True Fans?

[billy_wires]

They have a term for these people who buy every single dvd, condoms, birth control, and pregnancy tests related to anime.

They are called Otakus.

OH SNAP!! I didn't know they came out with Excel Saga condoms! They must be recent. I shall have to make note to pick up a box at the 7-11.

As far as a true fan being "more" than a regular fan is ludicrious. Saying there are varying degrees of fandom is stupid. Why would a person watch it if they didn't like something about it? Being obsessed is still just fandom. Just look at this thread. There are people that watch it, those that use it, and those that collect it, but we don't try and classify each and every one of those people. To prove that you like something overtly or to keep it quiet still proves fandom. There is no such thing as a "true fan", just elitist dumbasses.

[The_Collection]

i read the first few post until my head started to hurt... but i feel that any one who says thay love anime is a fan. any one who gets mad when some one calls it a 'cartton'. i hate when people do that, its not a 'cartoon' but a reflection of life and happieness itself! obessed you say? i think of it as a way of showing anime your love.

my goal in life is to create a trans-dimensional gateway to cross into an anime world and marrie an animé girl. obessed, i would like to think so!

peace, to all the anime fans out there! 8)

[Grey land]

I thought this deserved a new topic.

I saw mentioned in the Future of Anime thread the term "true anime fans". I was just wondering, what would you consider a true fan? Is a true fan someone who keeps track of all new series, and cosplays, and buys lots of DVD's? Can you be a true fan if you just enjoy a few series and talking about them with other people? How do you define who's a true fan and who's someone who only acts like one?

Disclaimer:
I am not in any way criticizing/flaming/etc. the person who wrote the true fan thing. I am just curious what people think.

You don't need materials comfort to be considered a "true fan." You're a a true fan when you wholeheartedly love that anime!

[Coaxel Ethereal]

fan
follower
devotee
supporter
buff
addict
fanatic
groupie

They are all fans, and each one branches into different types of the same. There are hundreds of ways to describe what a fan is, personally I realized I was a fan when I first ran into a forum and references actually made sense to me. I was born outside the states and I’ve always had trouble linking cultural and social references. Bloody nose after something ecchi, cat girls, EVA, big-stompy-giant-mecha, it all made sense, which is pretty cool for me.

[OtakuMegane]

I've always known and pretty much gone by there being two "degerees" of interest in anime. Fans, who watch stuff, maybe even have a lot of series and stuff, but in the end it is not the prime focus of their life. And then Otaku, the more obsessive ones who tend to make anime the prime focus of their life, often becoming obsessive in one or more aspects, whether a particular series, genre, whatever.There is a theoretical 3rd I guess, Otaking. But nobody has reached that yet. Anyone familiar with Otaku no Video will have an idea of what standard I'm working off of.

I personally rank as otaku, though one of the milder sort thus far.