Yep, I'm definitely an anime fan, been so since 1996.
Unlike many who really got into it thanks to Dragonball Z when it aired on Cartoon Network, I came into it a few years earlier, and not with DBZ, but instead with a little-known series, Samurai Pizza Cats. It just took that and the rest is history.
I don't keep up with newer series like I once used to, but I still collect and watch things I missed.
I seem to be the odd one out though when you get into genres, especially among fans who are more around my age. I notice a lot of folks into more action-y things or stories that you almost need a dictionary-sized 'guide' to understand half of what's going on....psychological thrillers and stuff. While I have gotten into more action-oriented stuff like Naruto (original series only), and Rurouni Kenshin both which I liked (Kenshin more than Naruto though), along with older mind-benders like Evangelion, more contemporary stuff like Death Note, Bebop and Champloo just never grabbed my interest. Ditto the sci-fi and mecha side like the Gundam franchise. I understand the historical significance of things like Bebop and Gundam, but they're not my cup of tea.
I suppose, like me with my gateway....a satirical, pun-laden comedy about a bunch of anthropomorphic feline crime-fighters who run a pizza parlor all day, most of the above are what got people into anime.
Sometimes, and especially moreso today, I feel like I'm alone in having gone a bit outside the box.....or used to. When I started in the fandom, I went from Pizza Cats, to the classic Akira, and onto more comedy....,Ranma 1/2, and The Slayers specifically. The former because it was just funny, the latter because its RPG/medieval fantasy setting grabbed me. From there, I just kept on branching out and exploring past my comedy roots.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I love having a romance in what I watch (older anime like Fushigi Yuugi, and newer titles like the re-telling of Shakespeare's classic Romeo x Juliet do this well enough for me), even though it's not a dealbreaker if the series in question doesn't contain a hint of romance. I enjoy settings that evoke a fictional world where one learns its history and inner-workings, like those of The Twelve Kingdoms.
Shoujo and slice-of-life are rather high up there on my list of favorite genres. Not the current crop of slice-of-life favorites like K-on though.....not my thing.....girls in highschool uniforms as a rock/pop outfit just doesn't do it.....seems a bit pandering.....what's wrong with a series like Beck, which I enjoyed immensely?. It's more 'adult' in tone and does the whole 'teens/young adults' in a rock band gig better and far more believable/realistically. Instead of that, I'll take stuff like the aforementioned Fushigi Yuugi (in the shoujo area....the series also fits into the drama and romance angles), Someday's Dreamers, which is nice, if possibly too slow-paced for some, a more recent fave has been Petite Princess Yucie...a cute little comedy/adventure seemingly aimed at the female audience (but I've been enjoying it), and one can't forget Cardcaptor Sakura, which introduced me to the 'magical girl' sub-genre of shoujo, and also to CLAMP. Perhaps oddly, Sailor Moon wasn't one that appealed to me.
There's of course the slew of visual-novel-to-anime adaptions I have. Air, Kanon, and Clannad. They're all fine, but I don't go actively seeking anything newer (or older) out. These seem to only appeal to a certain sort of fan, due to their slow pace.
I mentioned Twelve Kingdoms, which gives me a nice character-and-world-building story. I enjoy this stuff immensely. Sadly, the Japanese culture....or the otaku base within it.....I don't know which, seem to be adverse to stories featuring strong-willed females in an uber-high positions. As such, no one takes risks on these anymore. This really is sad, because whilst we do this 'strong-willed/independent' female stereotype more in Western storytelling, it's almost always just 'superheroine' sorts of gigs in sci-fi. I've never been one for comics.....the DC and Marvel realms. While Twelve Kingdoms is more a series of short stories in a way, one of them does feature a young lady who is taken from her humdrum life as a typical high-schooler, to that of being crowned Queen and as such, having to deal with that whole new set of challenges. Another series I can't seem to push enough is Saiunkoku Monogatari (The Story of Saiunkoku). It got lost amongst all the "Haruhi mania" since it started air in Japan in 2006. It's about a young lady with lofty goals, who through a stroke of luck, gets a chance at her dream....in the same, also being thrown into the nasty realm of politicing. A little more recently, Spice & Wolf has become a favorite of mine. It explores economics in a medieval-fantasy realm. Moribito, yet another one in a past-time setting and with a strong female lead.
From time to time, I still revisited my comedy roots. Azumanga Daioh! sticks out front-and-center for me. It's the more obtuse sort of comedy though, the sort that often can get lost in translation. While perhaps some maybe did (and thus you needed the booklets that came with the single-disc release run of the series), they still pull it off and it still gained a nice-sized following. Love Hina applies the rom-com (romantic comedy) angle to a harem setup.....it's not one I make time to watch like I used to, but I still watch its Christmas special every year around the holidays. Like many other 'fanboys' out there, I still swoon over Ah! My Goddess, both for its fun, easy-going, easy-to-follow premise, and a certain goddess.
I could go on, but I'll stop. I ramble on so much. ^^;;
Whilst I wish E! had an anime and gaming board, it's doubtful they'll bother. This is mainly a role-playing/storywriting board. That said, I'd love to RP based off these worlds, but I don't make up original characters to the themes or worlds. I play the 'canon' roles, which seems to be highly unpopular (unless your a young teen and just beginning to discover the many worlds of anime.). What doesn't help in anime's case around here is that the characters all look too damn young half the time, especially in more contemporary works. I never cared for hentai. Too much hentai fanart is over-exaggerated crap-ola, and the animated side of hentai......forget it.
Video gaming is a more mainstream medium, though this will depend on genres one is into. It would probably have a better chance of getting a forum.
Really though, this forum works well enough.
In short, count me into E!'s small stable of anime fans.
