hontou ni
29Aug/0621

The art of anime evangelism

This post has nothing to do with Gainax's Evangelion. Rei fanboys can move along now. XD Rather, this is a self-indulgent post to share some of my experiences in pimping anime to my many non anime-watching friends. I have broadly classified this anime pimpage into 2 main blocks; preparatory and execution phases.

Warning - long waffly post on much about nothing

Preparatory phase

This is the info-gathering and brain-storming stage. There are 2 key decisions to make at this juncture; the choice of your target and the anime package by you are to initiate him into wondrous world of anime.

Target

Your target should be a person you know well and someone you WANT personally to share your passion for anime with. The latter is of utmost importance because if your heart is not in the right place, the fire would not catch on. Next, zero in on his/her preferences. A hopeless romantic? An action buff? A pretentious intellectual? Come what shape/sizes/sexual orientation, there is an anime out there that will draw them irrevocably to anime heaven.

Package

After having determine your target's inclinations. Pull out all noteworthy series from his preferred genre and further trim the list with his sub-preferences. For example take into account his penchant for lolitas, siscon or twincest or dislike for nekomimi or meido-fuku etc. Here's 2 other general guidelines for picking THE anime should you find the list still too unwieldy for selection;

- Early Hook

Try this. Pass 2 eps of Kiminozo to your non-anime watching emo-drama-loving friends. Make them promise they'll watch the 2 eps else you commit sepukku and see them come begging for ep 3 the next day. Indeed, the series you pick should preferably have an early hook. For example, while Kannazuki no Miko has a great hook, it's positioned a little too deep into the series at ep 8. You may find your potential convert losing interest before that potent point of no return.

- Concise series

While Naruto/Hikaru no Go/Bleach has made anime fans of many, I personally prefer to use 13 parters or 6 part OVAs to ensnare my prey. Macross Zero (5 eps) is one concise and crisply animated series that is perfect for entrapping those predisposed to beautiful action. Iriya no Sora, UFO no natsu for the drama queens, Nanoha As for loli-action lovers or FMP TSR for mecha drama. If a short series is not on your prepared list, the next best option would be a strongly paced production to hold the recruit's interest. SUNRISE productions are known for good pace and should be considered although their endings may leave such bad tastes that drive the uninitiated forever away from anime.

Execution phase

With your target and package set, we are ready for the execution phase. Execution is also divided into 2 main segments; pre-ops and delivery.

Pre-ops

Pre-ops is also known as softening the ground. As much as it is natural, talk about anime with emphasis on the series you have secretly prepared. Expound on its merits; high drama content, gorgeous animation etc. Induce his participation. Throw in leading questions on anime in general and identify if he has any issue with watching anime or a bad childhood with Smurfs. Engage his concerns. As much as you can recify misconceptions he might have on anime (common ones being anime is for children or all anime is tentacles)

If circumstances permit, show him MEGAMI posters, figures or any other related material. For example if the series you have picked is Ichigo 100% (God forbid), you may want to show him Hinoi Team's Ike Ike on youtube. Continue to gush on the plot, drool over the characters. In every way possible let your love for the series overflow in conversations. This would also imbue some familiarity prior to your actual delivery of the series.

After your contact, withdraw to evalutate his overall response. If he had been unmoved by AIR MEGAMI posters and you picked AIR because you think he would love the beautifully animated bishoujos, return to prep stage. Refine your understanding of the target's anime perspective and if necessary re-select the package. However at this juncture, if you so judge that target has zero 2D inclination and will not take to anime now or ever in future, terminate operations. Just defer to anime providence in leading him to enlightenment should he ever have a change of heart later in life.

Delivery and follow-up

If you had done your homework, this would be the easiest stage. The delivery itself could be deliberate; for example organising a little gathering to catch Ghost in the shell - Innocence at your place. Or 'coincidental' - Friend drops by your place. Conveniently give him a quick preview of the Mai HiME ep 8 ensei clip. Now be generous and lend him your series. Thereafter, on MSN messenger or future encounters, gently inquire on his progress with the series. If he's found not to be watching, titillate him with juicy plot developments in latter parts of the series.

Some final words. Although I have listed the steps in an almost mechanical fashion, this is but just one of the (untested XD) methods of drawing people to anime. The guiding principle for pimping of anime is love for the Great Art. Do not feel responsible for failing to make fans. It falls not under our purview. It is anime that makes fans. We are but mere channels of this greatness. In the infinite wisdom of anime deities, you might have been the one to plant the seed but it would be others or future series to break its dormancy. So don't be apologetic about loving anime or discouraged should your current efforts seem fruitless. Keep that anime flame burning bright. Others will eventually be drawn to its light and warmth.

Anime no tameni

Related posts:

  1. What does your top 5 anime say about you?
  2. Of anime genres and KyoAni
  3. Random Rant: Anime Spring 2004

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  1. Crusader
    August 29th, 2006 - 23:02

    Good grief you sound like an insidious cult leader with you plans. Still I guess it must work since I surmise that you have done this before. Its so methodically disturbing.

    Still Your loli-con status shall never leave you, you put up Ichigo 100% just to place that Hinoi Team link. I came, I saw, I felt dirty after using wiki to ID this Hinoi team. I tell you that’s not possible they can’t be 14, lies lies lies. Damn you Tanuki! ;)

    As for me I just bring my 500GB portable hard drive and laptop with me filled with stuff I like or have not seen to “govenrment sponsored trips to parts unknown.” I then make a half assed poster and let cabin fever induced curiosity bring them in. It has more of a shotgun effect and only a few are smitten enough to want more. I have all the eqiupment neccessary to take advantage of the portable power for those tents I call home, thank the maker my unit is guranteed a portable generator and diesel to run it.

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  2. Haesslich
    August 29th, 2006 - 23:07

    You also have to pick the right series to do the hook with – someone who enjoys comedies will NEVER watch anime again if their first impression of anime is set by KimiNo, or Grave of the Fireflies. Nor will giving Nana to someone who enjoys action-adventure shows… or Fate/Stay Night to anyone, period. GITS:SAC or Black Lagoon would appeal in the latter case, and something like maybe Keroro or maybe Magikano in the former.

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  3. wontaek
    August 29th, 2006 - 23:23

    Take especial care to select something that has great music at the beginning. Music, unlike visual images, works on subconscious levels, and many of the show’s success is actually because of the music it had in first 3 minuts of the show. The best example is AIR, but all the series I have successfully used to hook new comers had great music at the beginning 5 minutes.

    1. Macross the movie ‘ Love, remeber?’: Great symphonic opening with huge visual impact from so many details. This is the one that tells people who have only seen Simpsons for the animated work that they are not in Kansas anymore.
    2. AIR: I have seen the movie, the TV specials, and the game itself. At first I was overwhlemed by the story, after my head cooled down and began noticing holes in the plots, I had to wonder why I was so engrossed in the series at the start. My conlcusion is that ‘ Tori no Uta ‘ is such a well made piece of music, not many people can’t help losing themselves to the scenery that accompanies the music. The opening two measure still makes my heart beat faster.
    3. Fruits Basket: People associate anime with trash and loud noises. Fruits Basket’s opening theme is the perfect antidote.
    4. Laputa ‘ Castle in the Sky ‘: Great orchestral piece opening, and the trumpet solo.You can’t help getting your blood flowing again when you hear that trumpet accompaning the rising sun.
    5. Kimagure Orange Road TV series: I didn’t use this balsted show, but observe it hooking someone, first hand. I still consider ” Night of the Summer Side ” to be one of the best OP song ever, despite my fierce hatred of this series.
    6. Martian Successor Nadesico: This is for Jeff Lawson.
    7. Azumanga Daioh: One of more memorable opening songs for such a funny series.
    8. School Rumble: One of the best OP/ED combination ever. The 2nd semester’s song was not that great until they replaced the ED song, which I give high marks. I wonder if the text of the current ED song is the most prophetic of all things in School Rumble Anime. School Rumble also perfected many of the sound effects and ultra short music effects.

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  4. Stripey
    August 30th, 2006 - 00:03

    Crusader: Yes… I lied… only ONE of them was 14. The remaining 3 were 13 and 12s then. LOL! :) I like your cabin fever approach. Confine. Brainwish. Ooohh can’t wait to try in at my next chalet on some deserted island. XD

    Hasselich: Yes indeed. Which is why picking the ‘right’ series precedes the less important aspects like hook and series length. :)

    wontaek: Ah.. How can I forget music, such an important hook. :) Thanks for the reminder.

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  5. Impz
    August 30th, 2006 - 00:47

    arrr, i have some other recommedations for other possible anime watchers.

    For those who are suckers for lovey dovey stories – Kare Kano. One of the best shoujo series out there with tons of rumor. Just dont show them the last few episodes. Tell them that some gun-wielding cutiephile ate it up to hook them to more anime.

    For those who like lolis and action too, Gunslinger girl is just about the only choice available. And the soundtrack is rather airy as well.

    I agree with the AIR soundtrack, because it was the music in AIR that hooked me to the series.

    *now i have a more concrete plan to hook unsuspecting friends into anime*

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  6. helspectre
    August 30th, 2006 - 01:17

    Sounds great. Perhaps I should try these on closer friends instead of less familiar ones. Maybe that would just do the trick, since they’d be more willing to listen to me too. :)

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  7. Crusader
    August 30th, 2006 - 01:27

    wontaek: I think Escaflowne should be up there as well. I loved the epic score, but I am not sure if in the US the tarnish of foxaflowne has been rectified.

    Stripey: NO, NO. That’s not true that’s impossible…!

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  8. kablaq
    August 30th, 2006 - 02:36

    actually, on the mecha one, i’d recommend rahxephon… while it isn’t quite short and sweet, the music combined with the visuals makes for an amazing sensation (at one point i got goose bumps at the combination of music and visuals… i think somewhere between 15-20… god, that was awesome)…

    otherwise, great idea!

    on the thought of azumanga daioh, make sure they like some slower, slice of life shows… because the humor is more based around that than say, the off the wall humor of excel saga and puni puni poemi…

    oh my… ichigo 100%… i can’t believe i still like that… i thinks its just for the ed and op songs XD

    i -really- need to try out how SHnY will work on my sister… i don’t know if she’ll like it, but i can always try!

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  9. kablaq
    August 30th, 2006 - 02:36

    p.p.s

    kagutsuchi FTFW!!!!!!!!!!

    desu~

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  10. Seleria
    August 30th, 2006 - 03:11

    kablaq: “…the off the wall humor of excel saga and puni puni poemi

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  11. tj han
    August 30th, 2006 - 05:07

    Naruto is your best friend. It never fails, espeicially for Males. I got my friends hooked onto anime and they are all different types.

    Satanist
    Computer Nerd
    Ah Beng
    Football Fan
    Mugger

    And all conquered by a potent combi of Naruto and Bleach.

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  12. Tsubaki
    August 30th, 2006 - 06:48

    Tsubaki thinks that breaking your friends legs and forcing them to marathon 24 episodes of Mai-Hime in a day always works. I managed to convert a couple using Mai-HiME alone.

    Rwar.

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  13. Swampstorm
    August 30th, 2006 - 12:18

    wontaek: The second ending of SR S2 may have been prophetic back in Ep.11 or so, when it was designed, but it’s horribly out of date now. At least one of those two characters is no longer in the slightest bit relevant, and ought to be replaced by someone else. I’m sure that a third season or OVA series, should it happen, will be bound to remedy that mistake. ;)

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  14. wontaek
    August 30th, 2006 - 14:10

    @ Crusader

    I have read the Escaflowne manga, in English actually, but didn’t get to its anime, so I have no data on its music.

    @ kablaq

    I didn’t like Rahxephon and didn’t think highly of its music, but that is because of my preference, thus, since you believe it would work, it should work on many people. I agree with your comment about Azumanga

    @ tj Han

    What is ‘Ah Beng’?

    @ Tsubaki

    Breaking a leg and Mai-HiME?! (-_-;)

    @ Swampstorm

    Maybe so.

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  15. Xellos-_^
    August 30th, 2006 - 14:42

    For the Drama/mystery types you can also the Memories OAV.

    It contain 3 45min shorts.

    The first is drama/mystery

    2nd is a dark comedy

    3rd is a very underrated and thouhgt provoking short movie for the Anti-war type.

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  17. crimson
    August 31st, 2006 - 08:44

    yeah, macross has those awesome air dogs display.

    Otherwise, i recommend Kenshin – reminiscence or the newer Vampire Hunter D movie to lure the target into the abyss of anime affection.

    Wontaek>
    Ah Beng is a local term having the same context as ‘young punk’. Depending on your tonality and body language, calling someone an Ah Beng can be offensive or a compliment. To play it safe, dont bother addressing someone as Ah Beng.

    If you are around grade 8 and u call someone an Ah Beng, its usually an indication of awe.

    At ages around 20, Ah Beng has assorted meanings. For me and my friends, Ah Beng is associated to pple who sounds local (usually, a series of broken english sentence structure in speech mixed with other languages) AND acts stupid OR/AND smack talk over topics they know nuts about OR/AND just trash talk in strings of swear words combi OR/AND attention seeking/strident. If me and my friend refer another friend as (an) Ah Beng (yeah, one of those magic words that can be used interchangeably as an object or a name), it could mean he dresses or speaks very casually and calling him that way is just a neutral or more fun way for us to refer to him.

    Btw, even if my friends and I decided to define Ah Beng that way, one meaning of Ah Beng really still refer to a punk who have 20 friends (in their phone list maybe) rdy to pounce on you becos he tot you were staring at him or he tot u were taking his picture when u were just using the new phone to play those orientation sensor games (which is why ah beng is sometimes linked to stupidity..yeah, attention seeking activities yet they dont want pple to look at them).

    Well of course, there is the more stylish class who is the ‘strong silent type’. But, usually they have a habit of smack talking around their other Beng buddies and it gives them away. So they are labelled as Ah Beng too. Some of them probably hack pple with blades. But, their smack talk nature keeps them labelled as lil Bengs.

    The class that dont smack talk, has plans and likes to bash pple up…well, pple normally promote them to criminal class and usually dont associate them with the concept of Ah Beng that much. Even though some of them may hang around others who are classified as Bengs, they (those that dont talk smack, plans, and hacks) themselves are somehow not labelled in the same manner. Pple usually call them “that guy” rather than “that (stupid) Beng”.

    “Ah Beng” is a name formatted in an ‘affectionate’ or shorcut way of calling (usually someone who is younger too). You can see “Ah” is just some sounds to fill in the void. Maybe in an english context, its like calling Jack Daniels as “yo Dan”. But you wouldnt want to start calling the ladies ah something cos..its old fashion and it usually has that affectionate context.

    Let’s say Jack Daniels is someone who can drink 10 beers and, somehow, his affectionate name gets associated to this phenomenom, so, anyone else who can drink 10 beers now is conveniently greeted as “yo Dan” or seen as another “yo Dan”.

    The female version is Ah Lian. Equally dumb, strident and aggressive (if u dont talk their smack with the same frequency or channel). Anyway, these negative traits are usually taken up only when the Ah Lian/Beng you are referring to is not a friend.

    In tj han’s context, he said friends and ah beng, since the keyword is “friend”, it usually means a person who is more interesting in some ways that might have slight reminiscence tosome of the definitions of an Ah Beng, but, minus all the malice.

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  18. cyw1988
    August 31st, 2006 - 09:25

    converting people into anime inventory

    1. popcorn
    2. 4 series
    – Love Hina(hook them by showing them everything till ep 5)Romance/Comedy
    – Vandread(just 1st 2 eps of 1st season is enough) action/mecha/fan service (converts most guys)
    – Azumanga Daioh (OMG Pawnage comedy) (converts almost anyone)
    – Card Captor Sakura (fantasy lovers shld love this)
    3. d/l software installation files + instructions to start his/her own anime craze

    Well to say the least, so far I have only managed to convert 3-4 people. Anime Used: Vandread, Azumanga and Gundam Seed(sheesh this is like so common)

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  19. Stripey
    August 31st, 2006 - 09:28

    Hey thanks all for your inputs, especially highlighting the more pimp-able series. I feel like I’ve leveled up again. :) Well with this much feedback, I just MIGHT write a book. (yes Dervish, be careful what you wish for…. mwahahaha! :P )

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  20. extraclassiclite
    August 31st, 2006 - 16:31

    Kino’s Journey for the pretentious intellectual social commentators. The special episode (with the tower) is short, sweet, and so very very Kino.

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  21. MA.
    September 30th, 2006 - 03:47

    I can’t believe there is so much to one term “Ah Beng”… Makes integrating into a different culture seem alot harder than it did before :(

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