Totally agree!

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It's the other way around for me.

I find I'm trying new stuff as the years go on. Not that I've been reading for long. Something like 4 years I think.

This~~

I've become more open-minded in some ways (seeing "shounen-ai" in the description doesn't freak me out anymore ) but yeah, more selective too.

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"[English] not only borrows words from other languages; it has on occasion chased other languages down dark alley-ways, clubbed them unconscious and rifled their pockets for new vocabulary."
-James Nicoll, can.general, March 21, 1992

I started reading manga in 2003/2004 I was a sophomore in high school. When I was in high school the only mangas I read were shojos (some shounen but not much). But I did have a friend that read shounen-ai and yaoi, so I used to read those too and really enjoyed them. Lets just say the popular mangas were Hana Kimi, Mars, Hot Gimmick, Paradise Kiss, and stuff done by Yuu Watase.

Now I'm 22 and I say my taste have changed but I wouldn't say I'm closed minded. I now wouldn't read any shounen-ai or yaoi and I don't find a lot of the high school dramas that charming any more. I'm now more interested in mangas that the main character is older like Kimi wa Pet, GTO, Kurosagi Shitai Takuhaibin and [m]Butterflies Flowers[/m]. I also read more josei and sienen then I used to and I'm more interested in an interesting story/idea then romance. But I still read some shojos but they have to unconventional and not completely cookie cutter like Oooku and Bokura ga Ita.

Over all I read different stuff now and I'm also more picky on artwork I like. I like good art (I know this varies from person to person), because there is a lot of manga out and there's no reason not to have good story and art. But I will read just about any genre (including hentai and ecchi if done well).

Last edited by Barisaxyphone at 7:16 pm, May 26 2010

I've been reading mangas for ages, and as I've grown older I've actually expanded beyond the cliche shounen comedies towards a wider variety of mangas. Although I still tend to lean towards shounens, ecchi, harem, or even almost errotic mangas, I also enjoy symbollic, deep, and meaningful mangas. On rare occassions I'll even go on shoujo manga binges and while I stay away from yaoi and shounen-ai mangas, I do enjoy ambiguous and comedic mangas like prunus girl.

The statement that people become more closed-minded as they grow older, is in and of itself a very closed-minded statement. We aren't the same as the people in the past that become stubborn old coots, with the constant advancements in technology, science, education and social morals, and the readily abundant source of information (the internet), as we grow older our minds actually broaden. We stray away from the selfish and begin to realize that there is actually a world out there, more than what we had originally thought.

Whether we stumble upon new genres out of luck, boredom, or on purpose, mangas have been continually pushing the boundaries of what is considered socially acceptable, and in turn it has been pushing our limits as well. Had this been 30-40 years ago, I'm sure yaoi mangas would not be as openly welcomed as it is today, and while anime fans are still stigmatized and stereotyped as otakus, with the increasingly growing popularity of the industry, even the cliche niches like the dumb jock, the cheer leader, or the nerds have all dabbled in anime and mangas once in awhile.

This is a new age where even children are exposed to various social "hot topics" and while the children do not think about the subject in depth, by growing up exposed to these hot topics and by being aware of their existence, their minds tend to be a lot more open and accepting of things.

I feel qualified to respond to this topic because I'm probably one of the few who actually is an "older reader." Since I first became an anime/manga fan only about two years ago, I think that in itself disproves the 'closed-minded' theory.

When I've tried to talk about manga to the uninitiated, so many people have discounted it, ridiculed it, or otherwise completely refused to consider it as something they might enjoy. I've been an opera fan longer than most people here have been alive. I like Mozart, Wagner, and Puccini, not so much Verdi. I understand that other people have different tastes. What I do not understand are people who say -- often as if proud of the fact -- that they would never go to an opera. To me that is what is truly close-minded.

When I started reading manga, I tried different genres but soon discovered that shoujo, josei, and yaoi suited my tastes. I read some shounen, mostly what can be called 'shounen for girls' such as bishounen-heavy series like Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and I've found a couple seinen that I like. I read romance, action, mystery, psychological drama, historical, fantasy, horror, slice-of-life, supernatural, and comedy. Sports manga doesn't do anything for me, just not my thing. I've also found that I don't care for episodic series without a story arc - nothing there to drive my interest. I've never tried some popular series like Naruto, Dragonball, or One Piece, and that might be close-minded of me, but my list of other things to read is still too long.


Exactly.

Well, I'm kind of a prime example of older readers (I'm an asian, i read manhwa since I could read)

I'd say that i am close-minded. unless a series has been recommended by my friend, i wouldn't touch it unless i checked the genre and the summery (and some even reviews). especially if it comes into buying.

in fact, if i feel like starting a new series, i would do the genre search, read summery, narrow it down, see that the scan are completed, and go that way. (or recommendation from friend)

which lead me to read practically all shojo historic manga out there, while not knowing a single title of sport manga

You might be describing the minority here rather the majority. In all ages, past and present there has always been people who sought to broaden their knowledge, but most people lay back and just work from stereotypes. From experience, people generally stick to what they do, eat, watch, hear and don't go exploring much. Among my peers, there honestly aren't many who try new stuff or even care to do so if asked.

I feel like you're painting too optimistic a view of humanity. Perhaps you are accurately describing some of us Internet people, especially manga readers who are but a fringe-of-a-fringe, but for the general populace - I believe that most are and will grow up to be 'stubborn old coots'.

I do however agree that with the abundance of information nowadays, the situation is improving and people are becoming less ignorant.

I'm afraid that I might be as closed-minded as people get. I've been reading manga probably since I was in high school, and it grew on me so much, that i tried to create my own. However, my knowledge of manga was extremely limited, and i kinda sucked too. But over the years, and opening up to new genres, i was able to create about five series that I'm currently working on. But when i was working on them, i realized that i was creating series with genres that i normally avoid, like horror, drama, psychological, and tragedy.

Back then, I was satisfied that the series ended on a happy route, but while I was working on my series, I began to disagree with the concept of happy endings. The current situations we live in now, cannot say for the things people have to go through. Same goes for the characters in books or manga. The characters may be happy, but how long will that last? That of course is left to the reader's imagination. People tend to go for series with happy routes, so they don't have to feel as bad. And readers who eventually give up on long-run series. This applies to all genres, and people are pretty nick-picky with the results, and they avoid the ones that might be bad for their tastes.

Most of the series I'm working have inconsistent conclusions: I imagine the flow of the story, and there are plenty of obstacles in the character's path. When they reach the end of it, what's waiting for them at the end? It could be a wall, or another stretch of road, or maybe even a forked road. My imagination is broad, but its limited to what I'm actually using, so in the end, I'm pretty much stuck with where I am now...

Basically what I'm trying to say is: I prefer inconsistencies rather than conclusives; it makes you wonder what might happen in the future.

Last edited by Karis at 10:33 pm, May 28 2010

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It's good to be aware of what you like, and be willing to challenge that as well.

Of course, it's also good to acknowledge why you don't like something. And manga tends to be a very fan service-y type of medium. And I don't mean in terms of panty shots. A lot of shonen, yuri ect tend to hit on certain notes on purpose, and maybe you just don't like those notes. Film, by comparison, is a lot more natural.

Well, I'm only 24, but this year I decided to check your yuri/yaoi for the first time.... Out of 2 of each I liked 1 of the yaoi and both the yuri series.... and those things aren't usually my cup of tea, but I felt compelled to try something different.... I doubt 24 is really and "older" reader, but I feel like I'm probably up there in the range if you take every user here into account....

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Thanks to the Japanese, I have been deprived of any left over paycheck cash since high school.... >.<'

I think its the opposite with most people. I consider myself quite open-minded in my six years experience of reading manga, but I'm only eighteen so there's still time for that to change, although I'd rather I didn't become like that...

In manga?
Well that is a big no, I read a wider selection of manga now, BUT I became a LITTLE more critic about what I find a good manga and what is Crap.

I think this whole thing about becoming closed minded has to do with the time available, as you grow older there is less and less time for yourself (work, family, friends) and as such the little time you get to spend on yourself becomes less and you have to use that time wisely, so you refuse to read anything that could end in a huge disappointment or will most likely suck (in your humble opinion at least).

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Actually...I've been reading manga since I was about 5-years-old (lived in Japan until I was almost in jr high). If anything, my taste in manga has become a lot more broad. Whereas I would only read almost nothing but shounen when I was little, I've now come to appreciate works from various genres. For me, its more a matter of "How many times have I already seen this done?" or "Where's the plot?" rather than being closed minded. I've even attempted to read light BL a few times and actually enjoyed the storylines, when you couldn't even pay me to touch it with a stick when I was a kid. Ito Junji? Hino Hideshi? All horror manga in general? Shoujo? Smut? These are all things that I would quickly let slip the by the wayside for Dragonball/Z and anything Gundam in a minute. But that's hardly the case now.

So no, I whole-heartedly disagree with the "older readers become more closed-minded" thing.

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I'm a bit of a drifter between two countries

Yes, I used to love Harem, Ecchi, all kinds of hentai and used to read all genre except for Yaoi.

Now I hate harem and like ecchi but not too much and hentai I usually stick to oneshots and became too picky in reading manga or watching anime.

Example Wolf Guy - Ookami no Monshou I probably would have loved it a couple of years ago but now I dropped it at chapter 2.