Access and the Construction of Fan Identity: Industry Images of Anime Fandom
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Access to content is a concern for many American anime fans, who view themselves as responsible for attracting content from Japan. In this context, American anime distribution companies have constructed two images of anime fandom: disciplinary and participatory. The former focuses on fans self-policing for the economic success of the industry and the latter positions the company and the fans as equals in a shared community. The online discourse of two anime distribution companies, FUNimation and Crunchyroll, are analyzed for the ways they rhetorically construct these images in order to persuade fans to support the economic success of the industry.
