The Making of Expert Creators
There is this idea online that the more you consume of something, the more qualified you are to be the expert on it. Someone said they ranked the “Top of Anime of all Time,” and their qualification was that they’ve seen 300 anime. Don’t get me wrong, that is impressive. I think I have a little over half of that marked as Completed on MyAniList. But does that really make you qualified to rank the top 30 anime of all time?
Specifically with anime, the online space has weird unspoken rules about who they deem qualified to discuss it. And by “qualified to discuss anime,” I mean creators who others think are a trustworthy source for anime opinions. Successful anime content creators who other people go to get their anime recommendations, see if The Apothecary Diaries is worth watching, and why DAN DA DAN fell off. (It didn’t, btw.)
Most people think you need to have seen every episode of BLEACH, One Piece, and Naruto to even cross the threshold into having valid anime opinions. “Bro, you’ve never seen every Dragon Ball spin-off. You probably think Demon Slayer is peak, too.” Others think it’s a sign of longevity. “If you weren’t watching some fansubbed anime of a VHS tape, you’re too young for this.” I think it’s a little bit more nuanced than that.
One on hand, I see the need for seeing how someone was “raised” to trust their anime opinions. If you got into anime in 2020 after the big “anime boom,” people think you haven’t been around long enough to have substantial opinions. I also understand people thinking that if you haven’t seen the most successful anime, you may not have a good reference point for your opinions. Personally, I think if you’ve watched over 100 anime and have zero shojo/josei anime on your list, your opinion doesn’t hold weight. (This one is actually true.)
Why The Creators Matters
But why does this matter, right? Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and in the same vein, everyone can choose who they follow. But, as we all know, with every niche, there are big creators who do have influence. These are people with thousands of followers who can sway someone’s opinion on a show. They can influence someone to check out a new upcoming anime while also denouncing an anime they think is “trash.” These creators either deem themselves or are regarded by others as “experts” because they’ve watched 3000 anime.
Where I take issue with this is that I don’t believe the amount of anime you’ve seen or when you got into anime means anything. I don’t think having thousands of followers means you’re a trusted voice in the space. The credentials we need to be looking for instead are media literacy skills, emotional intelligence, and the ability to do research and think critically. If your favorite creator is quote-tweeting fake anime news, do they have the skills to meaningfully critique something?
And it matters because, as much as people try to demean “creators,” those people DO have influence. Brands are putting money in their pockets because they are visible. The more we platform people who lack critical thinking and media literacy, the more we influence others to move in the same way.
It’s Bigger Than Anime
This also matters because on a larger scale, it’s not just about anime. Everything is connected. We are living in a world where people have 100% trust in ChatGPT and believe anything on TikTok with that one weird narration voice. When you have stories that send important messages, and some big creator completely misses the point, you’re changing the narratives. They’re influencing others to turn off their critical thinking and blindly believe their wrong take.
We’ve seen this with how people have managed to take Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and turn it into a manifesto for the alt-right. We’ve seen people say that Tohru from Fruits Basket was a weak lead. We have seen people think that Luffy from One Piece would be in support of ICE!
Just this week, I’ve seen people recommend Promare to people who liked KPop Demon Hunters because of the visuals. And as someone who saw Promare for the first time this year, I couldn’t help but think that in all the years it’s been out, I didn’t know it was a movie about genocide. When I saw it, I had such a visceral reaction because it was a mirror to what is happening in Palestine. And I just couldn’t see how you take a movie about genocide and say, “If you liked the look of KPop Demon Hunters, you’ll like Promare.” And this is just one of many, many examples where the themes and messages are being missed or diminished!
You’re doing too much, this is too deep.
Actually, you’re not doing enough. Anime are stories. Stories are here to challenge us, to change us, to inspire us, and to make us feel things. If you let someone else change the narrative of the story, someone who is truly not qualified to lead the conversation in any meaningful way, you are allowing them to dictate what that story means. We are in a time and place where, now more than ever, it matters who we get our stories from. It matters who is telling the story. It matters who shares the story and what they took from it.
I hope you know this.
I am so glad that this topic is being addressed. Thanks so much for writing this blog!
Yeah, I totally agree that you really have to be careful about who you follow online and really think for yourself if what they are saying is trustworthy. I do think how much anime someone has watched has some weight in what they say about anime, particularly if they have watched a wide variety of anime. But anime is also an art form, so any interpretation of that art form is going to be subjective. And it’s also important to keep in mind that just because someone is knowledgeable about a subject does not mean they are qualified to teach about a subject. Like you mentioned, the person also needs to have critical thinking skills, media literacy skills, and skills in art critique and story creation too. Not to mention that anime is a vast field of media with lots of genre. It’s always better to listen to people that specialize in a particular genre. Someone that calls themselves an “Expert” in anime without saying what anime they specialize in, probably isn’t even remotely an expert. I wouldn’t consider myself an expert at all, just a super fan, and even I specialize in anime (shoujo). That being said, even experts can miss important points about an anime series that new fresh anime fans can bring to light. So, it’s good to listen to experts, but it’s also important to keep an open mind and listen to all kinds of fans.