Anime San Diego had just celebrated their inaugural convention in San Diego, California, and we’ve had one of the biggest turnouts ever. Many anime fans are overjoyed with the community and culture brought on by this genre of media, and many are more or less willing to share their knowledge with us to determine whether they themselves are fit to call themselves an anime fan. The Writers of Anime Fire have put them to the test with our questionnaires; the results are in, and they’re astoundingly well met.
The questionnaire survey provided by the Writers of Anime Fire is a way to engage the attendees with regard to their knowledge of all things anime. The more involved the question, the more the attendee is willing to share their opinions on the subject, and to see if they’re willing to share such opinions in a more public and social manner, like with us and our anime news outlet.
Questionnaire #1 Stats:
1. What is your guilty pleasure anime series?
- Highs: Rent-a-Girlfriend, Ghost Stories, 100 Girlfriends
- Mids: Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, Dragon Ball Z
- Lows: Death Note, Pokémon, Assassination Classroom
The bottom-line guilty pleasure is either watching an anime in English dub over Japanese, or a Romance/Comedy which are genres, not names of an anime.
2. Which anime character do you absolutely hate, and why?
- Highs: Mineta from My Hero Academia, Whisper from Yokai, and Sakura from Naruto
- Mids: Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Vinegar Doppio from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and Mahito from Jujutsu Kaisen
- Lows: The Emperor from Apothecary Diaries, Meimei from Apothecary Diaries, and Hisoka Morow from Hunter X Hunter
In conclusion, it’s in our best interest to maybe stay away from Apothecary Diaries; the older the character the freakier they get.
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What’s your anime hot take/controversial opinion?
- Highs: Not liking Attack on Titan, People who hate on other people who cosplay, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is the best anime of all time
- Mids: Dragon Ball/Demon Slayer/One Piece is overrated, but the movies are better
- Lows: Diverse skin tones should be implemented, Shonen are boring, Not every villain/antagonist needs a redemption arc.
Not many seem to know the difference, but there is a common misconception between a villain and an antagonist. A villain is someone who does random acts of evil: rob a bank, hold a city hostage for ransom, etc. Then a hero comes along and thwarts the villain; they escape and come back to do more evil later on. An antagonist is someone who is the polar opposite of the protagonist. They themselves believe that they’re the protagonist, and their opposite is the “bad guy” and must be beaten. For example, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader: from his point of view, the Jedi are evil, and Anakin rises up to thwart them.
- What anime makes you cry every time you watch it?
- Highs: Dragon Ball, Silent Voice, Full Metal Alchemist
- Mids: Clannad, One Piece, Demon Slayer
- Lows: Grave of the Fireflies, Attack on Titan, Your Lie in April
- What anime universe would you live in, if you had a choice?
- Highs: Doraemon, Pokemon, Spy X Family
- Mids: Howl’s Moving Castle, Hunter X Hunter, One Piece
- Lows: Assassination Classroom, Frieren, Jobless Reincarnation
- Who would you choose for an anime sensei?
- Highs: Gojo from JJK, Kakashi from Naruto, Master Roshi from Dragon Ball
- Mids: Uncle Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Shota Aizawa from My Hero Academia, Jiraiya from Naruto
- Lows: Goku, Tengen Uzui from Demon Slayer, Kisuke Urahara from Bleach
- What anime MC could you take in a fight?
- Highs: Bulma, Anya, Nezuko
- Mids: Ash Ketchum, Goku, Zenitsu
- Lows: Baki the Grappler, Sung Jin-Woo from Solo Leveling, Nene Yashiro, but Hanako is the problem.
- What two anime characters would you want to see fight each other?
- Highs: Toji and Yuji, Nezuko and Zenitsu, Gojo and Kakashi
- Mids: Gojo and Goku, Sonic and Gohan, Goku and Jasuke Higashikata
- Lows: Ditto and Pikachu, Mai and Toji, Goku and Anya??
- Who would you want as your partner Pokémon?
- Highs: Milotic, Gengar, Umbreon
- Mids: Ninetales, Bulbasaur, Quagsire
- Lows: Charizard, Mimikyu, Snorlax
- Do you like Caillou?
- Highs: No
- Mids: Yes
- Lows: I Don’t know/Who?/No Response
Questionnaire #2 Stats:
- Which Pokemon would you turn into a delicious snack?
- Highs: Eevee, Appleton, Pikachu
- Mids: Squirtle, Ditto, Snorlax
- Lows: Mew, Mewtwo, Charizard
- Biggest crybaby protagonist in anime?
- Highs: Subaru from RE: Zero, Deku from My Hero Academia, and Zenitsu from Demon Slayer
- Mids: Shiji from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Jaiya from Dr. Stone, Takemichi Hanagaki from Tokyo Revengers
- Lows: Sasuke from Naruto, Kobeni Higashiyama from Chainsaw Man, and Yoichi Isagi from Blue Lock
- Favorite Straw Hat?
- Highs: Luffy, Nami, Robin
- Mids: Zoro, Chopper, Usopp
- Lows: Franky, Jinbei, Sanji
Only a handful of attendees were stumped by this question based only on the phrase “Straw Hat”. It didn’t convey the word “crew” or that it was referring to One Piece.
- Which anime villains are completely justified?
- Highs: Sukuna from Jujutsu Kaisen, Sasuke from Naruto, and Sosuke Aizen from Bleach
- Mids: Freeza from Dragon Ball Z, Itachi from Naruto, and Light Yagami from Death Note
- Lows: Arlong from One Piece, Akaza from Demon Slayer, and Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan
- Which would be your quirk in My Hero Academia?
- Highs: Explosive, Flight or Levitation, Elemental Power
- Mids: Teleportation, Stretch like Mr. Fantastic, Mind Power
- Lows: Sugar Rush, Getting lost when it’s time to do chores, Copycat
- You are isekai’ed into the last anime you watched; what anime is it?
- Highs: AoT, Record of Ragnarok, You Lie in April
- Mids: Ouran High School, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Mashle
- Lows: Haikyuu, Kaiju No. 8, Wind Breaker
7. Coolest cursed technique in Jujutsu Kaisen?
- Highs: Blood Manipulation (Choso), Comedian (Fumehiko), Limitless (Gojo)
- Mids: Malevolent Shrine (Sukuna), Nail and Hammer (Nobara), Summoning Judgeman (Higuruma)
- Lows: Hollow Purple (Gojo), Love Rendezvous (Kirara), Summoning Divine Dogs (Megumi)
- Favorite anime soundtrack currently?
- Highs: Cyberpunk Edgerunners, Steel Ball Run, One Piece
- Mids: Naruto, Vinland Saga, Guilty Crown
- Lows: Seven Deadly Sins, Beastars, Howl’s Moving Castle
My personal favorite will always be anything done by Yoko Kanno: Ghost in the Shell, Wolf’s Rain, and Visions of Escaflowne, as well as a few mentionables like Record of Lodoss War, Macross Plus, and Turn A Gundam.
- Favorite underrated anime?
- Highs: Demon Slayer, Kaiju No. 8, Cowboy Bebop
- Mids: Naruto, One Piece, Soul Eater
- Lows: Initial D, Attack on Titan, Neon Genesis Evangelion
My favorite would be Samurai 7, an anime from the mid to late 2000s that is the futuristic steampunk adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s classic film Seven Samurai.
- Do you like Caillou?
- Highs: No
- Mids: Yes
- Lows: I Don’t Know/Who?/No Response
Final Thoughts
To no big surprise, no one likes Caillou and his entitled, privileged bald life. We had such a huge turnout for the Writers of Anime Fire and for Anime San Diego, this being their first convention there. We hope that all the attendees enjoyed themselves fully and that our questions weren’t too mind-melting. For some of the answers given, there were a few that were themselves questionable, but like we said, we don’t judge. Thank you all for your input, and we hope to see you all again for next year’s Anime San Diego 2027.
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