@Davy:
-Fanfiction written by a being with no concept of grammar, or who has never picked up a dictionary in thier lives.
-AMV's created by a person with no idea what 'editing' is, yet gets 5*(400+ ratings!) and 300k views on Youtube because he timed 'Linkin Park:In the End' to the Naruto vs Sasuke emofest.
-Cosplayers who really, really should've been put down at birth.
-Mind-scarring pornography.
-If spoken about socially in public, will get wierd views and be branded as a 'nerd' or whatnot.
-Fanboys/fangirls(I dont think this needs explanation)
-Pretentious so-called 'Anime Reviewers'
That sounds like today. Seriously…
@Davy:
Anyway, my question to you is, would you really want annie-may to go more mainstream, despite a large portion of it's fanbase being socially and mentally retarded beyond all recognition?
No.
I feel we have/had a pretty sweet gig here, tons of free anime and manga online with corporations in death throes and unable to put lateral pressure on us to stop. Even the big corporations like VIACOM are more concerned with music pirates who actually impact their sales than to pick on us.
Anime fan "maggotry" or "retardation" is a real problem now - it's not that people can't be passionate, it's that they're far too zealous and their numbers make them a mob. An easily manipulated mob. Fanboys also spoil the enjoyment of shows and make me not want to buy legit stuff - I find myself cheering for the underdog in the American anime scene (Media Blasters, 4Kids) more often now because of how annoying cults around voice actors have become. The last thing we need now is "brand loyalty", oh gosh. o_o
The solution, I feel, is for the anime community as a whole to grow large but filled with a lot of "civilised" people, so the "endless summer" never happens. If the community is sufficiently large to promote the status quo, the immigrants can't change it unless their numbers are much larger.
History repeats itself!
4chan for example is fighting a losing battle against the mob, and we've known it was gonna happen since SaiGar 2007 ended - even if 500 individuals try to preserve the old culture, it'll get smothered in a crowd of 2000 who go out of their way to be as irreverent as possible.
Anime going mainstream might not be a bad thing, but if it were to go mainstream today we'd be knee deep in a big pile of poop.