As a person that loves anime, do you find it hard to connect to people that don't share your love for anime?

[Wingstofly]

Do you find it hard to connect with people that don't like anime?

I'm asking this because in my experience I find that people who love anime tend to understand each other better. Because it's like we joke the same way and can have a more indepth conversation with each other.

[Katzalcoatl]

Not really. I am well versed in all topics. Even if you don't like anime I can talk to you about soccer. Don't like soccer? I can talk about photography. Don't like that? I can talk quantum physics.

There is always something you can talk in common with other people. You may not see eye to eye in many topics. The only way to find out is by talking and asking each other what they like.

I am the kind of person who likes learning new things. Even if the topic they mentioned is something I'm not versed at I just sit and listen.

But that is just my personal experience I am sure not everyone can do what I do and that many feel the way you do.

[powerplantanimations]

Nah, not really... especially since I disliked anime at first. I can understand why they can't get into it. In fact, I get embarrassed when my parents walk in on the majority of Shonen Shows (except for Jojo.... Jojo is a hood classic).

That said, I DO watch grounded anime with my Dad. Like Ashita no Joe or Cowboy Bebop... he loves Ashita no Joe but hates Cowboy Bebop lmao. Tomorrow's Joe is a MAN'S anime :v

[cherrystark]

Aside from Digimon, I am not a fan of anime and only really watched Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Pokemon as a kid. Best general advice, learn to expand your horizons.

There is nothing "wrong" with liking anime. Anime has such a negative stigma in many Western countries because anime fans tend to obsess over anime and can't carry on conversations about any other subject. And most fans also tend to be overweight white men who abhor personal hygiene and call women "females".

If you are nervous, find a non-anime topic you like and try bringing it up in conversation. If you like art and drawing in general, try talking about that. People are a lot less scary if you don't see them in black and white absolutes. People are multi-faceted and it's totally possible to connect with people in other avenues. You just have to step outside of your comfort level and look for them.

[NickRowler]

I won't call myself a huge anime fan but I have watched a couple of shows. I feel like I never get along with hardcore anime fans. I remember trying several times to join a local anime club and I just found the people there to be very rude and obnoxious especially if you don't share the exact same opinions on anime.

[darthmongoose]

Honestly... I know people I really like who also like anime, but I also know people I really like who can't stand it, or who only like very specific things, like they only like ghibli, or they only like older shows, or they only like stuff like Aggretsuko and hate things like Naruto... and then I know people who are hugely into anime, way more than I am who I just don't get on with at all, because a lot of them are sexist or very conservative or creepy incels... I love anime, but I'm still a gay woman with a lot of trans friends, and a lot of anime fans have....very "traditional" ideas about gender, sexuality and even government that make our values very different and hard to have common ground beyond "hell yeah, I love Kakashi Sensei, he's so cool!"

I actually find it a bit boring when I'm talking to people about comics and animation and they only like Japanese stuff. It's like... Just kinda basic when somebody likes Shounen manga, but can't enjoy the really tightly paced fights in Scott Pilgrim or the intense melodrama of classic X-Men. There's so much cool stuff to watch and read and learn from! Why limit yourself to the stuff from just one country? Especially when if you've been into anime for like 20 years like I have, the archetypes start to get really samey. I've become more and more picky about anime over the years because a lot of it is honestly just the same old tired stereotypes over and over while other media are making stuff that feels much more fresh and new.

[igneriss]

To be honest, not really. I don't think I share any hobbies with my closest irl friends but that's okay, I can talk about those hobbies with my other friends. I think I find it easier to connect with certain personality types and people who behave in a certain way, no matter what their hobbies and interests are.

[GodbreakerComic]

Wow I can definitely relate. One thing I've never liked is the way a lot of anime depicts women... it's gross. And that anime attracts a certain kind of fan. So we have the interest of anime in common, but I ain't got much to say to those kinds of fans. Like you said traditional views on gender and sexuality, not to even mention misogyny, are all non-starters for me. Some things are bigger than "hey cool we like the same thing!"

And yeah when someone makes one thing their whole personality it can be frustrating. I love anime, I could talk about the Chimera Ant arc in Hunter x Hunter all day. There's nothing wrong with that, but when someone doesn't want to discuss anything else...

To me I don't really get that. If someone starts talking about something I'm not familiar with I'm like tell me more. That's how you can find new stuff to love. I found out about Saga that way, a friend telling me about a comic I had never heard of, and now years later it's one of my favourite comics ever.

[Wingstofly]

I think that I developed this way to not connect well with people because I have been isolated from people for a long time.

[hakei]

When meeting acquaintances? Not really. Learning to do lighthearted small talks help a lot in this case.

When making friends (especially as an adult who works from a home office)? Yes. Even if not anime, something in the games or nerdy spaces helps a lot with the connection since most of my entertainment/hobby is nerd stuff. When I was at a school or an office setting, I met the same people regularly in the same environment so there was a lot to bond over. Since I'm more or less isolated now in a new city, it's much harder to do that.

[Katzalcoatl]

Don't worry many people become introverts and feel safer talking about something they really like/something that has helped them pass hard times during their life.

Beleive it or not I used to be that way. What made me change was all my life experience.
Finding friends with the same hobby will help you change your way of thinking.

Btw, I did not mention this but I am a huge anime/manga/light novel fan. Lost count of anime watched after 1.5k so I totally get why talking about anime can get you pumped up.

Being a hardcore anime fan it used to get me mad when people had stereotypes about anime. But as I grew up I understood they had such stereotypes because they only watched the most popular anime or the most known anime. Anime has all topics and it is wholesome tbh.
But that's just like saying books are wholesome since anime has many different categories and authors just like books.

There is at least one anime out there for everyone just like books. Have seen great anime about motherhood, romance, horror, girl love, boy love, trans, crossdressing, harem, action, sci-fi, etc. But all those anime usually get overlooked by more popular anime.

To further expand on this, the usual harem trope is of people just getting harems by existing. The best harem I have watched are well written in which even you as the watcher understand why it exists and you even have a hard time deciding what is right or wrong on that situation. Ofc, such harem anime aren't popular.
Same goes with other genres like Girl Love. Some girl love anime have some biased and sexist views. While others are just master pieces in which it describes the real struggles of being a lesbian girl in Japan.

My point being that anime is unique since it has so many varieties thus why it may be so easy to feel identified. Don't feel frustrated if you can't talk to others outside the anime community. Just take one step at a time to reconnect with people.

P.S. A really great anime that really hit me was a movie about the bombing of hiroshima. It was really heartbreaking especially knowing it is based on historical facts.

[BoomerZ]

I just connect to different people on different things. Most of the people I know don't watch anime. But we have other common interests. We discuss those. They also have interest I couldn't care less about so we don't talk about them together.

[RedLenai]

Not really, the thing that happens to you is that since you already share a common ground with other people based on a preference, then it's easier to break the ice of conversations compared to having to meet someone without being from an already established community or safe zone where there is an aspect that gathers people in the first place.

While I have some friends that enjoy anime, I also have friends from the Tokusatsu community, or the Wrestling community as well gaming or other things in general. There is people who know "The basics" of anime and honestly while you could probably be some kind of enlightened being who watches better anime or whatever, any common ground is ok to start a conversation. Even if the other person only has a "basic b" taste or whatever, you kind of have to put your part though, getting interested in things that the other person likes even if it doesn't resonate with you.

It probably looks easier to talk through since it may be something you already know and can actually put input, and then when it's other topics is more difficult probably because you're not as invested as others in them.

[Wingstofly]

You're right, I need to just take it one step at a time. Thanks

[Bulalakaw]

Not really. In my closest circle, most of us aren't even into the same things as each other. We gravitate towards different interests but I think that's what makes it fun being around them. I get all sorts of experiences I otherwise wouldn't have. Of course, we still do try to engage with the stuff the other likes, even if on a surface level. They try out some shows I reccommend, I try out some songs or books they reccommend.

I think it helps that we knew each other for a really long time. Because of that, we tend to be on the same wavelength and managed to form a sense of humor/inside jokes that's separate from our interests and niches. I think our friendship was formed less out of similar interests and more because we just...vibe?

[thepenmonster]

The fact is if you're one note you're going to have an even harder time with the other one note people, and you will fall out with them in a far messier way.

This is because their one note can never be the same as your one note and you WILL be brawling over stupid shit like Naruto vs My Hero.

So , y'know, go talk to some normies.

[GumshoeComix]

not particularly, most people I know are REALLY into something and my bf doesn't like anime as much as I do which I can't blame him for. I'm not gonna go and shun them for having different interests.