I’ve been very lucky in life to have been surrounded by acquaintances and friends whose intelligence and wisdom has served as an inspiration for me. Being an ani-blogger has turned out to be no different, as I’ve had the chance to read some interesting and insightful commentary from other bloggers on a fairly regular basis. Because of that I’ve been given the opportunity on many occasions to examine my own opinions in various ways.
Lita Kino at Lita Kino’s Anime Corner posed an interesting question in a recent post in regards to the responsibility that more experienced fans have towards welcoming new fans into the fold. To paraphrase her question, she asks whether certain types of anime criticism, which can occasionally be laser-focused in on very minute or one-off issues in a series or on trying to extrapolate author viewpoint or intent from limited evidence, deny newer fans the experience of enjoying and engaging with anime on their own terms. As someone whose goal has always been to make anime and anime fandom approachable for many different people, the question definitely struck a chord.
