12 Days of Anime (2012) – Day 11 – Joining the Anime Community on Twitter

Although I officially joined Twitter on Christmas Day last year, it was 2012 when I discovered the bustling, chatty and sociable anime community there and began to frequent the service on a regular basis.  In my entire first year of blogging, I failed to capitalize on the dynamic resource that was Twitter which supports a lively community of numerous anime- and manga-fans.  Most other anime bloggers have accounts and use the media platform as a means to communicate with each other.  So throughout 2012, I began to use the service to connect with other anime- and manga-fans which had an unfathomable affect and influence on how I watch and appreciate anime.

Over the course of the year, various moments and opportunities arose for which the anime community on Twitter had some positive affect on my anime and manga experiences.  Perhaps the most notable is how various people influenced me to pick up an anime I never gave a chance to before and watch it and its sequel this year (the subject of a post later on in this series).  Not only that but other anime I had zero- to little-interest in, I found myself curious and drawn into it purely through other excitement and speculation.  This is obviously the greatest influence that this social anime community has had on me, helping me find anime that I had missed previously or would’ve missed and motivating me to watch them and enjoy them like any other.  And if the impact were merely this alone, it would’ve made the 12 Days list due to that alone.  However, the online anime community was able to do much more than just that.

Other instances of how the online anime community influenced my anime experience over the year largely revolve around the conversational aspect of Twitter.  This includes holding conversations about lesser-known or underappreciated anime this year, like Acchi Kocchi, Sengoku Collection, and most recently with Kamisama Kiss, and being able to recognize fans who share the same appreciation for these anime as I do.  The opposite is also true, especially for anime where it was more entertaining to make fun of them than to watch them seriously.  What these people were able to do here were enhance the anime and turn it into something meaningful and worthwhile.  Even if it meant a few more laughs or smiles or whatever, the online anime community helped improve the anime I already watch and has even guided me into watching new shows.  Additionally, finding out about certain news articles or other discussion points helped enhance or hurt a few anime this year, too.

Furthermore, throughout the year, I was able to connect with many other bloggers in ways I never possibly imagined.  Previously, I had merely resorted to commenting on various blogs which restricted conversations somewhat in terms of conversation and subject.  However, with the use of Twitter as a means of holding public conversations, one in which anyone is free to join or listen, I found myself conversing with many people I had followed before and was able to connect to many new people and their blogs.  Through this, I found myself becoming more and more a part of another anime community that separates itself from the animeblogosphere and into one more dynamic, instantaneous and lively.  Although this seems to be merely an extension of the blogosphere, just under the format of a social media website, it allowed me to branch out and explore various other anime and manga blogs and meet the people and fans that power the online anime community.

Of course, with such a general and narrow explanation of how the online anime community has impacted my anime experience over the year, there are some details omitted and influences not mentioned.  Likewise, I am unable to determine what effect it has had on other tidbits, too, such as browsing Tumblr and Pixiv for images and artwork, understanding more about certain niche communities within the anime fandom, and so on and so forth.  However, the impression that the anime community on Twitter has had for me is unquestionably positive and certainly one of the greatest, most unforgettable influences of the year on how I watch, experience, and appreciate anime and manga.