The Old School Otaku Lounge

Yeah, it seems like the concept has turned more into a "socializing because we all like Anime club" rather than a club that watches anime anymore. Which is kind of sad, I liked sitting around with other people and watching stuff, then talking about what we thought afterwords...but even while I was doing the club in the late 90s/early 00s, it was like that (people playing video games or just socializing). Now there are so many anime conventions out there, I suppose the idea seems dated to some.

I never hosted anything at my house back then, but that was more because of space issues (my family lived in a pretty tiny place). We would get together occasionally at other member's houses for birthdays, or just for fun...I couldn't imagine doing an anime club at your own house NOW. Not unless it was comprised of people you were already friends with or something!

davemerrill wrote:Thank goodness technology caught up with us and we no longer have to treat Japanese cartoons like precious objects - they're mass market cartoons meant for broadcast, not secret cult transmissions for 'club members only'.

To me, that's what made anime back then exciting, like discovering something awesome that nobody else knew about. And... oh my gosh! Finding people online who also knew about anime! It's all a part of the nostalgia for me and I treasure those days.

greg wrote:

davemerrill wrote:Thank goodness technology caught up with us and we no longer have to treat Japanese cartoons like precious objects - they're mass market cartoons meant for broadcast, not secret cult transmissions for 'club members only'.

To me, that's what made anime back then exciting, like discovering something awesome that nobody else knew about. And... oh my gosh! Finding people online who also knew about anime! It's all a part of the nostalgia for me and I treasure those days.

The funny thing is, a lot of people (younger fans, especially, I notice) still act like anime is this cool, secret thing that no one knows about. "Oh, I'm not like other people. I love ANIME!" (I've actually seen people put this on profiles online.) I don't know why, anime is a mainstream genre now and nowhere near as niche as it once was.

usamimi wrote:The funny thing is, a lot of people (younger fans, especially, I notice) still act like anime is this cool, secret thing that no one knows about. "Oh, I'm not like other people. I love ANIME!" (I've actually seen people put this on profiles online.) I don't know why, anime is a mainstream genre now and nowhere near as niche as it once was.

They probably say that because even though everyone else knows what anime is, they judge by what's been popular for the past 8-10 years and assume it's all garbage. This is actually better than it was 14 or so years ago, when those who thought they knew what anime was assumed it was all lesbian schoolgirls being raped by Nazi space squids.

greg wrote: They probably say that because even though everyone else knows what anime is, they judge by what's been popular for the past 8-10 years and assume it's all garbage. This is actually better than it was 14 or so years ago, when those who thought they knew what anime was assumed it was all lesbian schoolgirls being raped by Nazi space squids.

Yeah, one of the first times I ever bought a legit anime VHS (it was Project A-ko), I got teased relentlessly by the clerk for liking/buying "cartoon porn". I'm sure he thought he was just making a hilarious joke, but back then I was painfully shy...so after that experience, it took me a long time to get the nerve to ever buy any more VHS tapes in a physical store. ^^;