Anime Survey 2017 Preliminary Results

Preliminary Results of the 2017 Anime Survey

In the present paper we report preliminary results from the 2017 Anime Survey. The survey was conducted online and at AnimeFest (August 17-20, 2017) in Dallas, TX. We are grateful to AnimeFest for hosting us and supporting this research project. Also, thank you to everyone who spread the word about the survey. A goal of these preliminary working papers is to provide the fandom with a brief overview of some of the basic findings. The survey included constructs that are not reported here, but will be included in future papers. Our research team is currently working on longer papers describing the results for The Phoenix Papers.

Method and Participants

Paper-and-pencil surveys were handed out to anime fans at AnimeFest in Dallas, TX. At the same time we posted this survey online and solicited volunteers from various websites related to anime. After removing participants that did not complete a majority of questions, the present data includes 393 participants from AnimeFest and 722 respondents from online (N = 1115, 53.9% male, 0.4% intersex, 1.1% other; M_age = 25.02, SD = 7.15). Similar to prior years, the majority of respondents were from the United States (76.3%). However, we received responses from 52 different countries such as Canada (5.7%), UK (2.7%), and Germany (2.1%).

Preliminary Results

1. What other interests do anime fans have?

We’re still working on a list of other interests inside and outside the fandom, but here are some categories that were in the 2017 survey. Participants are asked to indicate if they include themselves in each category/group. We’re working to improve this list for the 2018 survey. The groups included activities, interests, and roles inside, as well as outside, the fandom.

Artist (31.1%)

Writer (30.9%)

Musician (18.7%)

Gamer (73.4%)

Voice actor (4.9%)

Industry person (4.3%)

Dealer (1.8%)

Anime otaku (44.8%)

Manga otaku (33.8%)

Idol otaku (4.8%)

Figurine collector (22.2%)

Mecha figurine collector (5.7%)

Smart doll fan (1.7%)

Maid café fan (9.8%)

Steampunk fan (14.9%)

Fujoshi (12.3%)

Hentai fan (26.4%)

Sci-fi fan (42.2%)

Brony (6.6%)

Furry (6.2%)

2. What is your favorite character?

A large portion of the 2017 survey dealt with fans’ favorite character. In total participants listed 582 different characters from 315 shows. The 25 most frequently listed characters are below (although due to tie votes at the end it is really 29 most frequently mentioned favorite characters). The large number of characters and shows highlights the vast and varied tastes of anime fans.

1. (n = 21, 1.9%) Lelouch vi Britannia (Code Geass)

2. (n = 17, 1.5%) Yuuri Katsuki (Yuri!!! on Ice)

3. (n = 14, 1.3%) Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop)

4. (n = 13, 1.2%) Holo (Spice & Wolf)

5. (n = 13, 1.2%) Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)

6. (n = 13, 1.2%) Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto)

7. (n = 12, 1.1%) Vash the Stampede (Trigun)

8. (n = 11, 1.0%) Izuku Midoriya (Boku no Hero Academia)

9. (n = 11, 1.0%) Gintoki Sakata (Gintama)

10. (n = 10, .9%) Hachiman Hikigaya (Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru)

11. (n = 10, 0.9%) Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)

12. (n = 10, 0.9%) Saitama (One-Punch Man)

13. (n = 8, 0.7%) Tohru Honda (Fruits Basket)

14. (n = 8, 0.7%) Gon Freecss (Hunter x Hunter)

15. (n = 8, 0.7%) Homura Akemi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

16. (n = 7, 0.6%) Hitagi Senjougahara (Bakemonogatari)

17. (n = 7, 0.6%) Guts (Berserk)

18. (n = 7, 0.6%) Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach)

19. (n = 7, 0.6%) Alucard (Hellsing)

20. (n = 7, 0.6%) Kumiko Oumae (Hibike! Euphonium)

21. (n = 7, 0.6%) Rintarou Okabe (Steins;Gate)

22. (n = 7, 0.6%) Ken Kaneki (Tokyo Ghoul)

23. (n = 6, 0.5%) Son Gohan (Dragon Ball)

24. (n = 6, 0.5%) Natsu Dragneel (Fairy Tail)

25. (n = 6, 0.5%) Inuyasha (InuYasha)

26. (n = 6, 0.5%) Yang Wen-li (Legend of Galactic Heroes)

27. (n = 6, 0.5%) Shinobu Oshino (Bakemonogatari)

28. (n = 6, 0.5%) Takashi Natsume (Natsume Yuujinchou)

29. (n = 6, 0.5%) Kenshin Himura (Rurouni Kenshin)

3. What is the sex of the favorite character?

Anime fans tended to have more male (vs. female) favorite characters.

4. What is the role of the favorite character?

The majority of fans have a main character as their favorite.

5. How often do fans think about their favorite character?

6. What are characteristics of favorite characters?

Ratings of masculine, kind, self-sacrificial, loyal, bold, determined, perseverant, independent, hero, morally complex, mature, and magical were above the midpoint of the response scale (i.e., 4), indicating agreement.

7. How strongly do fans identify with their favorite character?

Pretty strongly. The majority of fans agree that they strongly identify with their favorite character.

8. What kind of connection do fans have with their favorite character?

We assessed emotional empathy (e.g., “I feel emotionally involved with my favorite character’s feelings”), cognitive empathy (e.g., “I have tried to see things from my favorite character’s point of view”), sensation of becoming character (e.g., “I felt as if I were my favorite character”), friendship relationship (e.g., “I think my favorite character could be a friend of mine”), and romance relationship (e.g., “My favorite character could be the perfect romantic partner”) on a 7-point response scale, 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree. The mean results show emotional empathy, cognitive empathy, and friendship relationship above the midpoint of the scale (i.e., 4).

9. Is there drama in the anime fandom?

To examine drama in the fandom, we first asked fans to describe what “anime fandom drama” meant to them. Below are a few responses. General themes that emerged were arguments regarding particular interpretations of shows and characters, offensive comments (e.g., sexist, racist), and negative comments in general. Below are some examples of these themes.

1. “Fans of the same show fighting over something related to the show”

2. “when two or more people take an argument about fictional characters too far”

3. “People getting upset when their interpretations conflict with other people's interpretations. People gatekeeping or being jerks to each other within a fandom.”

4. “Dumb stuff that should be avoided by anyone who has no desire to be entangled in a rage whirlpool that lasts days or weeks.”

5. “Simple. Waifu Wars.”

6. “Remember a few years ago. That Hetalia vs. homestuck thing? Yea that.”

7. “I usually view this as the problematic side of anime fandom. Being racist, sexist, etc and how people react to being called on it. Sometimes it stems from fanart, content in a series, or some critique or "backlash" on anime (reasonable or no).”

8. “Elitism is a big problem, at least in my experience. And gatekeeping.”

9. “Some attacking another for liking an anime they don't like. Someone attacking another for preferring English voice acting over Japanese voice acting.”

10. “Could be several things / -legit problems that pose a danger to others (like guys trying to prey on new female cosplayers using photography as an excuse) / -relationship drama / -stupid things that get blown out of proportion / -sometimes it's related to politics and people just stepping on each other's opinions”

Fans then rated various items related to drama in the fandom. The results tend to show that drama is undesirable. Responses regarding drama as part of the fandom and too much drama were slightly above the midpoint of the scale (i.e., 4). In general, fans in this survey did not indicate participating in the fandom drama or consider leaving because of drama in the fandom.

10. Is there prejudice toward certain groups in the fandom?

We asked fans to rate different groups or categories of fans (similar groups to those mentioned earlier in this report) on a measure of prejudice, from 0 = cold to 10 = warm. Thus, lower scores indicate not liking people in that group. The results showed general positive feelings toward most groups. The only groups below the midpoint (i.e., 5) were bronies, smart doll fans, and furries. The top most liked group was artists.