so wait, if you didn't have any classes together, and don't ride the bus together yet, when and how exactly did you meet her? or did you just see her pass by? because it would be easier to give advice if i know exactly where it is that you both have a moment where you can interact
but Anyway,
You said she is in the art department, right? how about just casually asking her to help you with something art related like: "hey you do art, right? I want to make this b-day card for a friend but I'm pretty useless do you think you could help me with some sketches?" thou this scenario is assuming she at least knows of you, which is why I ask you when you met her.
or if at one point in time she passes reading something you have read before (not only manga) you could just be like "hey! is that ____title ______? i read that before..." and then you can strike a small conversation with her about it.

As for meeting other people who like manga/anime I'm usually pretty straight (I think) forward about it when I meet a new person. I just smoothly weave in the whole "though I guess one of my favorite things to read are manga, oh wait, do you know what manga is?" bit, and if they do know what manga is I proceed to ask them whether they have any favorites or if they just know what manga is, but don't read it. I f they don't read it I just pick another topic to talk about.

It's actually hard to explain. Through some things I was driven to that conclusion. But today while I was with a friend of mine on his facebook during class I accidentally (honestly) saw a photo that looked like her and asked my friend to check her profile so now I'm pretty sure that she does like manga. I don't really like facebook but it is useful sometimes. Men created Facebook and thus appeared the new generation of stalkers . So yay that was a development (sad... I know...)

@claudiofd Hmm thanks maybe I'll try that. And about the bus you're mostly right.

@gojen Mostly for some of the things that claudiofd said and the bus ride until my stop is only like 10 or 15 minutes so it's not very long.

@The Guy Well yeah... If I don't think of anything better I guess a direct approach like that would be the best thing to do but it takes a lot of courage to do that and my courage level is lower than negative 9000 so... But who knows!

@Hikari13 I never met her actually. Until today I just had some reasons to believe that she liked manga but I never actually met her. Yes, a sort of reason to talk to her could come from something like that and it could probably make things easier but like I said I never met her so it'd be weird of me asking her something like that.
Btw I like your way of approaching people on manga! It sounds effective and I'll remember it!

Once again thanks to everyone who replied!

Try to get on her eyes a lot and from time to time attract her attention (reasonable little ambiguous things, reasonable). Watch her and study what guys she looks at.
Art student? Become a model there, jk. Find out if her class has a plein air or smth and hang aroud there with friends (just please don't approach her to look over her shoulder with "Can I look?" like a damn tourist). If you decide to talk about art try to bash some recent exhibition or smth, yet not too arrogant.
My opinion is that you should not force the manga/anime topic. It's better for this to appear later somehow.
You can also make the acquaintance of someone from her class or her friend.

Well, I guess in your situation, the hardest part will be talking to her for the first time. As you described it, it seems that you are just two normal students without any interacting points. That is a problem if you want to meet her. You study different things, you don't have the same friends, you rarely go home on the same bus. So striking up a conversation might be really troublesome. If you really like her, I guess you could wait for the time she gets home to go home, and then use the same bus. It might seem like a waste of time, but you can always study a bit in the library, or carry your laptop with you and while you wait you can surf the net or whatever you enjoy doing with your computer. Then you just have to wait for a good opportunity. It isn't easy to talk to a girl when you don't know her (believe me, I know) so just stalk her a bit and try to find a chance. It can take quite a while, but you never when she may trip and you might be there to help her... Anyway, I wish you good luck Busu Otoko

Geez, people here haven't being giving good advices anymore, it's up to me then.

Do you know if there is any nearby forests near your school?
Any alley she goes near?
Do you think she would like an aromatic candle and wine or just the good and old car oil and match?

Edit: Her favorite color?
We can always customize the bat to her liking

To discover that one I suggest pretending you are making a poll about favorite colors, go asking people inside the school until you reach her.

Last edited by Klapzi at 5:11 pm, Mar 22 2011

I'd talk to them like i would if i was talking to any other girl lol

*edit* and about help for you, do you have any mutual friends?? or friends that are friends with her friends??, if you do hang out with them and go meet her and introduce yourself, regular small talk and you can ask questions to get a feeling whether or not she likes animes/manga talk about big named ones that nonanime/manga fans have heard of as well, and if you feel like she watches others you can just ask her 'do you watch any other animes, or read mangas?", and if you dont got mutual friends then you just got a nut up go with a small group of friends (that are willing to be your wingmen/wingwomen *wing women help alot more then wingmen*) and go talk to her and her friends i really wouldnt suggest talking to her alone because no offense doesnt really sound like you got the confidence to do it unless you know her a little bit better. hope this helps

Last edited by pumpupthevolume at 5:17 pm, Mar 22 2011

________________
"when i'm sad, i stop being sad and be awesome instead."
- Barney Stinson

That looks nasty.
Do you use bats too? Or do you like cleaner methods like alcohol in the nose or ropes?

I agree with this! specially the wingwomen part- girls are usually more open if there's another girl present. I have actually done this for a friend before- being a wingwomen! I ended up doing all the hardwork > but it was pretty fun. If you really have no connection to her whatsoever, find a friend who is pretty outgoing or/and easy going and ask her to help you go talk to her. Oh! also, if you have lunch together maybe you can go with a girl friend and go sit by them, don't do it alone! (if it's at lunch it's not that odd- many people do it) I have personally met many good friends who I have no classes with just because one day we ended up having lunch together- either because they wanted to meet new people or their usual place to eat had been taken.
Also if you do end up getting on the same bus as her, try to seat besides her. Once that is done you can start random conversation with small questions such as: "hey do you know the time?" or you can pretend to really need a pen and ask if she has one (stuff like that) then you can be all like: "hey! we go to the same school" and then where the conversation heads all depends on you

o, and another tip for meeting people who read manga/watch anime would be to read manga in one of your classes during free time- I noticed that people who DO read manga will naturally come and ask what it is that you are reading, just because they may have also read it. However, don't do it to often, or people will think that you are one of the "freaky" types of otaku- you know, the ones who are actually pretty weird and can ONLY talk about manga, and walk around lunch time reading without talking to anyone, etc

seriously Wingwomen are freaking awesome no one will fail if they have a competent wing women with them

________________
"when i'm sad, i stop being sad and be awesome instead."
- Barney Stinson

I like the wingwoman and the manga ideia(it has been mentioned more than once, so it should have a chance)
For the manga ideia I think the bus is the best place, since like you said you don't share any moment aside the bus drive

Who will be the wingwoman is the real problem. Using one of her friends would be the best and most common option, if you knew one. Since you don't you will need someone with a higher level of acquaintance than you....maybe some other girl from art class?

========================================================= ========
The wingwoman could help you carrying the sack. It's not a simple thing to do

You could try befriending a guy in her class, preferably someone who's on good terms with some girls on her class. that way you'll have a good reason to hang within her radius. you can work your way up from there.
edit:
just don't tell them your aiming for her though, the guys anyway.

Last edited by BossKado at 8:42 pm, Mar 22 2011

I was on the other end of this once. A guy approached me because he noticed that I liked manga.

The first thing he did was ask about my homework in the library XP. Or more accurately, the doodles in the margin... Then he brought up manga and the conversation wasn't awkward at all. He even drew manga-style doodles for me (it was so cute).
He was really shy, so I was kind of flattered that he opened up to me.

---

Back then, I thought it was really refreshing to talk to someone else IRL about manga. She might feel that way too. Eventually you're bound to find other things to talk about beyond manga.

All indirect approaches are bullshit. It only makes it harder if you try to wile your way into a convenient situation. Having a common bus ride is plenty.
But a direct approach shouldn't be handled by walking up and saying, "Oh my god, you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." either. Rather, all good approaches involve one of two things, preferably both: Non-threatening/awkward positioning, and a subject of interest to talk about.

Approaching a girl like a charging bull is a great way to set off her flight/fight response. It's better if you're somehow sitting down (a bus ride? Brilliant.) Or if you're looking slightly over your shoulder, body facing away when you start the conversation.

Having a subject of interest accomplishes several things: It gives you an entire list of things to talk about/say, so you don't have to worry about awkward silences; it keeps you away from the death subjects--what you do for a living, where you go to school, what classes you're taking, how many brothers you have; and it makes you memorable.

But from what you've said, you can't just bring up manga, since telling her how you know is a good way to scare her off. So you have to start the conversation another way: Relying on positioning. So, get a seat near her on the bus and, since you know she's in the art department, ask her what department she's in! But please please please don't stay on that subject. Transition to manga... Say you've dabbled it in or something.

Good luck, and may the schwartz be with you.

What happened, Bosu Otoko ? (did I spell that right )

________________
There are times when you will miss what you never had. I wonder how you will find what you so desperately need.