May 28 2008
[Round Robin] The Rabbit Hole: Anime & Escapism
So as mentioned previously I joined up the all girl round robin (although it’s grown to epic proportions at this point. Props to itsubun for managing to keep control of it somehow.) Our first topic is basically a focus on using anime/manga/otaku stuff in general as a means of escape. Due to something happening at work today I figured this would be a great way to jump into this topic.
I don’t think it’s just me who feels this way, but I’ve noticed a reoccurring pattern within the anime otaku community: Most hard core obsessive otaku online have some serious real life issues. People like art thieves who steal art to get attention, once they’re uncovered to the public they suddenly bring in this plethora of all sorts of family issues, illnesses and whatever other baggage they can stack on to defend themselves. I remember my anime club at my first college (Drexel University), there was some crazy nutso treasurer who liked posting naked pics of himself on his livejournal. Another guy in the club loved wearing skirts (but he wasn’t gay - he just thought he was card captor sakura). Some other guy also had family problems and there was even one of those genius kids who was like 16 years old but a senior there.
So if anime and otaku things aren’t an escapism why is it so hard to find a NORMAL AVERAGE JOE anime fan? I’m not saying they don’t exist, but a lot of people do use anime to “escape” from reality. Unlike with things like video games or sports, anime is always around once you login the internet. You can write fanfics, make visual novels, write blogs, draw all sorts of your twisted fantasy fanart and go to anime conventions to act like an asshat because your parents won’t be there to “stifle” your means of escapism.
How many people can you truly find and say “anime is just a hobby of mine like watching American Idol or going to the gym” ? Which brings me to my own sap story. While I first got into anime as a “cool foreign thing to do and I like to draw pretty sailormooners now instead of lion king characters” I know that at some point of my teenage years I thought of it as an escape. Similarly to how I thought of Ragnarok Online as an escape from my cursed college room mate with her fat ugly boyfriend who like to dry hump her while I was doing my 3D Studio Max homework assignments.
And just today where I wanted to break my boss’s neck I thought about “you know the day will end, I’m gonna go home, watch Zettai Kareshi and probably work on my visual novel” and suddenly her being a stupid bitch didn’t matter that much anymore. I mean anime is still a hobby to me, but sometimes I wonder if I dropped it cold turkey what would I have to look forward to when I get home? I don’t watch American TV - hell I don’t even have cable. There’s not much to do in Long Island City except be bitten my ginormous mosquitos, step on dog poop and watch a brick fall on your head from a nearby developing luxury condo.
When I see myself starting to leave the anime hobby more and more it really makes me sad. It’s like that thing that I had is no longer providing that “escapism”. I mean thankfully I’m no longer alone, but the fact that anime has provided this comfort zone for a long time. But now it’s becoming a source of stress. Sometimes when I’m out with friends on Saturdays (which is a big blogging day) I get home late and I think “damnit, I was out enjoying myself but now I got these stupid anime I have to watch and say something about.” While probably in the past I woulda said “sorry I can’t go out today, I wanna finish watching Slayers Try” or something. I’d take anime so seriously, I’d burn every single episode because it was like part of my life.
But now it’s no longer that big of a part of my life. Perhaps everyone goes through this stage but eventually grows out of it. Sure I still watch anime, I like to talk about it like housewives like to talk about American Idol and Britney Spears. I’m enjoying working on my game and like I said it’s nice to look forward to something and get my mind off a shitty day at work. However, anime alone can no longer suffice this 100%. In a sense, my rabbit hole has been filled up and it’s more of a little grove now where I may sit for a few minutes but certainly not hide.
Perhaps once you get older and there are bigger things to worry about (like your apartment rent and the economy instead of what someone wrote on your myspace page), you start to realize you need to face problems rather than run away from them. Perhaps this is why those wacky livejournal role play communities never appealed to me. I hope that maybe more people will start to see anime as a hobby and not a means of escapism simply for the reason that when we all get together at places like anime conventions - we can enjoy it together as a hobby - rather than as a release of all those pent up feelings of wanting to escape from reality.
Unfortunately, I don’t expect the latter happening anytime soon. 
Tags: otaku
One really does have to start thinking about it: Is anime your LIFE? Or is it your HOBBY?
I’m still pretty hardcore as a fan, but not quite as much as I was in high school. I do have other things to think about now. And, dear me, I even have other things I do to “escape” or at least “distract.” Such as video games, reading (non-manga), and now it’s taking piano lessons.
In answer to your question though: I think it’s harder to find “normal” anime fans because they aren’t nearly as vocal about it as the hardcore-with-issues fans are. Like anything on the internet, the loudest and most “visible” people are going to be the ones who feel strongest about something. So anything the normal fan might say is lost in a sea of troll-isms.
it’s probably the same outside the internet. There might be more anime fans out on the streets than one might think but they aren’t fans enough to wear cat ears or other paraphenalia so you can’t spot them unlike the uber-otaku who wear it loud and proud every day.
Well said. Its sad, but inevitable. I find that I don’t necessarily “grow out” of things, I start to see them from a different (usually smaller) perspective. I guess my accumulating experiences start to occupy more. As a semi-former weeaboo who started at Naruto/One Piece fandom and worked up to things like Millenium Actress (my fav) or Furuba I will probably keep watch anime for a long time but how it relates to my life will always change.
Sigh, I sound like my mother
Yea probably
Like you said, they’re not gonna run around and destroy cherry trees at Japanese festivals, they will be dressed in normal attire admiring the view. 
I’m not sure if I’m a good example here because most people I know (in the ‘chat online with’ sense, rather than hang out with IRL) are considerably younger than me - you guys all seem to be in college when I’ve graduated, tried to get a decent job and have had to come to terms with, y’know, real life.
Basically, when I get home knackered and fed up every evening, kicking back with an episode or two while eating my dinner and then checking my feedreader is the perfect way to unwind. I’ve yet to find work that’s mentally challenging - after the grind of uni it felt weird to not need my brain any more…reading and writing blog posts kinda channeled that.
So yeah, it can be an escape from the suckiness of the real world at times but there’s also an element of using something like anime to fill the gaps in your day in the same way that you do with other pastimes - my viewing will change but I can’t see it stopping entirely, however life pans out later on. The place certain hobbies hold in your life may change, but those hobbies can I think still be relevant and of course fun.
Hmmm I completely agree with you.
And I have to say: I watch more anime when I’m depressed. I remember last year, during summer vacation, I watched A LOT simply because I felt like shit and wanted to escape reality… I did go out and fulfilled my commitments, but other than that I stayed at home several days. This lasted almost 2 months.
nursing school, family, friends, etc.
Anime has always been just a hobbie to me. But yeah, I use it pretty much to escape reality for a bit. After a stressful day in college, hellish commuting and whatever, coming home to relax and enjoy a few episodes sounds nice.
All in all, I consider myself a “normal” fan, who likes anime as a hobbie. I don’t fill every wall in my room with merchandise, I don’t obsess over the latest episode or live just to watch more. Plus, unless I’m reaaaally feeling down, I watch ONE show per month (besides the ones I follow in the season). — And I have a life
PS: I don’t watch TV either.
I haven’t turned on the TV in moooonths. Portuguese or american shows don’t interest me. Unless it’s the newscast at dinner time. Other than that… anime & asian dramas.
Martin> Just so you know I graduated college 3 years ago
I’m pretty much in the same boat as you but you do bring up good points. I think my post in general isn’t just on “viewing anime” but the “anime hobby” in general (which includes the fanfiction, internet dorama over character pairings etc.)
To everyone else> I think the other problem with this post is that it’s on this blog - which most of the commenters seem to share my opinion so a lot of you guys are pretty SANE. The insane ones don’t visit blogs like this, they spam LJ communities or anime forums.
*starts to ponder* I’m still at that stage where I use anime as escape a bit. Sometimes I feel like people at my school are being losers and jerks and I just kinda wanna relax by watching TV… that TV being anime. I guess you could count that as a hobbie… maybe. I mean, I love it and I watch a ton of it, but I won’t give up my whole social life for it. Anime’s just my one way to relax and leave my stressful teenage world. It’s what I look forward to after school everyday rather than homework and projects and then another boring day.
And for you, of course you have fans that look to you for your comments and thoughts, but anime shouldn’t be something that stresses you out. You should do this because you like to.
Btw, I’m actually still in middle school, so I don’t have those unemployment worries and such yet.
Hinano, thanks to you I have nothing to say any more!!!
Ah well, I’ll probably just add some stuff here and there and link back, etc
blissmo> LOL well I thought I had a different view than most people. Like how I’m saying that it’s not that great I thought everyone else would be like “anime is the ultimate means of escape” or something
Hey Hinano I’m just wondering …. is there a rule that says the title has to be like yours or something? A lazy ass like me can’t be bothered re-reading the guidelines thing! XD
I’m frighteningly normal. Most people don’t realize I like anime (or video games) unless I bring that subject up directly. I don’t wear anime-themed things, I don’t spout off quotes or “must watch” series, and I don’t have any anime decorations displayed in public. I just never felt the need to do my hobby that way.
Hinano on escapism…
Hinano comes very close to declaring a burnout and adds a few general points, which caught my attention:
Perhaps once you get older and there are bigger things to worry about (like your apartment rent and the economy instead of what someone wrote on yo…
-shrinks- Your post kinda woke me up a bit. It’s not so bad for me yet considering I’m still in the 9th grade (finishing it) and living with my parents. I don’t have any problems with my own responsibilities or anything. But after reading this, it kinda had me thinking of later on when I get a job, an apartment and all that crap. It’s really sad when I think that I’ll prolly drift away from anime in the future especially with how much I depend on anime right now.
Well, for one, I know that I’m prolly using anime as an escape more than anything but that’s your teenage angst I guess. Luckily, things have been going a little bit better lately and I see anime as both an escape and a hobby. Sad to say I haven’t gotten over the ‘escape’ part but hopefully that part will fade away someday. If anime were a person, I’d feel bad for him since everyone’s taking out their inner stress and frustrations on him.
I agree with Caitlin. =) I do watch anime and read mangas, but i only talk about anime related stuff to friends who have the same hobby. I’d ditch anime for a good shopping spree and movie with friends any time. =)
I’m another recent inductee into rl (I graduated last year), but I don’t think my perception of animé changed much. It’s still there when I find I am in little mood to do anything else. It still fits in my life at times before bed when I am too braindead to do much except watch pink-haired girls chase eggs.
I don’t take it seriously at all; at that point it’s an obsession not escapism or a hobby. I have no schedule, I watch it when I want and this is why my blog is badly behind at the moment -_-.
In terms of escapism Animé just happens to be my medium of choice. I could’ve been an MMORPG junkie or a Movie buff but I prefer animé. There is more of it and it is on more regularly than other shows like Heroes, Dr Who and football matches. I still watch TV, I don’t understand why most people say they’ve abandoned it.
I can see my viewing habits change due to time constraints. I’ve already moved to watching less of it, but higher quality. The blogosphere helps immensely with QC.
Thanks for all the responses guys. It’s good to see that there’s a varying opinion on the subject. From everyone’s replies it looks like the majority of the younger crowd is still using it mostly for the escapism while the older crowd keeps it as a hobby without parading to everyone that they like it
I’m still in high school and I’m pretty normal. Anime really is just a hobby for me. I have to worry about school and work (McDonalds), and I still find time to party with friends and work out. I’ll just watch an episode in the morning while eating breakfast or 1 or 2 after school/during the day if I find myself in front of the computer. My hobby only shows through in my room, with posters covering all the walls and figures, visual novels, soundtracks and my 1/8 figures right beside my empty booze bottles
My main problem is finding time to sleep and play video games (Persona 3 right now >___>)
For me anime and manga only make up a portion of my nerdy pursuits. I have opted out of Fanime in favor of a gaming convention to play with miniatures and attend lectures about military history so I am not hard core animu fan. I keep my anime and manga hobby largely to those who share it though I do kit bash some of my miniatures to look more mecha-ish. I stopped trying to watch every thing under the sun and it has hardly gotten in the way of school work or getting stuff done for real life.
Its just how you approach the hobby you could go deep or you could just treat it casually sort of like video games. I think the older you get the more you tend to lose interest in hobbies in favor of raising a family though when people finish raising their kids old nerds often go back into old hobbies in a sort of second childhood. All hobbies are an escape from the monotony of life and work, its a way to relax and isn’t necessarily negative until you allow your hobby to interfere with the running of your day to day life.
Just my 2 cents.
There’s a reason why so many anime fans are either emo, Hot Topic-clad teeangers or withdrawn nerds. Blame them for making people like us look bad.
No seriously though, anime IS an escapist hobby because it is almost literally wish-fufillment that is easily accessible for all those who are too afraid to get outside of the house. With anime, a person can pick and choose which”imaginary world” they want to dive in and imagine themselves in. The other hobbies such as fanart and fanfiction reinforce it. As an example, an anti-social nerd who’s shy around girls can watch Zero no Tsukaima and put himself in place of Saito (or whoever that guy is) and get a bunch of girls lusting after him. In order for him to make his fantasy seem more realistic, he draws XXX fanart or writes lime fanfiction to try to reinforce his reality.
Now anime isn’t the only hobby like this. Any hobby that can successfully create “another wish-fufillment world” is made up of a bunch of maggots. American Idol and the gym don’t. Then again, escapism has always been part of human nature in a sense. High school kids considered “popular” may use pot as an escapism from their artifical lives. Or they use friends, text messaging, and etc. So all in all, I guess this is natural. Whether a person uses shoe shopping or anime as a way to forget abou their bad day, it’s really up to the person.
So yeah, that’s my view on it. Oh and off-topic, but is there some community group page that you have to join for the All Girls Round Robin thing? I told usagijen I’d join but I have no idea what to do next.
It really depends. I don’t have very many hobbies; I do have several interests, but I’m dedicated enough to really pursue them. My hobbies consist primarily of anime/manga and games, but I would definitely hang out with friends than stay home and watch anime. I came into anime looking for escape, but it’s not really like that anymore.
I’m losing interest in gaming, and anime/manga has filled that void. Soon enough, anime and manga will probably become secondary hobbies to something else as well.
No matter how much one loves his or her hobby, social interaction is key to success and happiness. One shouldn’t use it to permanently or even temporarily lose himself or herself in something to avoid reality, because that escape can disappear, but real life will not.
But people usually have a reason for being different… they have probably been through some traumatic experiences or some life-changing things that have forced them to become the way they are. Especially if they can’t cope with their real lives, it’s understandable if they use something such as anime to escape. Then it’s not a matter of simply pointing out that they’re taking their escapism too far, it’s a matter of helping them return.
Hm, I think that was an incoherent comment, but I hope you can make sense of it.
@Crusader
See, I would go to those but I’m not allowed to. “gay nerd shit”, “not cute”, etc.
kiseki> It’s insanely over crowded so if you don’t know you may not wanna bother XD You can contact itsubun (link in my blogroll) for the details if you’re still up to it but I think we’re up to 40+ people
Icy> It makes sense, and I’m not blaming people with traumatic experiences. They can’t help it really. It’s more of the people who once they escape into anime, they can’t get out and they don’t want to. Even if they’re over whatever got them into it in the first place, they willfully choose not to leave their safe haven.
Crusader> All you missed apparently was a shitload of hare hare yuukais and caramel dansen performances
I find it funny, that i’ve started to come to the same realizations in my life… I transitioned into Highschool for the first time thise year, and I’ve started to realize that anime has become more of a hobby for me now rather than an addiction. I used to have no friends in middle school, so i watched hours upon hours of anime, but with high school i’ve made a ton of friends and spend most of my nights going to the mall rather than anime. I recently noticed i didn’t have any time to watch anime. I’ve transitioned into less anime. I think people just get bored of things and eventually have to move on.
Thankfully I haven;t left yet, so don’t give up and keep blogging!!!!
@Origamipanda: Nobody says you have to give it up, it’s just you rearrange your priorities. Nobody spends 100% of their free time with friends so anime is good for your private and quiet moments.
this is not a good trend…
I treat Jap visual culture in general as a hobby… like I watch fansubs only occasionally (like only maximum 5-7 episodes a week?) and spend the rest of my time on my DVDs/CDs/Blu-Ray discs, and I don’t do it rampantly. I don’t pressure myself to blog. Arguebly, that leads to lower popularity but heck, I do believe I’m gonna blog and purchase anime related stuff forever.
But no, I don’t really talk to my friends about my hobby because its difficult for them to understand it. I do realise that blogging does take a backseat when I go to BBQs or lan gaming events, but I believe every Otaku needs some form of outlet when it comes to this sort of thing. When I was on extreme, unearthly shift hours back in the army, it was really anime and related media that saved my sanity. Especially reading anime blogs, army camps have internet. And due to the diversity of blog addresses and blog types, I believe it slipped under the net of the mi-litar-y se-curi-ty de-par-tme-nt, as they are infamous to block even trivial stuff.
And compared to alcoholism and clubbing + drugs that many of my other section mates do, I don’t think anime is a bad form of escapism. Its probably one of the healthier ones. Fact is, everyone in this world needs some form of escapism be it gaming, drinking or whatever. Because life sucks, and there’s really no point giving up your escapist hobbies to give life more opportunities to whoop you in the ass.
dkiwi> So YOU were the one who gave me all those mi*itary address hits!
- A friend asked me about a certain anime I don’t watch. And he was surprised I don’t watch Bleach.
- An online gamer saw that my COD4 skillz are awesome and invited me into the clan. I rejected it saying I’m just a casual gamer.
I have started to carve my hobbies into a certain niche so deep I will soon be perceived as the “Average Joe” (or in our part of the world, Juan Dela Cruz). While in college my hobbies are rather open, nowadays it’s completely hidden from view. Moreover, my consumption getting less and less because of lack of time… and maybe lack of interest.
I think it is because of the environment I put myself into. My work is completely unrelated to my hobbies, and the people around me rarely touch on those subjects. Back in college, where anything under the sun can be represented, you are more likely to meet people with similar hobbies and traits as yours. As you grow up, unless you actively pursue the things you like, you will eventually find another niche, whether it be another new hobby, a real-life responsibility, or a different view on happiness.
Having friends with same hobbies (whether in real life or online) gives positive reinforcement on your hobby, for the simple fact that it creates a mini-ecosystem where this thing called anime and games is completely relevant in your lives (aniblogging is one major example, btw). As you lose those friends (because some of them are ‘themselves’ experiencing the same burnout as you) you start to wonder why you enjoy your hobby in the first place. Then it starts to become a burden and you either fail or choose not to keep up anymore.
Not sure if I’m adding anything, but I would agree that as we grow up, there will be more things to annoy us. Whether it means losing interest in your hobbies, it’s up to the person.
I’ve sort of hit an anime wall and I think a lot of it was due to getting sick of the cliches of the medium and possibly getting annoyed with some of the traits of Japanese culture which I feel bad about. I guess the honeymoon is well and truly over.
Ooooh, very thoughtful. I used to be those people who would rather stay home and finish watching something AND THEN go out and chill with my buddies. I dunno what’s happened since then.
I occasionally get that feeling, but just sometimes, anime and manga are just not enough when I run out of things that I really like to watch and I’m relegated to just watching shows for the sake of watching ‘em. It used to be major escapism for me, now, it’s more something I do because I still love it, just not obsessed with because it made me someone else I am not.
You know, I wonder if real life is the key to all this. I think that maybe if you have been out in the real world, had a job, worried about rent and your own well being, anime just can’t possibly take up the portion of your life that it did when you were in college and high school. It’s when you ignore those other things in favor of anime that you become “obsessive”.
I’ve been out of college for two years now, and I don’t think anyone I work with (aside from the other guy at work who I discovered likes anime) knows about my hobby. Maybe this makes me you’re “average joe” fan, maybe it doesn’t. I mean, i own a pretty decent sized collection of figures, so that probably rules me out, but if you saw me on the streets you wouldn’t point at me and go “OMFG Animu Fan at 12 o’clock.” But I digress, in college anime was something my best friend was into and I decided to give a shot because he kept telling me how good it was. I was pretty bored with the grind at that point and it became an escape from that. Now, it still an escape from the grind of work and real life stuff, however, I, like you, find that my time that I have to escape just isnt there anymore. I find that even when I do have the time, I’d rather do other things.
Oh well, this has droned on and sounded better in my head. Point is, anime will always be an escape whether you are obsessive or not, but when you ignore real life for the escape that it becomes a problem.
I think many of us have passed the honeymoon period, Marmosette.
I have noticed one significant change in my otaku-ism as the years have passed. I now vastly prefer manga over anime. I haven’t quite pinpointed what that means, but I’m sure it indicates . . . . something.
I personally know quite a few ‘average joe’ anime watchers. The reason you may not bump into them so often is that they tend not to watch the same sort of shows that someone who is a bit more heavily invested in the medium would. They’re the people who watch and really enjoy Gonzotrash, among other things.
I actually had to stop for a moment at that bit, because I was thinking to myself that I’m a pretty average anime fan. Of course that’s not really true - while I like to think I’m a reasonably normal person (I certainly don’t have a bizzare family situation or weird issues and as far as I know my only major character flaw is being an elitist prick
) but I’m certainly not average, since I’m pretty much a giant nerd.
I don’t think I’ve really used anime as an escape from reality. Certainly I’m enthusiastic about it and I think I probably got into stuff a bit more deeply when I was younger, but that is simply because I had more spare time.
I believe anime was seriously my whole life up to a while ago, but now it’s quickly slipping into the hobby stage. I don’t really care if I go a while not watching anything, and now it’s really rare for me to have a deep interest in a series. Or maybe this season is just lacking XD
However, I’ve always had real life fun and hanging out with friends as my priority in life, rather than wishing I were home watching something instead of being out. Unless we’re talking about Higurashi, because there was some deep obsession there. I’m sure I’ll watch anime till I die though, but at least it’s less what my life revolves around and more on the same level as a normal person’s interest in an American TV show. Also it’s always been the artistic aspect that’s pulled me in — so as long as I enjoy drawing I’ll enjoy anime.
Anime will always be a nice escape nonetheless. Just like your example, I’ve had days at work where the thought “It’s okay, when you get home, the new episode of _____ will be out already!” would run through my head and make things less dreadful.
Well you know me, Hinano. I don’t radiate a particularly strong fanboy aura. I don’t cosplay or attend conventions. I don’t own merchandise outside the DVDs I buy to uphold my contract with J.C.Staff. But I aspire to be a professional comic artist. I spend 10-20 hours each week in pursuit of that goal. I have decided against marriage and starting a family (and I’m age 28 at this time). I never have nothing to do unless my hand is too tired to draw. Anime is not so much my hobby as it is my ambition - and as long as that ambition remains, my interest will never falter.
You may wonder why I think I can succeed when I’m so old already and my skills as an artist are still far from professional. Well, my mind is still in the mode of a child who has dreams he doesn’t yet know are impossible. In a way, I’m more hardcore and escapist than anyone here.
Sixten> You’re only like 4 years older than me. Also why no marriage? That’s sad
(Screw families though, eww babies etc)
“sorry I can’t go out today, I wanna finish watching Slayers Try”
oh god…it’s like deja vu!
Hmm, anime is probably just a hobby to me, along with my blog. In fact, my blog is the reason I started watching anime more than I used to. (I used to watch anime in few-and-far-between spree fashion. Watch a lot during a weekend, and not touch it for the next few months.)
It definitely is good to supplement your anime with other things, I know that I couldn’t possible imagine having anime as my sole (or main) past-time.
I never really intended to make anime a means for escapism, but it sort of ended up that way during my high school years… I was one of the rare few people in class who was a real anime otaku, and people started seeing me as an abnormal person who likes 2D guys or something
but still, I’m still and will hopefully be a fangirl as always… I’m known in most of my social circles as an anime otaku too, but in a positive ‘normal’ light 
Despite growing up, I think I’ve come to love anime more throughout the years, as I’m able to appreciate it not simply for entertainment, but a means to exercise my brain muscles when I think deeply about it, blog about it and exercise my writing too!
Testing one 2 trei. Blockquote issue with gravtar testing
One here. Except that *insertcountry* Idol sucks. Gym is fine.
Sane people tend to congregate together. Ditto for insane people. Except sane people causes me less headache.
People know I collect plushes/soft toys. And they are openly displayed. Dejiko & Co are on top of a bookshelf. :3 Cannot give up Care Bears. Yet in real life I’m pretty viciously vicious. But lately cannot find enough cute stuff. No touhou figures. T_T Last cute figures were fate x nanoha. Not the SuckS version. Probably Vita-chan joining them.
But seriously, the enthusiasm is waning. Watching Macross Frontier only this season is an indication. (Yes, I caved in after 2 months of absentaining) Am waiting for Alto to go “I AM GOD!” and go into kamika mode.
And now I know hinano and sixten are my imoutos. >_> Be careful of the striped fellow now. Serious imouto-con there.
I think I’m even older than most of you guys, so i have even more reason to be embarrassed that my room looks like a twelve-year-old’s. ^^;
I don’t think I ever went over completely to Otaku-ness. I did I have my period, maybe ten years ago, when I had many tapes (later DVDs) and wanted to keep everything I watched. But over the years, my interest in anime has gone up and down. There are a lot of things I’m in to, so I was never exclusively focused on anime. As Hinano will tell you, I even waste a lot of time watching American TV shows! So I often put anime aside for other things.
Recently, I’ve tended to watch anime in short bursts or marathons, which is why I tend to fall way behind on the latest series and have a huge backlog. That’s why my blog always ends up with a lot of megablogging instead. ^^;
The Otaku fan world is is in a limited group of fandoms (like Star Trek) which has a mass of material and the infrastructure to support a large variety of fan-based activities. It is ideally placed to provide a kind of complete escape through an alternate world. An otaku can watch only anime if they want, and read manga, listen to anime-related music and J-Pop, create art or games or cosplay; also socialize with other obsessives and make the rounds of the anime cons (plus have Akihabara as a much-idealized pilgrimage site). As one gets older, the narrowness of that world might begin to become apparent XD.
But on the subject of “Normal Average People,” I don’t think they really exist. I know people who do stuff like watch American Idol and go to the gym and their lives are very shallow and empty. Conversation with them is vapid and focused on whatever is in the tabloids. As immature and socially inept as many anime fans are in their pursuit of an escape from their troubled lives, they often show a true love for their hobby–a love which leads them to create fanart and cosplay. They end up getting more fun and satisfaction out of their hobby than the mass of insipid bottom-feeders who just swallow whatever Hollywood and the tabloids give them.
Yes, anime, manga and games are just a commerce-driven set of franchises as well, but the fan activities raises it to another level and the fact that the fans have chosen their own niche instead of just accepting the mass culture must count for something, right?
Animé as a form of escapism? i think i might be guilty of that for a few occasions.
Though i might have to say this: Looking forward to doing something to enjoy is a lot different from escapism. Looking forward to doing something you enjoying is a form of relaxation, aka NOT escapism. Escapism usually implies something more sinister.
I would consider myself the “average joe” when it comes to Anime. I actually got started about a couple of years ago. By that, I mean watch anime non-stop. I did watch it when I was young. I wasn’t that into it as I am now though. I do have some good knowledge of Anime. I don’t have any collections or do any kind of cosplay. I am a moderator in Crunchyroll on a group named ‘Anime Otaku’. I love talking about it with everyone, but I don’t use it as a form of escapism. I like to go out and watch movies and play video games with my friends. So, I can honestly consider that I watch anime & read manga/visual novels as a hobby for enjoyment.
I am keeping in track of around 30 or so anime this season, but that’s only like 3-5 episodes a day. I try to marathon older series on the weekend on my spare time. I also spend a lot of time reading blogs since I don’t see to many people around my place that are that interested in Anime like I am or just not at the right place. I guess I might be the oddball in that case.
But yea, I do think more people should enjoy themselves by whatever hobby they are in. Escapism is like a drug, use it too much and something bad is bound to happen.
Story of my life.
It started off as a hobby which later grew into an obsession, and thankfully(or unfortunately) I see no signs of the fandom wavering within me. In fact, it has inspired me to actually seek means and methods to fund this love of mine, as my course sort of preps me in a way that I can still somehow keep in touch with it in the long run.
I’m not sure how it has really affected my social life, as while I mingle with normal people far less that before, I now tend to proactively seek and enjoy the company of like-minded people around me, so it’s safe to say it has yet to actually have a detrimental effect, though I now have unrealistic expectations from the opposite gender, which can never be fulfilled.
^lol at Shin. I knew you would end your post like this somehow.
I became an anime fan during my long holidays; I’m bored got nothing to do and I picked up a series online. That’s when I got interested and I pick up more. Before I know it, I have finished an archive all in a few months.
Sounds like you are tired of blogging regularly. This is why I don’t own a blog. That and because I’m lazy. And can’t write.
Shin>
Oh shi- you now have created the Tenga Effect on yourself!
John> It only happens on the weekends. During the week when I get home from work and there’s not much to do between that time and the time I go to bed, anime is a good way to “fill it”
Does it help it I said I was a black dreadlocked 6ft built ex-nightclub doorman and former soccer hooglian turned respectable marketing salaryman who loves travelling around the europe via easyjet, partying and getting laid who just liked watching anime from the 80’s lol. I don’t get the cosplaying and the hardcore elements of otakus its just that I like cartoons in general. Blame my mom for weining me on trapaholic bugs bunny and other warner bros cartoons and she’s 73 and still watches them.
ponit to post was anime takes all comers! and mum liked samarai pizza cats wehn i went to high school in 90’s!
Dick> haha I watched looney tunes when I was younger too…I had a serious obsession with Bugs Bunny and all my fanart was from that. When Space Jam came out it was like my favorite movie
When I was loli/shota aged… I sang…
I CAN SHOW YOU THE WORLD!
SHINING SHIMMERING SPLENDID!
I still do today. >_>
The old classic cartoons are still nice to watch. Cartoons these days seems to have gone downhill.
- starts humming Beauty and the Beast -
[...] Hinano talked about how most hardcore otakus might have some serious real life problems. I admit that I´m one of those obsessed otakus who use anime as escape method, but not because of family issues or something like that. I have great and supporting family and friends. IRL I´m “the girl next door” in every way, meaning I have good grades, I´m polite and I´m not a member of any style e.g. emo kid or lolita because I´m too shy to dress differently. I don´t like crowds so I don´t go to parties. In other words, my real life is dead boring. [...]
OMG! Epic topic! And we have come full circle back to Alice in Wonderland… I still morn the loss of the old Disney style of animation. For me, the best was The Lion King. Nowadays, Disney films don’t have enough musicals and too many are CG comedies.
In terms of escapism, I find one of the best advantages of animation is being able to create fantastical worlds cheaply. So if the Japanese can come up with a way to make this animation the most aesthetically pleasing and least condescending, then so be it!
Teeif> The problem with Disney now is they keep making CG movies with racial stereotypes built into their animal characters
The problem with Disney is they haven’t ordered Pixar to make The Incredibles 2 - The Teenage Years, and their traditional animation studio hasn’t made anything good since Lion King.
You should just watch at your own pace, blog at your own pace, and have fun. Though it pains me to not have more and longer fangirl rants to entertain me, at least your passion for it won’t be killed off that way. Also, stop going to crappy cons with the mindset of “i hope this con doesn’t suck like the last one.” Rather, go in with the mindset “what sort of awesome material will I be able to dredge here to rant about on my blog.” Lowered expectations….
Thankfully I don’t think I ever used anime as a major form of escapism.
Back when I was a young kid and very much needed an escape due to my home life I knew nothing of anime and instead books became my escape, along with basketball and karate.
Books later became the internet. I was a huge fan of Star Wars and combining that particular hobby and that internet, is how I, a girl born and raised in England met and married a guy from America at the very old age of 22
See what can happen when you get deep into your escapism. Actually I say that like its a bad thing when it totally isn’t. We’ve been married seven years now. I moved to the States and people still think we are newlyweds.
But when I first moved to the States, I had actually grown out of my escapist tendencies and things like Star Wars and my books were more like hobbies.
Away from home and friends and family however I got bored really quickly! Especially since I couldn’t work until I got my permit and took a year! So I had a lot of time on my hands. Enter anime and manga, which I got into heavily!
Now I’m working, we have our own place, I have friends (who share my interest in anime) and a few who don’t. I don’t have as much time for it. So in a sense it has become more of a hobby than anything.
I don’t discuss it with any of my friends who don’t share my hobby. I have few figures scattered around my desk, but if people don’t ask about it then I don’t tell. I mean I have pictures of Hubby-sama and the pets too, so its not like my area is covered in anime crappu.
With some shows I HAD to watch it as it came out (and I will admit if Suwa-san is serious in regards to what he’s been saying and we get more InuYasha then that will be one show I will watch as soon as it comes out. But I do have soft spot for in my heart for that show. As it helped me pass the time during my first boring year in the States.)
Nowadays I find I might find a show I like, but I’m usually never in a hurry to get the latest episode. It might get to the point where I’ve let almost a quarter of the season pile up. I’ll just watch them when I have some free time or am really bored.
Basically I really enjoy it, but its not the first thing I think of to do with my day. There are too many other things to get done.
Having said that I agree there are some people who do use it as a serious form of escape. I happen to know someone who still suffers from the effects of abuse she had to deal with.
She is almost a yaoi addict and I feel a lot of that has to do with because she finds two guys doing it makes her feel safer than if it were heterosexual because that brings up things she just can’t deal with.
Aw crap still have to get that Cage in the Finder picture drawn and painted for her. ’sigh’
Geez Sakura you coulda written a whole post at your blog!
hehe good write up though. I think you pretty much know what it feels like but it could perhaps be because both of us are way above the average otaku level. In regards to your friend, that’s really sad, 
but I hope one day she’ll get over her past and perhaps take interest in things beyond yaoi.
[...] Hinano [...]
I liked Disney films as a kid, and Anime too, but for different reasons than most people. The idea that somebody could create entire worlds with animation fascinated me and always has. Animators are more like animators of life in my mind, creating worlds that exist in other universes.
That’s the sort of mindset that got me into Osamu Tezuka. This was a man who created so much manga and Anime it was insane. When one imagines what he would feel about creating so many characters, would he treat them as his children, or be pained when he saw them in pain, knowing full well that he was the one hurting them really, not the other characters with guns or lasers?
It’s a much more complicated reason to be interested in manga and Anime than most people’s, but it’s better than “Naruto rocks”. Being a writer and artist yourself who creates original material really changes your perspective on the works of other artists and how you appreciate them.
i watch anime because iv got nothing better to do. once in a while i would go out to buy manga. apart from that i keep my self shut in my room just watching anime as thats the only thing i do. i as well use it to escape the real world.
Strangely, I’ve always sort of admired people who ‘live’ in the world of anime. I was never as into anime (collecting figurines, learning the OPs/EDs by heart etc), I simply enjoy watching anime, but not watching every single series doesn’t make me feel deprived. I guess I was jealous of those who were able to seek refuge in anime so much so that they managed to escape from real life.
[...] I’m reading the Hinano post the other day. The one where she discusses anime & escapism. (I know this is a topic being [...]
It’s possible that littluns can be “normal” anime fans as well, but there’s just not as many of them… (which is probably an understatement - the amount must be completely minuscule). I say that because I see myself as one of the “Sane, functioning citizens of society who likes anime as a hobby”, me being only 15. Yes, I do believe it is possible!
One would never know I liked anime if I were to be stalked around at school (unless my mp3 player was hijacked). Obnoxious, pocky-binging narutards who needlessly place random Japanese words (that are mispronounced horrendously) into their english annoy me just as much as it would annoy any ‘Older’ anime fan.
zayx> If only more fans your age were like you!
[...] Hinano - [Round Robin] The Rabbit Hole: Anime & Escapism [...]
orz, too many posts. it rly took me some time to finish heh.
but it made me think about escapism too
the thing is, i used to read/watch like crazy since i got a few shonen jumps from an uncle of mine( around 1998 or something like that)
after getting bored in what? 5 years hehe, getting into university and stuff, things toned down and i moved to hardcore mmorpg escapism (blame on ragnarok online too. two hard core years)
after that it became a lot more like a sober hobby. stopped going to cons and some time later went for some work in japan.
it was nice, i could see a lot of things that i would be blinded if i were my old self heh.
now, after half a year returning from there, university gets a lot more focus, to the point that i barely play games or find time to watch anime.
manga is kinda ok, since it doesnt rly take 19 minutes to watch hehe
regardless of what we may call it, i still wish i were a teenager with the whole time of my life to waste in anime, gamming and well, reading manga haha (when everything looks gorgeous and even the most crappy anime is like… 10 times better than watching your everyday looney tunes)
and yeah, it`s been like 4 years that i dont even have a tv anymore heheh
so.. maybe when my hair gets pure white
I used to be an extremely hardcore anime fan but when I reached my 18/19 age, I asked myself… is anime worth my time?
I neglected my studies to play mmorpg and watch anime (I downloaded all the new anime episodes although they were boring) because life was boring and absolutely, they sucked.
But, that was because I didn’t put in much effort to make it interesting
Can I hire you as my shrink?
I have scale plamo added to the list as a means of escape.
srsly, though… anything taken in excess is always detrimental for growth. It is but a matter of keeping in touch with the real score and knowing when to say no if you have reached your limits… of which I could sometimes have a little bit of difficulty myself. You can easily fall into a trap especially when you are doing things without your heart in it.
[...] topic about the subject of anime and escapism, I had a sudden burst of inspiration after reading Hinano’s entry, and I found myself empathizing with, and pondering upon this escapism issue. Then comes Soshi’s [...]
Heh, my life is so ultra-boring that I don’