When Anime are linked to each other because they aired together.

You may have noticed that when thinking about recent Anime that some shows are compared to each other a lot simply because they were airing at the same time, premiered during the same season. 

It's expected that this would happen while a show is currently airing, we'll often be watching one show right after another pretty consistently, and the desire to make comparisons whether positive, negative or neutrally when talking about a show will to some extent favor other current shows. 

For Western Ainme fans I feel like noting how this has always been happening in-spite of the fact that we aren't usually using regular TV, we aren't watching two shows side my side because one comes after the other on the same channel, or thinking of a show we don't watch alongside one we do because it's airing at the same time on a different channel. We still watch shows that drop weekly on the same day close to each other, and still hear about current shows we aren't watching in proximity to ones we are. 

But because our Brains are often particular in how it organizes our memories, the tendency to associate those shows with each other remains even after neither is still currently airing. I for example still find myself associating Lycoris Recoil and Engage Kiss with each other even though there is nothing about the content of either show to justify that. 

But maybe you're thinking that will eventually wear off once enough time has passed?

For me the first season I was at all following currently airing Anime was Fall 2016, as I mentioned earlier this year, and interesting we now during the 10 year Anniversary of when those shows were starting. And I still default to associating those shows with each, most shows from that season I don't have to look to remember they were from that season. Flip Flappers, Izetta The Last Witch, Yuri on Ice, Keijo, Magical Girl Raising Project, Occultic;Nine, the second season of Hibiki Euphonium. Even ones I didn't watch at the time or still haven't' watched my memory recalls those shows being contemporary. 

Maybe that season is special because it's my first, but this remains in effect for all of 2017. For 2018 I've never forgotten that Citrus and Katana Maidens aired at the same time, as well as two Isekai that aren't easy for me to remember their name but that they were airing at the same time I do remember. 

The question is, given how complicated memory can be, will people sometimes eventually keep associating two shows each other after forgetting why?

Comparing Death Note and Code Geass happens so often it's a Meme, a YouTube Channel I follow is currently videos about those two shows and nothing else. They aired along side each other in Fall 2006 into early 2007, meaning both are turning 20 now. Officially the Western Fandom wasn't able to watch Anime as they currently air yet, but clearly many were already, and/or just how the Japanese buzz talked about them alongside each other influenced us. Or I could look it up and learn both also aired on Adult Swim at the same time for at least some of their their runs. 

There are natural reasons to compare these shows to each other independent of that, both involve protagonists who can be described as Anti-Heroes who are often trying to outthink their opponents and who start the show in High School, and the ways they do those things differently is what makes comparing them interesting. But they can't be the only two Anime that share those qualities can they?  I am having trouble thinking of a third off the top of my head, but there is also still a lot of Anime I haven't seen. 

Of shows from Fall 2006, they seem to be pretty solidly the most popular, especially in terms of long term cultural impact. So being currently compared to other Fall 2006 less may be because the others are remembered less in general.  I've seen other shows this season and generally like them more then Death Note, but I'm weird, I also like Kanon more then Clannad.

Nana has it's own reasons to be compared to Death Note being another show whose Dub was by Ocean Productions so I assume they share some VAs though I can't say noticed any voicing sounding similar instantly. 

I wonder how many common seemingly inexplicable Anime pairing are because of this but even I haven't noticed yet? 

Everyone is a Normie and no one is only a Normie.

Normie is a relative term, Gamers talking among other Gamers will use the word Normie of people who aren't particularly into Video Games, while others might perceive gaming itself to be a pretty Normie interest to have. 

Lately Anime is the fandom I’ve been most into and so past uses of Normie on this blog are in that context. In fact it was in the Anime fandom I first heard the word and so it’s among a list of terms I at one time mistook for terms the Anime community coined. So it was jarring for a part of my brain while watching a YT not too long ago I saw someone in the context of what they’re talking about refer to Anime as being for Normies. 

I'm talking about this because recently I realized some people use the word Normie thinking it has a more objective non relative meaning, that there is a class of people only into the most Mainstream things with no Niche hobbies at all. I don’t think such a hypothetical person exists, everyone is a fan of something that most people haven’t heard of. 

And even when we're talking about the most Mainstream interests one could theoretically have, being a hardcore fan of that thing is still not actually normal. Star Wars movies and now Disney+ shows are normal to have seen but having read any of the books is not.  DC and Marvel Superhero movies are watched by everyone but very few actually read the Comics. Even the most theoretically mainstream interest you can have in American culture, Sports, do you really think the Sports fan who can tell you at the drop of hat what happened in Games played before they were born and don’t even involve their favorite team aren’t using the exact same brain energy we Comic Book nerds are? 

The reason I felt I needed to make this point is because of a video I recently watched about the Fascist adjacent thinking that has always been present in Sci-Fi fandoms even going back to its early days. 

Indeed some will argue that using the word Normie at all is a Fascist adjacent practice.  I would disagree, I think a group having a catch all term for everyone outside their group simply is objectively linguistically useful. In fact it’s Nazis who love to claim Jews are committing some sin against all Goyim by simply having the word Goyim. 

What matters is how you perceive the outsiders that term refers to. I see them as fellow humans with different interests.