Where Did You Find Anime-Sharing Forums From, and What Made You Want to Join?

[BlackF]

I mean, this forum isn't well known and isn't discussed very often, so I assume that not many people know about it. How did you first discover it? Did you find it through Google, social media, a friend, or were you specifically looking for a place to discuss anime and related content?
And I'm sure the interface was kind of confusing at first, so what made you decide to stay instead of just lurking? Was it the community, the discussions, finding people with similar interests, discovering new content, or something else?

 

[Daisy Magnus229]

From my older brother.

Well, he used to join a lot of community forums, and Anime-Sharing is one of them. My brother isn't active anymore though, I think he got bored one or two years after I joined here with him. I remember he was the one who forced me to join because there were a lot of artbooks and otome games shared here, lmao I'm really grateful for it.

 

[skrunkle]

I was looking for some larger otome spaces to join other than reddit and stumbled across the forum. Discord was a bit too chaotic and I like forum-based discussion spaces and not to mention the large collection of cracked VN's LOL, although the site has a bit of NSFW I'll just stay in the SFW spaces

 

[sorata-san]

I joined in 2016, so I can't remember exactly how I found the forum. But I used to be a verrrry shy and anxious teen, and couldn't bring myself to interact. I'd just lurk around reading all sorts of threads. Also, it's always had interesting recomendations and content I wouldn't find anywhere else.

I logged today after many many years... Basically had a long hiatus from watching anime and got back this week, after a friend recomended me Hakuouki Shinsegumi Kitan. I just felt it would be a lot more fun to play the VN instead, and Anime Sharing was the first place that came to mind.

 

[orionsbestie]

I was looking for a game~ and eventually, a Reddit comment I found on the way redirected me here. I was never comfortable with the energy of the otome subreddit, and honestly the UI there is far more confusing to me than this, so I like it here better!! That's why I stay here!

 

[skrunkle]

I was looking for a game~ and eventually, a Reddit comment I found on the way redirected me here. I was never comfortable with the energy of the otome subreddit, and honestly the UI there is far more confusing to me than this, so I like it here better!! That's why I stay here!

Just curious, what kind of vibe did the subreddit give off that you didn't like? I am mostly alright with it so just wanted to know

 

[orionsbestie]

Just curious, what kind of vibe did the subreddit give off that you didn't like? I am mostly alright with it so just wanted to know

It's a very personal thing lmao but it's always felt very double-faced in a way? Ppl there have this thing where they say they're the most welcoming community ever, but there's this air of condescension and rejection of self-insert players, always talking about the games like the wall/3rd pov style is the default and only official one. There's always the "uhm ackshually I could never" type of comment when anyone mentions self-inserting, and it's just... It's kinda giving NLOG, especially because they always deny it lol and I just didn't like it.

 

[skrunkle]

It's a very personal thing lmao but it's always felt very double-faced in a way? Ppl there have this thing where they say they're the most welcoming community ever, but there's this air of condescension and rejection of self-insert players, always talking about the games like the wall/3rd pov style is the default and only official one. There's always the "uhm ackshually I could never" type of comment when anyone mentions self-inserting, and it's just... It's kinda giving NLOG, especially because they always deny it lol and I just didn't like it.

Oh, I haven't stumbled any self-insert posts so far, I thought they were pretty accepting of yumes , pretty sad to know they are condescending towards them. I agree that they can be kinda strict(?) as well

 

[chuubiey]

I recently saw someone comment about this forum, so I got curious and wanted to join :3

 

[myfrral]

This forum was recommended by my good friend, where I can find the games I want to play. Later on, I found that this forum was very friendly and there were many enthusiastic people who would help me when I encountered problems. I feel warm in my heart. This forum is very good, and everyone has a very kind and enthusiastic atmosphere.

 

[nerim-w]

It's a very personal thing lmao but it's always felt very double-faced in a way? Ppl there have this thing where they say they're the most welcoming community ever, but there's this air of condescension and rejection of self-insert players, always talking about the games like the wall/3rd pov style is the default and only official one. There's always the "uhm ackshually I could never" type of comment when anyone mentions self-inserting, and it's just... It's kinda giving NLOG, especially because they always deny it lol and I just didn't like it.

I used to comment there and generally enjoyed the vibes, thats disappointing that you felt that way im a chronic self inserter too and I only respect players who dont choose to self insert, its just that for me I wanna live out my fantasies!

Honestly, now that i think about it, i think the sub is really nice but admittedly i dont really ever mention im a self inserter because I feel like a majority of the players there aren't and I feel silly for entertaining my own delusions (even though i know that's unreasonable to feel that way). Though i didnt necessarily feel like they outwardly despised self inserters, i think just the volume of non self inserters made me self conscious and so I scurried away to my safe place, Anime Sharing

 

[konjikinoyami2]

I think I first joined this forum sometime around 2012 or 2013, although it was so long ago that I honestly can't remember the exact year anymore. I had been away for quite a while, and when I tried to log back into my old account last year, I couldn't access it anymore, so I ended up making a new account.

Actually, I've known about this place for a loooooong time. I originally discovered it through Google, back when I was looking for Eroge, and Anime-Sharing was one of the places where I could find them. Then, when the Otome corner became available, I started downloading Otome games here regularly too. PSVita, PC... I found all kinds of games through this forum.

Looking back, it's kind of amazing to realize just how long Anime-Sharing has been around. I've gone through so many phases and changes over the years, but somehow this forum has still been here. There are so many old memories attached to this place for me, which makes it feel more like a familiar corner of the internet than just another forum.

I really hope Anime-Sharing stays around for many, many more years. Let's keep hanging out here for a long time to come!

 

[lovingarlert]

I heard it from my friend not too long ago, and after that i got curious and finally decides to checks this forum out! What made me decides to join is because the community here is very kind and seems like have more knowledge about things i interested about ^^

 

[Cyna23205]

Oh, I haven't stumbled any self-insert posts so far, I thought they were pretty accepting of yumes , pretty sad to know they are condescending towards them. I agree that they can be kinda strict(?) as well

tbh from what I've seen, the community seems to be going through a pretty big change in how people view self-inserts, both in otome specifically and in the anime/game/drama CD community in general.
In my country, people sometimes even use yumejoshi as an insult, it lowkey makes me kinda sad

I see people arguing about this a lot in media for men too. I guess COVID really did change the way these communities work.

 

[bluemotionight]

I was addicted to otome cds(still am), but the website I used somehow stopped updating, every time a girl wants to have some fun, and this happens!! So someone from the comment section recommended this site! It's exciting to see so many people shares the same hobby! Even tho I don't have the permission to actually listen to any otome cds, but talking to you guys is such a delight too!! And now I wanna try out some otome games

 

[lyrevega]

I was trying to find where to download a game and i think i got distracted by everything here so in the end i never got the game i was searching for, i dont even remember which one it was

 

[caducus]

I only found this space recently. I'm more into the BL scene, and I've seen anime-sharing mentioned on the two forums I use for BL. They did say that this space is primarily otome, but there are people who talk BL as well.

Since I also like otome (although not as much as BL), I figured I'd give it a go, since those two forums I mentioned really aren't as active anymore. I was mainly hoping to find a place to actually talk BL video games, but I keep getting drawn into otome discussion as well

 

[BlackF]

I was addicted to otome cds(still am), but the website I used somehow stopped updating, every time a girl wants to have some fun, and this happens!! So someone from the comment section recommended this site! It's exciting to see so many people shares the same hobby! Even tho I don't have the permission to actually listen to any otome cds, but talking to you guys is such a delight too!! And now I wanna try out some otome games

You'll get access soon, it won't be long believe me hahaa

 

[fr4pp3cinn]

I've been lurking here for a long time, before I even made an account! Haha
I actually discovered the forum searching for eroge titles ;b
I'm (usually) a lurker and rarely interact with others online, but I found the community here very welcoming!

Something I struggled with in other VN spaces is how judgemental some users can be. I had a hard time with English-only VN communities (some can be very condescending towards some topics, which I find very annoying; the usual complaining about how Japanese media depicts certain topics)

I also prefer forums/message boards to conventional social media (you'll never catch me on Twitter lol), in my experience they have better moderation and are pretty chill too :)

 

[eevee09]

I originally found this while looking for a very old otome game (came from Reddit), but now I've made an account to also get into the community. I know there are rules and stuff in order to rank up, but I also really have been enjoying reading through the threads before making an account. It's nice to know that there are others who are into otome (for example) as I don't have anyone in my life who shares the same interests.

 

[kamilya5]

I found out about Anime-Sharing through my sister a few years ago. She was really into the Japanese language and otome games, and she's the one who told me about it

 

[dreamilyshoujo]

I honestly don't remember anymore... My account is 11 years old I think I discovered AS because of tumblr or from some random google search. I also remember it took me a while to create an account here... felt one day that I should create one and since them I'm still here XD Wouldn't log everyday like I do now, though. It was something like every 3 months or when I got obsessed with some new game and wanted to check if anyone uploaded their stuff here XD Think I started to check the forum everyday after @/otome! and @/blackflag started to update the forum a lot.

 

[Syntaxcha]

It's been a few years for me Lol but I do remember accidentally just finding it cause of a certain game. I just sorta stumbled on it by accident... The only accident I am grateful to have happen.

 

[shoelaces1]

Pretty sure I came across it on another forum somewhere. I made this account quite a while ago but wasn't very active. I'm back now to hopefully give back to the otome community as this community has provided for me in the past.

 

[藍色水珠]

I didn't know through the introduction of a friend that the English forum is not my native language, so I can't usually search the web page.

There are many enthusiastic ACG friends here, discussing and communicating with each other (using translation software to assist in content translation), and the atmosphere is harmonious.