fairs, and Star Trek conventions around central Florida in the late 80s/early 90s regularly screening anime. I confess by the late 90s, the only regular bit of fandom I remained involved with was a yearly gig screening anime at Necronomicon in Tampa which we started doing in 1989. As a result of anime’s rise in popularity and visibility early this past decade (thanks in part to exposure on American TV), my level of activity rose and I’ve found myself a regular contributor and staff member of METROCON. Little did I know that when we hoped to do a whole convention devoted to anime back in the day that it would really happen. I suspect that I will always be involved in anime fandom in some capacity until I just can’t do it anymore.