Being 30+ and still watching anime while everyone else in these communities are 15-25 is what makes me feel old.

>>31894
Thinking about the specific time a show is set in is a strange feeling, because in the moment it feels very timeless.

Old shows centered around otaku make me feel old and kinda weird at the same time. Stuff like Genshiken feels so distant and different from how otaku culture is nowadays.

>>31900
I recently saw Comic Party and I felt the same way about that. There's things that remain true to this day in it as well but the stuff that stands out more is what did, like all the eroge references.

>>31895
>>31900
>>31901
I know this has probably been discussed to death, but what caused the change? I know this site in general has some really bad [r9k]-tier anons who circlejerk about how things have changed for the worst but what actually caused the change in (western?) otaku culture? Some blame SNK blowing up and starting a trend, others say the rise of social media and the death of internet forums but what do you think changed it?

>>31902
Well, >>31895 here. Far as the demographic is concerned I don't think that much has really changed.
In that regards at least it wasn't animu that changed, I was the one who changed. Most people just loose interest as they get into their 30s and move on with their lives. They gain new priorities and don't have time for manga or games anymore. Not to sound like some incel or something but that's a path I don't think I can ever take. So I'm sticking with what I know.

>>31902
It's simply the increase in popularity of it. Not all that long ago it was basically unheard off, I had never even heard of anybody watching anime until after I finished high school but then it quite suddenly exploded, my little brother who goes to the exact same school but is seven years younger often talks about how people in his school talk about anime in class or even speak Japanese(well anime meme words) to each other, that was completely unheard of just seven years before and for it to happen on that scale is unimaginable. It's much more widespread in society and has become fairly socially normal hence why people who seem to care nothing for Japanese culture or Otaku culture even are becoming so vocal, they have just picked it up from their social group and view it as an extension to the other media they watch.

>>31902
In my opinion services like Crunchyroll, Netflix pandering to anime fans, Hulu, Amazon etc did most of the bulk into bringing anime even more to the mainstream and "normalizing" it. This is just my own stupid and probably wrong theory, but I think that people feel "safer" admitting their like for anime if they are reassured by big companies that its ok to enjoy japanese cartoons.

>>31906
I don't think that's wrong. The cultural zeitgeist of the US at least has been set by popculture for as long as mass media has been around provided the economy was healthy enough to allow the people enough funds to buy into it, while also not being preoccupied with a war. Going as far back as te 1920s, what defined the generations were things people adopted by copying what they saw on tvs/movies or heard on the radio. There are always exceptions, but generally people will believe what they're taught to believe, like what they're told to like, hate what they're conditioned to hate.

Of course it's not limited to popular media. People are also conditioned to think a certain way by friends and family and those they live near. Grow up on a farm, you'll probably learn to like country music. Grow up in a ghetto and you'll probably learn to like rap. Grow up on the internet, and you'll probably learn to like anime. That's just how culture works, and here it's always changing.
It wasn't that long ago that hate for anime was a common thing, weeaboo was a derogatory term, and only geeks and honest to goodness losers like the stuff. Now everyone seems to pretend to like it just to fit in. Big companies have noticed this and are exploiting the market while in turn pushing it onto more people and making it more socially acceptable. A few years ago I was amazed to see VNs on something like steam. Now you've got untranslated dōjin games and uncensored eroge games on the same platform that sells us call of duty and other AAA western games. Heck of a time to be alive I tell you what.

>>31894
I barely watch post-2012 anime

I just try not to think about how old I am anymore.

>>31906
It wasn't Crunchyroll or Amason.
It was 4chan. Posting "nigger" anonymously on the internet and getting away with it was the punk rock or acid test of the f1rst decade of this century and 4chan was at the center of it.
Crunchyroll, Amason, etc were just the corporations cashing in, they didn't provide the zeitgeist which was driving western youths to anime, it was 4chan that provided that infantile anti-authoritarian thrill.

The girls in Azumanga Daioh are like 35 now.

makes me sad that the girls we watched and bonded with will never grow old with us. they will forever exist in their little snapshot of a world. you might get some fanart and if youre lucky another series, but for most of us thats it. the end. move on to the next cute anime girl. its sad.

>>31906
>japanese cartoons

That's demeaning, stop saying that. Is not fucking 2006 anymore.

>>31907
>Now you've got untranslated dōjin games and uncensored eroge games on the same platform that sells us call of duty and other AAA western games
Scary. I'm beginning to see kids online brag about watching hentai and playing eroge and that concerns me greatly. I often wonder how fucked up these kids are going to be when they get older due to doing such things. Here in the west (at least in America) our culture is declining and I am seeing sex obsession becoming the norm, so it wouldn't be hard for something like eroge games to slip into the mainstream and make things even worse. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with enjoying ecchi or hentai or eroge. Hell I watched Bible Black when I was fifteen and I turned out fine, but that was only me. I'm just worried about the effect that this will have on society when you have literal kids playing it and thinking it's normal. At least over in Japan people understand the difference between fantasy and reality and don't becoming raging aids carriers like in the west. I don't know, maybe I'm just thinking too hard.

>>32249
Call it a hunch, but I think that those people are bragging about it because find it provocative and call it another hunch but I doubt the people wanting to do this aren’t going to be sexually active.

>>32250
>I doubt the people wanting to do this aren’t going to be sexually active
Actually that's the thing I'm concerned about. I hate how overly sexualized the west has become and I don't want hentai or eroge to be added to that list. Again, not saying there is anything wrong with liking those things, but I wouldn't like to see it out in the open all the time. But like I said, I am probably overthinking it.

>>32249
The ones who brag about it aren't the ones you should be concerned about, most of them only do it to try and be funny or to attract attention. They are the same type of people who watch Eromanga Sensei once, buy Nekopara and Neptunia to idle on steam to look like an "epic weeb" and have Youtube usernames along the lines of "anime is trash" with anime avatars, usually accompanied with some unfunny instagram tier meme thats been recycled since 2013.
Ive seen too many of these people online to not notice them, the only reason they are so vocal about hentai, ERP, body pillows etc. is that they want to portray themselves as these humorous ironic autists who are so "weird" and "different" and "quirky" while most of these kids probably just go on pornhub and fap to the first video they see like every other 14 year old.
Hentai and Eroge are hardly the problem since most of these kids only say the shit they do to try and be funny so i wouldnt worry about it, especially since as soon as it goes mainstream they'll just move on to something else they find funny, the bigger problem is pornography and the normalisation of open sexual fetishism and culture. I personally dont give a shit about fetishes or whatever since im a creepy cunt myself but when it comes to things like having a dating show where you find a date by having your naked body on display, like they do in my country, it gets a bit out of hand.

>>32252
>the bigger problem is pornography and the normalisation of open sexual fetishism and culture
That's what I am saying. I really, really dislike the normalization of hyper sexuality in western culture.
>when it comes to things like having a dating show where you find a date by having your naked body on display, like they do in my country, it gets a bit out of hand
Do you live in the US, because I think I know what show you are talking about. If not, then I suppose we got a version of said show over here.

>>32253
Im from England so its probably similar.
But yes, hyper sexuality is fucking everything up, especially for the youth who have extremely high standards and think sex is like porn.

>>32254
It's always been hyper sexualised. That's something we here in relative isolation don't often see. But if you ever do interact with adult men then everything is sexualised to them, they constantly make vulgar jokes and remarks. The problem is that it's these kinds of people who are(or already have been) getting into the anime fandom, so now if you make the mistake of reading a comment on the trailer of a vr anime game it's more than likely going to be people talking about how they want to do rude and vulgar things to the character in the trailer.

>>32251
>I hate how overly sexualized the west has become and I don't want hentai or eroge to be added to that list.
The hentai and eroge industry would really, really want this, however.
What is the difference between the West pumping out lots of pornographic content versus Japan doing it, though? Is it all in the consumers' attitude to it and the "overtness" of it, as you say, or am I missing something?

>>32256
I still don’t know if they’d bother with the west because of how much we pirate everything

>>32257
Not everyone pirates, and as long as enough people don't pirate to turn a profit it's usually valid. There's Western publishers releasing hentai (Critical Mass for anime, FAKKU! for manga), eroge (MangaGamer, Sekai Project for VNs; Nutaku for mobage; even DLSite has an English storefront now).

Post edited on 21st Apr 2019, 12:05am

>>32255
>if you ever do interact with adult men then everything is sexualised to them
Goddamn exactly. It's like they feel compelled to make you aware that they indeed have sex. With women. Of the opposite sex. Often.
It's obnoxious. What's the point?

i dont like getting old

>>32260
Shallow people are always trying to "give a good impression" (which is to say give a false impression) because they're shallow, skin deep stuff is all that counts for them. When a shallow person is afraid that others might think that they're a homosexual then they will make an effort to make sure that you don't have that impression. So if you're around someone like who behaves like that be aware that they think there is a good reason you might think that they're a homosexual, it can be useful knowledge. See this post >>32238 for further discussion on the commonness of dishonest behavior, its an interesting topic.

>>31897
This. The fact most of the characters from the retro manga I've been reading are probably older than me nowadays is a strange and weird feeling. Even teenagers from early 2000s anime are in their 30s. Time is a strange thing and I don't like aging, even if character stop existing after their respective work ends unless they're some sort of pop culture titan like the OYW Gundam characters or the characters from Lucky Star still appearing in video games as teenagers. It's weird. What do you think? Do fictional entities technically stop existing and "die" a sort of death when they leave the mainstream and eventually the minds and hearts of viewers and fans?

How old is Reimu Hakurei now ? According to Gensokyo chronology she should be in her 20s...

>>32574
ZUN's own words: "If I say how old she is, she’ll have to keep getting older. Suffice it to say they’re getting older. Besides, if she gets too old, I’m afraid some day she’d get too old to play danmaku."

Considering the popularity of Reimu, she will probably stay a "teenager" forever even though she as an idea is probably older than most fans of touhou, especially since she's unlikely to be aged up or forgotten.
It's like how Ataru and Lum were the same age in that newer OVA. It just happens when a character reaches a certain level of popularity. (On a slightly off-topic note, I thought it showed that old style designs look good in digital animation!)

Post edited on 10th Jul 2019, 2:04am

>>32091
I'm pretty happy about that part honestly. SoLs are about high schoolers, with a tiny bit of middle schoolers on the side, for a good reason. If anything thinking about >>32031 is what would make me sad.

>>32248
That's actually what anime is though. I talked to an exchange student from Japan once and I asked him if there maybe is some anime he likes and he told me SpongeBob is his favorite anime. If you're here you're a little too old to be concerned about watching cartoons. You can just forget about the social stigma associated with it and just call a cartoon a cartoon, regardless of where it comes from. This is the entire 'graphic novel' business all over again to draw a stupid line between that and 'kiddie' comics. It's the same in Japan though, with terms like gekiga and whatnot.

>>32031
Osaka and Tomo probably die in adulthood from dumbness

>>32578
While it's true that "anime" means animation in general, they use the loanword cartoon (カートゥーン) to mean comedic animation from the US and Europe. Gekiga also isn't the same, as it refers to a particular more realistic style compared to the more stylized Tezuka style illustrations popular at the time, and is a dated term anyway.

>>32579
Nah, like any other dumb girl they'd simply latch onto men and have those guys take care of them for life.

>>32582
Osaka would probably get hit by a car before that could happen.

>>31900
>>31905
What changed about the western fanbase so much? It was always filled with morons that made low quality posts and memes (called fads at the time, like demotivational posters) but just the format of low quality posts changed, instead of moronic wapanese teenagers spamming misspelled posts with dongers its just the same shit but with the current climate of memes and low quality posts. I think you all just grew up.