This introspective poll was suggested by fellow admin Kaioh. I'll admit that I chose the last option "A former or declining pastime." I've been debating on retiring from MU for a while now...sigh...

You can submit poll ideas here (and try to keep them manga/anime-related)
http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=3903

Previous Poll Results:
Question: How available is published manga in your native language and/or country?
Choices:
In most major book stores - votes: 3930 (48.6%)
Only in specialty stores - votes: 2300 (28.4%)
Can only purchase physical copies online (and shipping is reasonable) - votes: 559 (6.9%)
Only official digital releases - votes: 152 (1.9%)
No publications in my language and/or country - votes: 1150 (14.2%)
There were 8091 total votes.
The poll ended: August 15th 2015

Even though availability may be high, based on past polls, you guys feel that the price is too high and don't actually buy that much...

Last edited by lambchopsil at 8:16 pm, Aug 15 2015

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A just ruler amongst tyrants

I selected "An ongoing hobby" but it takes more time and attention than a mere hobby. A hobby implies spending "some" time regularly attending to it. Whereas I spent approx. half my waking time immersed in manga and novels. Mostly novels these days. Japanese manga just don't do it for me as much as it used to. The manga obsession has steadily evolved ever since I discovered the culture through the big 3 anime. I didn't choose "A lifestyle" because I don't consider it a part of my identity.

Somewhat declining but I still voted ongoing hobby. I used to be caught up and up to date on a few hundred series and picking up a new one whenever i had the free time. Now I read and keep up on a few dozen and I only pick up something new once in a blue moon. I watch maybe one or two new animes a season if something appeals to me. Compared to before when it was the way I spent my free time it's certainly declined but it's still around.

Well, for people that don't live in a big country the prices are to high, because everything needs to be imported.

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Even after dead, we raise from the ashes for the sake of manga.

Re...Retiring from MU? D:

Well, I'll admit that I read much less manga than I used to, but I still enjoy it very much.
Especially when I find something interesting.

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Hrodulf and Bjornolfr, you will not be forgotten.

And if the world were black and white,
you would be my rainbow in shades of grey.

Click 'n Play!

If I had a fantasy self, it'd be a tentacle monster.

A declining pastime. I basically stopped keeping up with new chapter updates on my reading list, except for maybe 1 or 2 titles. I've tried reading new ones, but also can't seem to get into them.

Sad.

Anime is a declining/former pastime while Manga is an ongoing hobby/declining pastime.

It's definitely not a lifestyle for me, but an ongoing hobby that I've engaged in for 10+ years now. I find that I mostly tend to forget about manga and anime when I'm involved in a new and signficant endeavour in my life (e.g. a romantic partner).

Both anime and manga are an ongoing hobby for me, and probably will be for the foreseeable future. Our own country's fiction is terrible, and as I grow older I notice just how many discrepancies there are between western and my culture, which makes western fiction (especially movies and comics, probably because they're geared towards the masses) increasingly more distasteful. So manga is one of my major hobbies now, since it also appends to my life-long hobby of reading. I'm learning Japanese, and have begun to notice that most of the unique manga with real artistic merit rarely get scanlated or licensed; only the same old, same old that'd appeal to the average teenager. And since I'm not one, any more, I think it's about time I struck out on my own with some quality seinen and josei, and the less stereotypical shoujo and shounen that no shoujo/shounen group would ever touch

That being said, I never read translated web novels and very few light novels; I dunno whether actual Japanese novels are good, but web novels in particular are incredibly immature and cliché, and the writing's terrible. Novels originally written in English are definitely the best in terms of plot quality, and I still read a lot of those, though I practically never watch entertainment TV or read comics any more.

Last edited by calstine at 8:48 pm, Aug 15 2015

Same as you. I've become more selective towards what mangas I read now and instead of reading new series, I tend to read completed series. That or I wait a bit for a volume or two to be scanned before I start reading. Either way, it saves me the disappointment of lack of updates/drop after first few chapters.

As for anime, it's never been much of a hobby for me. It's more like a "phase" and depending on what I'm doing at the time. I don't like to waste hours of my time watching something if I can't multitask (i.e. keep my hands busy with another task while my brain is occupied by the story of the anime). I suppose it is more fitting to be a former/declined pastime since I used to be really into anime but that stopped once I understood I could gain more on the pleasure of reading in the amount of time I spend on one episode.

Last edited by mysstris at 10:20 am, Aug 18 2015

I read less but watch more in comparison to how I was 7 or 6 years ago.
I barely ever read, but I've watched something pretty much every anime season for the past 3 years or so, tried out the majority at least for 1 episode.

To me Anime/Manga is Salvation...it helps me forgot the hardships of everyday.
I choose the hobby option...as I've been enjoying watching it a long time.

It's indeed declining for me as well...But, it's still not on the stage of Retiring.
It's natural...In the process of growing up everybody has to give up something to pick up something new...it comes to you naturally.
And For the things you really (used to) love/enjoy, you come across that debating stage...and though it's not easy, you gotta move on.
Well, don't QUIT though. ^^

Last edited by MinatoAce at 3:03 am, Aug 16 2015

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[img]https://i.imgur.com/HphHlPh.gif[/img]
Tv Tokyo - Anime & Manga ~ MinatoAce

I've been reading manga (and watching some anime) for something like 7-8 years, and I don't see myself stopping for now. I do have long periods (the longest one was 10 months) during which I temporarily "retire", so I guess I don't find it boring thanks to taking long breaks from time to time.

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My current top 3:
Fullmetal Alchemist
Pandora Hearts
3-gatsu no Lion

Both are an ongoing hobby since the mid 90s and my manga reading list grows every year as new series come out yet old ones are still in scanlation. My anime habits fluctuate as i have finished all of my backlog 3 years ago and thus need to rely on new shows.
2014 for example had about twice the amount of good TV anime this year gave me and the OVA/movies scene is currently a barren wasteland. The anime industry is also about to run against another wall so that number should decline in the foreseeable future before we bounce back. Manga is a hobby one is supposed to give up past 30 in Japan and i have a feeling that most international manga readers start to retire somewhere in their 20s as most successful series are young adult fare so lambchopsil attitude is a common one. Don´t ask me about Europe as our comics market is impossible to figure out and expensive too bit the average US comics reader is now in his/her 30s. That is a huge problem and DC/Marvel executives would sell their souls to win back the children and young adult demographic that Europe and Japan can easily captured but they won´t.
I vow to hang on to this ridiculous hobby, video games and so on till i am in my grave as a true Berserker fights on till death. I though will admit that i stopped reading comics around the time i turned 12 for nearly 3 years as prices went up but i came back with a vengeance and bough everything i missed on Ebay. My reading list exploded thereafter and so did the international piracy machine known as the internet.
I often hear in comic circles that a lot of dedicated comic readers tend to give up their hobby for a bit due to overvaluation but returners tend to stay.To these i have the following to say: Gooble Gobble One of Us! I lastly wonder how many reboots, remakes and so on i will live through till i die as these are staring to go out of control.

How the hell did the lifestyle choice get 20% of the votes? I have a Brand of Sacrifice tattoo, wear a Behelit pendant to work and most of my clothes are geek related yet i would never have the audacity to vote that. It is also nice to see that 75% of MU users have easy access to manga but how many use these outlets is another question entirely...

Last edited by residentgrigo at 2:19 pm, Aug 16 2015

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I also read EU/US comics and am a librarian.
Manga-Masters, My ANN-Lists + Imdb

I'm brave enough to confess that I chose the "lifestyle" option. I've watched anime as long as I can remember, read manga well over 10 years and listened to J-pop (and rock) almost as long.
And I'm 22-year-old woman, not a teenage maniac or a socially awkward shut-in, as some people would assume.
I mean, come on! There are normal people out there who are very passionate about anime/manga. If you saw me live, I bet you wouldn't be able to tell me apart from the so-called "normal people". I don't dress weirdly, color my hair with shock colors or talk like a weeaboo.
I just simply love Japanese pop culture. That's it. And I'm damn sure that isn't gonna change!