So, I've talked a few times about anime, but I've never really said much about my involvement in the "community" (outside of a few self-deprecating remarks about my nerdy-ness). So I thought for fun, I'd explore some of the groups of anime fans I've discovered over the years.
Opinionated assholes: Interestingly, despite the fact that many "hardcore" anime fans are shy/awkward in public, you'd never be able to tell if you ever visited an anime forum. People, who in public can't look a girl in the face when they're talking to her, will rip someone a new asshole on a forum for saying that X show is shitty.
The "eternally never satisfied" guy: Maybe the guy's depressed, or maybe he just listens to too much My Chemical Romance, but the "eternally never satisfied" guy will ALWAYS find something to be unhappy with about some part of an anime. Either the dub sucks, or it doesn't have a dub, or it's too expensive, or all the shows they like "never get picked up". You'd think the guy would just enjoy the shit he's able to watch, but it seems like every new anime released just pushes him another step closer to taking a nice long bath with a plugged in toaster (do it, faggot!).
The "Elitist": There are generally 2 types of "Elitists", one is a combo of the "opinionated asshole" and the "Eternally never satisfied guy". These are the types who love to point out every little mistake, like; "poor translation" (even though they don't actually speak the language being translated). Or "edits" and how without the "cut" scene the story is "completely changed". Yes, of course, without that 6 second clip of the little girl getting out of the bathtub my ability to understand a 27 episode long TV series is ruined.
Another form the "Elitist" takes is that of a film critic, or someone who's "cultured", someone who doesn't simply watch a show, but understands all of the subtle cultural "quirks", and "gets" all of the obscure in-jokes. They must see the show in it's original format (Original language, unedited, etc.), and will be quick to point out that those people who don't watch it that way are not "experiencing" the show the way it was originally intended. Apparently never realizing that it was never intended for non-Japanese audiences to begin with, and that they're making a huge fucking deal out of a cartoon that no one besides them (and other elitist nerds) really gives a shit about.
The "chicken little" fan: For this guy, the entire anime world can come crashing down at any moment. Anything negative that ever happens (a company losing a show, a new "censorship" law, etc.) spells disaster for everyone. You can usually find this guy making posts like "Group determined to make all Hentai illegal", when he's not putting together an "end of the world kit" and listening to Glen Beck. Yea, 'cause a few pissed off housewives are really going to over throw the multi-billion dollar porn industry. Relax a little buddy.
The OCD fan: Anime fandom has this strange way of turning regular nerds into over obsessive perfectionists (I'm not immune, I went through this phase too). It happens in a variety of ways, such as the "completist" someone who must see every little piece of animation related to their personal favorite shows. We're talking DVD specials, commercials, some porn spin off the director whipped up after an all night sake bender. Then there's the "neat freak" type of OCD fan, who keeps their anime and manga (comics) in pristine condition. I sort of understand since anime isn't cheap (well it's pretty cheap now, but it used to be very expensive), and if you spent the extra money for a collectors box you want it to be in decent shape. But I'm talking way beyond the normal care one would give to a music CD or something, this is some "I keep my anime DVDs in a vacuum chamber" shit. I understand taking nice care of things, but freaking out if there's a small tear on the corner of the art box is going a little far.
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