Anime vs. Furry
Jul. 4th, 2003 10:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
furtechWhy am I blogging while at a huge anime con? Because I've already registered, eaten breakfast and set up a computer connection and there's still 15 minutes until the dealer's room opens. Actually, before I tried to set up the computer, there was an hour... but still.
I noticed several differences between furry and anime fans while I was eating. I thought I'd do a running comparison.
First off, the breakfast buffet actually had miso soup! And Kombu! There's nothing like a big pile of sticky rice to help cut the grease of the sausages and bacon.
The age we act.
Anime fans: 5 yrs old? That age when we put on costumes and goofed, before we got all self-conscious.
Furry fans? 14? That age where we are well into what sex is about, desperate for it, but still awkward.
Who's here:
Anime: a PG mix: families with very young children (very well-behaved children I should note). Geeky teens and teens-at-heart. Some geezers (like me!). Artists and costumers.
Furry: Horny teens. Alternative lifest yles. Troglodytes. Artistic types (moody, dress in black) and artists (looks confused, carries sketchbook but no pens).
Moods:
Anime: Too much sugar; too much caffeine. Spazzy. Friendly and oddly G-rated. Kind of like SD ComiCon in feel. Testing grounds for Kellogs and Prozac.
Furry: Desperate to be liked+. Awkward, like a kid in a museum who's just been told he can touch anything and does (stop skritching me!). Kind of creepy and squicky. When they're not touching each other overly, the costumers seem to be fun folk (when they're touching too much see: creepy and squicky). Testing grounds for aspergers, Prozac and Zoloft.
Describe in one word:
Anime fans: Yatta!!!
Furry: Squick!
Misc notes:
Anime: Despite the demons this fandom has batt l ed (h entai, child-molestation, serial killers), they seem to have overcome those stigma and become fairly mainstream. Certainly the face they show the public is mostly one of geeky-cartoony; aside from some titillating costumes, there's a remarkably low overtone of "sex". Enough so that families and younger children feel free to attend.
Sad/disturbing sight: A (probably) pre-teen wearing the costume of some scantily clad warrior. Mostly diaphanous and strategically placed material. The problem: First, seeing someone this young dressed in almost nothing. Second, the character she's dressed like was obviously busty... and the effect here isn't so much like her "falling out" as it is like curtains in a breeze against a wall..
I noticed several differences between furry and anime fans while I was eating. I thought I'd do a running comparison.
First off, the breakfast buffet actually had miso soup! And Kombu! There's nothing like a big pile of sticky rice to help cut the grease of the sausages and bacon.
The age we act.
Anime fans: 5 yrs old? That age when we put on costumes and goofed, before we got all self-conscious.
Furry fans? 14? That age where we are well into what sex is about, desperate for it, but still awkward.
Who's here:
Anime: a PG mix: families with very young children (very well-behaved children I should note). Geeky teens and teens-at-heart. Some geezers (like me!). Artists and costumers.
Furry: Horny teens. Alternative lifest yles. Troglodytes. Artistic types (moody, dress in black) and artists (looks confused, carries sketchbook but no pens).
Moods:
Anime: Too much sugar; too much caffeine. Spazzy. Friendly and oddly G-rated. Kind of like SD ComiCon in feel. Testing grounds for Kellogs and Prozac.
Furry: Desperate to be liked+. Awkward, like a kid in a museum who's just been told he can touch anything and does (stop skritching me!). Kind of creepy and squicky. When they're not touching each other overly, the costumers seem to be fun folk (when they're touching too much see: creepy and squicky). Testing grounds for aspergers, Prozac and Zoloft.
Describe in one word:
Anime fans: Yatta!!!
Furry: Squick!
Misc notes:
Anime: Despite the demons this fandom has batt l ed (h entai, child-molestation, serial killers), they seem to have overcome those stigma and become fairly mainstream. Certainly the face they show the public is mostly one of geeky-cartoony; aside from some titillating costumes, there's a remarkably low overtone of "sex". Enough so that families and younger children feel free to attend.
Sad/disturbing sight: A (probably) pre-teen wearing the costume of some scantily clad warrior. Mostly diaphanous and strategically placed material. The problem: First, seeing someone this young dressed in almost nothing. Second, the character she's dressed like was obviously busty... and the effect here isn't so much like her "falling out" as it is like curtains in a breeze against a wall..
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no subject
Date: 2003-07-04 10:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-07-04 11:19 am (UTC)12-14 year old girls dressed UBERskimpy.. Something is just WRONG with that idea.
At least fur covers things.
-J
Scanty
Date: 2003-07-04 03:14 pm (UTC)And I've seen plenty worse at furry cons-- not all costumes are covered with fur. Silfur comes to mind as does the fat, hairy naked guy at AC (dressed in bondage thongs and a bridle: "I'm a horsie!")..
Re: Scanty
Date: 2003-07-04 04:57 pm (UTC)Every fandom has their 'weirdos'
-J
cons. and pros..
Date: 2003-07-05 12:01 am (UTC)It is indeed a safer feeling, and although there are many bright treasures that glow in pockets of furry conventions, it can be more of a challenge to find them, and keep safely distant from the overly unusual examplings.. true.
I haven't been to an anime con though, so I'll take your word for it, that it seems more 'normal', as your meaning is intended here.
Excellent point you make in a comment too... who could know how the entire fandom might have shaped, if modeled by other examples, in many cases...
no subject
Date: 2003-07-25 12:39 am (UTC)I would have to agree wsith you completely, especially without the RMark and Rod influence, that sort of optimistic, forward looking, and slightly comedic atmosphere of the early to mid eighties might have progressed. Remember not only Albedo, but also Captain Jack, Space Ark, and all that stuff. Now it's all "associated Student Bodies", and that sort of tripe. Inward looking, pessimistic, and looking for "acceptance, no matterhow damaged they might be. At some point i am going to reprint my first contact with the dark side of the fandom back in 1985.
We have to do Japanese food, the next time I am in L.A. (Maybe Next month).
Scott