[quote name='Kirin Lemon']The anime subculture in Japan is probably larger, proportionately, than it is here in America, yes. It's a native product for them, after all. But for all the exposure anime has in Japan, its fans are often thought of as nerds in the same way computer nerds are stereotyped here. Actually, anime fans may have it worse, since it's often assumed that they're perverts as well. Oh, and many American anime fans don't realize this, but most of the anime not intended for the youth market in Japan airs very late at night, or on channels that are the equivalent of HBO or Showtime here. DVD prices are also obscenely expensive - at least twice as much as they are here, and they often have half the content, too. Again, it's a niche nerd hobby.
Conversely, manga is everywhere in Japan. Convenience stores and newsstands both have a decent-sized selection of manga anthology magazines (Shounen Jump, etc.) and tankobon (collected volumes - what we get here in America) to choose from. A large portion of Japanese people commute to work every day using public transportation, and manga is a great way to kill time on a train or bus. It's not unusual to see older Japanese businessmen sitting down with a book on his way to or from work. Also, anthology magazines there are designed to be recycled after reading them, since they're frigging huge and inconvenient to collect, making them a cheap and disposable form of entertainment that can be tailored to many age groups.[/QUOTE]
[quote name='Chronis']Aren't anime fans in America considered nerds and perverts/pedos also, though? I dunno, not to go against Kirin, but I'd think that it is more accepted in Japan, even if by a little. He said that adult anime is on premium channels, which I'm guessing you'd have to pay extra for. Then you got the rediculously priced DVDs (at least by our standards). So I'm guessing there is a big enough market for it there. Over here, it seems anime is dying. The only stuff that seems to get regular timeslots on TV is whatever kid-friendly show Cartoon Network is airing at the time. And because that's what people see on TV, it seems to be grouped together as "kid stuff" or "that gay cartoon shit."
I dunno, maybe I'm wrong. But I seriously do think that people overestimate how accepting Americans are to anime.[/QUOTE]
Thank you for saying all of that. I really had no idea that nerds are still the ones watching anime in Japan. I still sort-of find it hard to beleive because i mean, look at how much anime there is. I could probably name more anime series' than i could TV series' here. There are hundreds. How they still manage to make it only for nerds really surprises me.
As for America, i don't think most people know what anime even is, but that's probably a better thing that how it is in japan apparently. The only places people really watch anime is on cartoon network, and i bet 90% of the time those people still don't know that it's anime. Or, as Chronis so perfectly put it, they call it "that gay cartoon shit."
THEY JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND US!