We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.
Aristotle
This is the quote I paraphrased when I first commented – you could say someone’s identity is formed by partaking in certain activities, so essentially, fans of anime and manga are the sum of their actions that led them in this direction (for example, liking other aspects of Japanese culture such as food) and, in turn, can be shaped by “fannish” actions (such as learning Japanese). Notice how it can eventually form a cycle you can’t escape from. In short, the thing Scott calls “the thrill of the hunt” is why some people “run on a treadmill” of certain actions – watch more anime to keep up with discussion, which opens the door to more anime and makes you associate as an “anime fan”…get it?
Sidenote: This isn’t a phenomenon exclusive to anime – it’s a thing that happens with all habits. For example, I like to thrift shop nowadays (habit) because I volunteered at a thrift store at one point (impetus), so I sometimes see paying for thrifted items as my way of giving back to thrift stores and the community in general (ramifications).
I also see my time with translation the same way – I started translating (habit) to improve my Japanese skills (impetus) and find out what was going on beyond the anime/manga etc. I was watching in tweets, manga and so on (impetus). As a result, I got a Master’s, which led me to become a professional translator (ramifications).
I feel like a lot of the fans who got into anime when anime began its “boom” in the Anglosphere are more likely to be on the “treadmill” because they were exposed to it through some wider means, like TV channels playing 4Kids dubs. What sets them apart from people who haven’t continued with anime, as well as more recent fans, is they had to initially work harder to get their anime fix, due to a variety of factors, such as technology and…well, general availability.
In terms of the “rotating anime fandom door”, I would agree, but that doesn’t seem to be exclusive to anime. Most things are being digitised, but also being lost in a sea of data these days, to the point it’s too easy to pull some random anime up in a sub or dub of your choice if it’s from the past few years (…most of the time). Suddenly, your attention is the thing at a premium, so it’s easier to forget about what you binged yesterday – the good and the bad.
Things are moving faster than ever in the digital world – it’s just restricted to a week a time in the simulcast world (normally) because of terrestrial TV broadcast. (In fact, that was exactly one of the points of hesitation I had when I decided to get back on the treadmill that is simulcasts for the fall 2023 season, especially considering it’s so. Damn. Huge.)
Keep seeking the magic,
Aria.