Most of the public think that people over the age of 17 who watch "cartoons" are weirdos, why is this?
I have to agree, there are a few Otaku, but there are a lot of us that are what the public view as normal. Anyway, what is wrong with being different? Shouldn't people need to be less judgemental?
I am a fan of comics, Anime and Sci-fi, some people are very surprised when they find out what I do in my spare time. I also know that some people haven't come out yet. My attitude is to be proud of what you are!
Anime and Manga are a break from reality, and to be honest we all need a break from today's reality. Some people watch soaps after a hard days work, I read manga.
Currently, anime hasn't been marketed to a wide enough target audience. Manga video has only just started to release non-violence/sex anime, and the UK public have only seen what they have released. Thus, anime is associated with being a cult thing.
It may be a difficult image to break, there is nothing wrong with anime being a cultish thing. But some people may want to avoid something that is cultish.
I don't think that Manga Video deserve all the slagging off they get from the fans. They are the only people who have put their money where there mouth is. It isn't surprising that they have concentrated on the violence and sex anime market, as it sells.
However, it is strange that anime sells to a much wider audience in Japan. In the UK where the darker, gritty violent anime has been marketed, it has attracted the Heavy metal/biker/comics/rpg type people. It's a case of the style available finding a market.
This is what has happened in Japan and to a lesser extent in America, publishers are more in-tune with possible market wants. AnimEigo and Viz etc. are selling to a wider range of customers. More anime styles have been marketed, with softer, cuter styles finding a profitable market.
Until we have anime designed to appeal to other markets, anime in this country will be a male thing. I wonder how much research has been done on what women think of anime and what they would want from anime?
Women need to escape from reality as well as men as the lovey-dovey stories that appear in women's magazines prove.
Whatever people say about Manga Video they have made huge advances in anime, they have made it sell! It now has it's own little space in the video shop, and they have proved in the UK that cartoons written for an older audience do sell. Hopefully another company will follow them releasing some more of the wide range of style available.
We are the ambassadors of anime, and we can get what we want released in the UK. To achieve this we have to prove that there is an audience for anime. This can be done either by telling Manga Video and others what we want, or by educating the public about what anime is about. So go out and tell them.