Relating to younger fans...

Discuss anime, especially but not limited to 1950's~1990's series, and related sub-topics
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Relating to younger fans...

Post by _D_ »

I have a hard time with this of late to the tune that unless there is a guest I really want to meet, I will not be attending anymore conventions. That includes anime, SF, Media cons. I find it too hard to try to relate to people who should be my grandkids. I really discovered this at the last multi-event con held in my city some months ago. And I've talked to many others who are now in their 50s through 70s and its the same...not going. You just sorta hit a block and that makes it not worth the time, money or effort. And the weird thing is i still watch at least a few of the series that the kids watch...but I just can't relate to them. So, time to stop doing things i don't like I think. Going to concentrate more on the few things I DO like from here on out...
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Re: Relating to younger fans...

Post by karageko »

I'm legitimately curious to hear more details about difficulties you had trying to relate (or just interact?) with younger fans.

I feel like I have a hard time relating with fans of my own generation but that's probably not less a generational thing and more a difference in fan mentality (I meet very few people who are into the background details of creators of the media they love to consume - anime/manga/games or otherwise). I still firmly advocate that people should feel free to consume their fictional media however they like although it'd be nice to meet other fans with a similar mentality to mine :D (doesn't make me a "better" or "worse" fan than anyone else, for the record).
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Re: Relating to younger fans...

Post by _D_ »

Ever go to a "guess this series' event and find no series older than the past 15 years or so? I've had that pleasure at local anime cons. The media con I attended was well represented by things I have no interest in like anime Cosplay. I tried to think of this as a masquerade from a scifi con but no...other than Star Wars and Star Trek, no other media other than anime (and the same few series) was represented. So, wow! No interest there. Trying to talk to younger fans proved fruitless and very frustrating. Older fans? Other than the mother of the organizer, there weren't any! It's like going to our local country fair and seeing the grandparents and their grandkids do photo-ops and not seeing anything else at the fair. i just don't relate to that and the fair has become very poor compared to what it was decades ago, so now i don't go to that either. But it's definitely an age thing as I've seen the kids of friends grow up and become much more distant as they find their place in the world. The stuff they watch and the games they play aren't my cup of tea. But i talked with older fen in other places and it seems to be the same all over...no one is attending conventions like they used to. The enjoyment factor just disappeared as they got older. Can't do anything about that...
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Re: Relating to younger fans...

Post by usamimi »

I can understand this. I think it really depends on which cons you go to! There's a lot out there where the general focus is on the new and hip stuff at that moment, but there's a lot of cons out there that still try to do stuff that has appeal to older fans, too. I hear a lot of good things about the programming at Otakon and AWA, for example. They generally try to do a mix of old and new when it comes to panels and guests, from what I'm told. I stopped going to A-kon (which is like, one of THE oldest anime cons, but they're more of a general "nerd con" now, sadly) for going to AnimeFest instead and I've been very pleased with my choice so far. They have a lot more Japanese guests, and many of them are more geared towards the older fan crowd (I mean, I got to meet the voices of Lum & Ataru the first year I went! That was pretty awesome.) So I guess my advice is if you feel like going to a con, look around and see if you can find one you want to go to that sounds like it's more suited towards your tastes.
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Re: Relating to younger fans...

Post by _D_ »

That would be good but I lack the funds anymore to do bigger cons without going into debt which has become a no-no in my book. But trying to get the local organizers to get SOMETHING on the program for older fans is like pulling teeth. I did get to see such notables like Walter Koenig at a con a few years ago and Robert Picardo this past year but seeing people like that will be the only things I will be attending in the future i think. I will try to make a con in Minneapolis in 2018 however as that will be the 40th anniversary with my friend Tim Fay whom I first met when I attended the Minneapolis Comic Con in 1978. i still have the pin back for that one. But big cons in California are off the table for the time being. I usually never really attended many of them anyway. I'd end up exploring the city rather than sit in and watch videos or hang out in the dealers room. That and visit with friends I had not seen in a long while. I think that's the best thing to do as you never know when you'll get to see someone again...or ever if they should pass away...
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Re: Relating to younger fans...

Post by mbanu »

I always notice when older fans cosplay, because they can do cosplays that the younger fans can't do.

Image

Haven't seen this guy in person, but am still impressed!

It is a little harder for non-cosplay fans, though... If you are looking for older fans in general, I'd try the panels featuring Japanese guests. Even though in hindsight the fact that anime is made by people is obvious, it usually takes a little while for this to dawn on new fans. The process seems to be, Step 1: "Anime is made by anime." Step 2: "Oh, and voice actors." Step 3: "And a... director?", and then from there if they can make the leap to "Anime is made by people!" then the interest in Japanese guests in general finally arrives. (^_^) I kind of wonder if this is a legacy of American cartoons, where you'd get the voice actors in the intro credits, but then it would hustle through the credits at the end for everyone else...
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Re: Relating to younger fans...

Post by usamimi »

_D_ wrote:That would be good but I lack the funds anymore to do bigger cons without going into debt which has become a no-no in my book. But trying to get the local organizers to get SOMETHING on the program for older fans is like pulling teeth. I did get to see such notables like Walter Koenig at a con a few years ago and Robert Picardo this past year but seeing people like that will be the only things I will be attending in the future i think. I will try to make a con in Minneapolis in 2018 however as that will be the 40th anniversary with my friend Tim Fay whom I first met when I attended the Minneapolis Comic Con in 1978. i still have the pin back for that one. But big cons in California are off the table for the time being. I usually never really attended many of them anyway. I'd end up exploring the city rather than sit in and watch videos or hang out in the dealers room. That and visit with friends I had not seen in a long while. I think that's the best thing to do as you never know when you'll get to see someone again...or ever if they should pass away...
Yeah, I feel ya. AnimeFest is a local con for me, which is lucky. When A-kon rolls around, instead of going now I just hang out with friends who are in town for the con and that always ends up being way more fun than actually going lol. Are there any anime clubs or groups of older fans near you that you can maybe start your own meet-ups with? That could be an idea.
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Re: Relating to younger fans...

Post by _D_ »

re: older fans. There are a few of us older scfi, comic and media fans but no formal group was ever formed. We all know each other anyway. I drop in to see people almost every week so we keep in touch a lot. But I've lost track of a lot of people outside this area especially after my mother passed away almost 8 years ago. I hardly ever get out of town now when before, when I had wheels, I'd be much more mobile. Hoping I can get anywhere this upcoming year...
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Re: Relating to younger fans...

Post by Akage »

I think the disconnect is a generational thing and applies pretty much across the board. Every generation has their go-to anime based on what was out when they were primarily watching anime. Sailor Moon was my go-to magical girl anime, and despite owning the DVDs thanks to Anime Sols, I still have yet to sit through more than an episode of Creamy Mami. The same can be said about future magical girl series; I only watched a couple episodes of Suite Precure and that was simply because Kotono Mitsuishi, who voiced Sailor Moon, provided Hummy's voice in that series. I also don't watch many current series to begin with; I'm lucky if I even watch one per season. There are so many other things that compete for my attention. Sitting down to watch a series has become a luxury.

Convention-wise, the medium-large conventions have all gone downhill. Including AnimeFest. This year was an absolute disaster. There was no reason for them to call in the cops and there was no need for the convention to march attendees over to the autograph area as if they were hostages. None whatsoever. What use is a convention that can get great guests if attendees are getting hurt and thrown out of the convention just trying to meet them? While very large conventions like Anime Expo have always been very industry oriented, smaller conventions were usually more laid back and encouraging to attendees. But the last few years have shown that conventions that seemed to be impervious to this have now accepted this. If you were to ask me what anime convention you should attend, I would point to a very small convention in Pasadena, CA called PMX. And they cancelled their event in 2017.
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Re: Relating to younger fans...

Post by davemerrill »

Conventions in general have become real commitments in terms of time and money, and if you're like me and you grew up expecting to be able to drop into the local convention on a whim at the drop of a hat, the scale of most conventions nowadays is really challenging. Those days are over.

And it's sad, because it was nice to be able to hang out with the people who created the things you love without having to stand in a line all day and fork over $50 extra. Or just to drop into Local Media-Con and see your pals for an afternoon without having to park sixteen blocks away and buy a badge.

But we have to ask ourselves, why have conventions become so huge? And the answer is, at least partially, is because we spent decades telling everyone how great this stuff is - anime, comics, SF, whatever - and eventually people listened.

We are reaping what we have sown.

My friends and I are in the age bracket now where getting together frequently means adjusting schedules, arranging child care, and generally dealing with all the kinds of grown up real life things that we didn't have to deal with when we were bored teenagers goofing off at the comic con. If we want to get together and do nerd things together, it takes a little more coordination.

I can't say that I have a problem with anime conventions being filled with younger people because after all, that's what these things are for, they're for young people. That isn't to say that people of all ages can't enjoy anime, but there's a target age range we're talking about, and I ain't in it. At the same time, I enjoy being around to remind everyone that Japanese cartoons didn't just spring forth out of thin air sometime in 2009. I think at this stage of the game I'd be bored just attending a show, and if I didn't have panels or events to present and to give me a point of engagement with the crowd, I would probably stay home. That might be something to consider, _D_ - if your local shows aren't attracting people your age, maybe you could work up some programming that might help attract those people.

Of course, there are two sides to the coin: I also see the local literary SF conventions that can't seem to attract anyone under the age of 40 to save their lives.
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