All media fandoms have one thing in common: fan content. It varies tremendously: you can find countless video edits, stunning fanarts, curious fanfiction, outstanding cosplays and pretty merch of your favorite shows all over the internet. But what does it add to your experience, and how can it possibly affect the anime industry?
The first thing we’d like to talk about is pretty simple: fans finish a series, but they’re not ready to say goodbye to its world. If an anime impresses you, it’s obvious that you’ll keep thinking about it for a long time. And if you have a creative bone in your body, there’s a high chance you’d want to express your feelings by contributing to the world of fan content. Constantly seeing numerous fanarts and edits on their feeds doesn’t let fans forget about their favorite adventure and adds more reasons for being hyped.
Although the main function of fan content is entertainment, it is not the only thing it’s capable of. It’s obvious that fans are the driving force of fandoms, and it’s a smart decision not to ignore them when it comes to adapting or creating a series or its merch. For example, Levi (Attack on Titan) has become so popular that you can hardly find an anime shop that doesn’t display at least one small Levi figurine. Moreover, his fame had him receive his own tiny manga spin-off and two OVA episodes. Or let’s remember Kaneki, who has become iconic. Even though the Tokyo Ghoul anime is long gone, Kaneki’s mask made the Covid pandemic a time for some anime fans to shine when it came to choosing the design for their masks. Fan favorite characters also influence the promotion of a series a lot. Look at all those Gojo and Geto posters for Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3!
Another big part of all fan content is fanfiction. Shipping characters is a favorite fan hobby for many viewers, and their little obsessions have become the source of endless fan service. It’s enough to remember Sebastian and Ciel (Black Butler) who fueled a lot of debate due to their age difference being quite problematic, but led to countless endearing and hilarious moments in the series.
One more thing worth mentioning is memes. While being rarely thought-provoking and sometimes straight up dumb, they have become a phenomenon just as big as some series themselves. When was the last time you watched a funny anime video without a JoJo reference?
With that being said, fan content has become an inseparable part of all anime, and fans are the driving force behind series promotion. This is exactly the force that brings a project fame and makes it so entertaining to join fandoms.
…and why we love it so much.
All media fandoms have one thing in common: fan content. It varies tremendously: you can find countless video edits, stunning fanarts, curious fanfiction, outstanding cosplays and pretty merch of your favorite shows all over the internet. But what does it add to your experience, and how can it possibly affect the anime industry?
The first thing we’d like to talk about is pretty simple: fans finish a series, but they’re not ready to say goodbye to its world. If an anime impresses you, it’s obvious that you’ll keep thinking about it for a long time. And if you have a creative bone in your body, there’s a high chance you’d want to express your feelings by contributing to the world of fan content. Constantly seeing numerous fanarts and edits on their feeds doesn’t let fans forget about their favorite adventure and adds more reasons for being hyped.
Although the main function of fan content is entertainment, it is not the only thing it’s capable of. It’s obvious that fans are the driving force of fandoms, and it’s a smart decision not to ignore them when it comes to adapting or creating a series or its merch. For example, Levi (Attack on Titan) has become so popular that you can hardly find an anime shop that doesn’t display at least one small Levi figurine. Moreover, his fame had him receive his own tiny manga spin-off and two OVA episodes. Or let’s remember Kaneki, who has become iconic. Even though the Tokyo Ghoul anime is long gone, Kaneki’s mask made the Covid pandemic a time for some anime fans to shine when it came to choosing the design for their masks. Fan favorite characters also influence the promotion of a series a lot. Look at all those Gojo and Geto posters for Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3!
Another big part of all fan content is fanfiction. Shipping characters is a favorite fan hobby for many viewers, and their little obsessions have become the source of endless fan service. It’s enough to remember Sebastian and Ciel (Black Butler) who fueled a lot of debate due to their age difference being quite problematic, but led to countless endearing and hilarious moments in the series.
One more thing worth mentioning is memes. While being rarely thought-provoking and sometimes straight up dumb, they have become a phenomenon just as big as some series themselves. When was the last time you watched a funny anime video without a JoJo reference?
With that being said, fan content has become an inseparable part of all anime, and fans are the driving force behind series promotion. This is exactly the force that brings a project fame and makes it so entertaining to join fandoms.
