Poll Results: “How do you ‘feel’ anime?”
Tuesday, September 4th, 2007
The following post first appeared on my old blog: Chibi no Nothing
When I created the poll I was thinking about “feel” in terms of the answer choices. I felt that in context it made sense. I think most respondents understood what I was asking. These things are supposed to be fun and interesting. Let’s examine the results.
Stats: “How do you ‘feel’ anime?”
Voter turnout 2.6 %
(37%) With my heart
(18%) With my head
(27%) With my soul
(13%) In my pants
(2%) What’s anime?
I had actually thought that I would have a few more “in my pants” votes. We all understand what the implication was here. If one were to investigate this further then the interesting aspect here would be where those leanings fall in the rage from moe to hardcore hentai. Because anime has such as wide range of genre there is literally a perversion to fit anyone’s fancy.
Honestly, I think these were a few jokers who voted for the option because it was funny. That’s alright, because it was supposed to be funny. We know anime fans are not as single minded as this particular answer would imply they should be. People are simply not driven entirely by a single force in all their actions. That is to say, people do things that contradict the “base instinct” arguments. One of those things would be sitting at home and watching anime; or, they could, perhaps, spending time writing a blog about anime.
Of the choices “heart” and “soul” are probably the hardest to differentiate. Some may say they are one in the same. I wanted to separate them. When using the “heart” it implies a fondness that is natural or even passive. When using the “soul” it implies that there is a type of integration. The individual identifies their self with the subject. Of the answers provided I think these two were probably answered the most honestly.
It could be said that these two may have an addictive quality mixed into them. Many of us would describe our viewing habits as a “hobby.” In that regard it is plainly a distraction from whatever it is that consumes the other parts of our days whether it is family, friends, work, school, or any other matters. However, all things that bring pleasure also run the risk of addiction. Many feel that addiction is an expression of chemical dependence. It is possible to become psychologically addicted to something as well. In that vein, I would have to say that escapism is the actual addiction. Sometimes we need to get away from everything, and some of us don’t necessarily see a reason to come back.
Finally, there is a strong subset of anime viewers who tend to analyze and pour over the subject matter. They think and re-think aspects that many others don’t seem to care about. We probably get much of our fan-based terminology from these people. Those who indulge with their “head” are a unique bunch indeed. One wonders if these people subject the rest of their dealings to the same analytical rigor.
There isn’t anything strictly wrong with those who think, not any more so than the other options provided in the poll. For that matter, can we really divide the fan base into these groups? Does it make sense? I find it hard to believe that one can be individually categorized into any one grouping given here. What of those that simply do not fit into one of the options provided? Do we simply pigeon-hole them into a space. The problem with the options are that the voters were forced to pick between the options, there were no other choices. In my opinion the anime viewer is made up of a finer grain.
At any rate, I was fairly sure “heart” was going to win out in the end, heart always wins in the end
The following post first appeared on my old blog: Chibi no Nothing
Stats: “How do you ‘feel’ anime?” Voter turnout 2.6 % (37%) With my heart (18%) With my head (27%) With my soul (13%) In my pants (2%) What’s anime?
I had actually thought that I would have a few more “in my pants” votes. We all understand what the implication was here. If one were to investigate this further then the interesting aspect here would be where those leanings fall in the rage from moe to hardcore hentai. Because anime has such as wide range of genre there is literally a perversion to fit anyone’s fancy.
Honestly, I think these were a few jokers who voted for the option because it was funny. That’s alright, because it was supposed to be funny. We know anime fans are not as single minded as this particular answer would imply they should be. People are simply not driven entirely by a single force in all their actions. That is to say, people do things that contradict the “base instinct” arguments. One of those things would be sitting at home and watching anime; or, they could, perhaps, spending time writing a blog about anime.
Of the choices “heart” and “soul” are probably the hardest to differentiate. Some may say they are one in the same. I wanted to separate them. When using the “heart” it implies a fondness that is natural or even passive. When using the “soul” it implies that there is a type of integration. The individual identifies their self with the subject. Of the answers provided I think these two were probably answered the most honestly.
It could be said that these two may have an addictive quality mixed into them. Many of us would describe our viewing habits as a “hobby.” In that regard it is plainly a distraction from whatever it is that consumes the other parts of our days whether it is family, friends, work, school, or any other matters. However, all things that bring pleasure also run the risk of addiction. Many feel that addiction is an expression of chemical dependence. It is possible to become psychologically addicted to something as well. In that vein, I would have to say that escapism is the actual addiction. Sometimes we need to get away from everything, and some of us don’t necessarily see a reason to come back.
Finally, there is a strong subset of anime viewers who tend to analyze and pour over the subject matter. They think and re-think aspects that many others don’t seem to care about. We probably get much of our fan-based terminology from these people. Those who indulge with their “head” are a unique bunch indeed. One wonders if these people subject the rest of their dealings to the same analytical rigor.
There isn’t anything strictly wrong with those who think, not any more so than the other options provided in the poll. For that matter, can we really divide the fan base into these groups? Does it make sense? I find it hard to believe that one can be individually categorized into any one grouping given here. What of those that simply do not fit into one of the options provided? Do we simply pigeon-hole them into a space. The problem with the options are that the voters were forced to pick between the options, there were no other choices. In my opinion the anime viewer is made up of a finer grain.
At any rate, I was fairly sure “heart” was going to win out in the end, heart always wins in the end
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