Has a shrine ever gotten you into a fandom?

[Sarah]

Hey guys! In an effort to keep the boards active during the holiday season, some new and repeated discussions will be popping up here over the next several weeks. This question is a repeat/remix of one that has already been asked by Lucas at the LJ community. The main question/idea is his, and I added some branch-off questions to add for further discussion.

So, as the title says, has a shrine ever gotten you into a fandom/series? Since you weren't already familiar with the subject, why did you visit the shrine? (Because the subject looked interesting, the shrine was by a friend, you just like to visit any new shrine that comes along, regardless of your familiarity with the subject, etc.) Did you at any point during your visit decide you want to check the series out and stop reading to keep from spoiling yourself? Or did you just read all the content anyway, then go ahead with giving the series a try? Do you think the subject alone was enough to garner your interest, or did the shrine owner's presentation and effort help intrigue you? After experiencing the series yourself, did you find the shrine's info to be accurate? And finally, have you ever made a shrine for a subject whose fandom you were introduced to by someone else's shrine? (lol that's kind of wordy, sorry.)

Don't feel like you have to answer every question! And if you are interested, Lucas' original questions are here.

[dubiousdisc]

Yes, several times. Nowadays I pretty much read any fansite I stumble upon just because, and several times it had happened that at some point while reading I went, hey, this sounds like something I might like, and then decided to get into it.

- Did you at any point during your visit decide you want to check the series out and stop reading to keep from spoiling yourself?
It depends on how the entire thing is written. I am not terrified by spoilers, but before seeing for myself I can't know how much the enjoyment of the subject at hand is affected by them. I trust the person writing the fansite to give me a warning, so if it says UNMARKED SPOILERS EVERYWHERE I will just stop whenever I decide that I want to get closer to the source material. If spoilers are more clearly marked, I will read anything I can.

- Do you think the subject alone was enough to garner your interest, or did the shrine owner's presentation and effort help intrigue you?
Not that the subject doesn't play a part, as I am rather predictable in terms of what I will and will not like, but I expect someone who is enough into it to write a site about it to do a good job at selling it. :P Though, I have to say - it hasn't happened to me yet that I got into something by reading a fansite which I didn't find interesting in itself, but I don't discount the possibility either. I would say it has more of an effect on the likelihood that I will get into something, if I'm making any sense?

- After experiencing the series yourself, did you find the shrine's info to be accurate?
Yes, as far as I know.

- And finally, have you ever made a shrine for a subject whose fandom you were introduced to by someone else's shrine?
No, but again, I don't see why that couldn't happen!

[Mikari]

I usually look at sites when I already have an interest in the fandom, though it could happen... maybe I should look at more shrines.

[karenjeane]

I'd have to say that some of the earliest shrines on the 'net got me into Final Fantasy, a longtime fandom. Unlike many folks, I hadn't played the NES/SNES games as a kid, but enjoyed playing several of the titles beginning in high school, thanks to reading about them through shrines. In retrospect, I was reading some spoiler-ish information; but conversely, I appreciated the depth of the characters much better while playing, thanks to those shrine articles.

Likewise, I discovered the world of anime beyond dubbed BSSM episodes via shrines. While still not a huge anime & manga buff, I've got a few favourite series and have gained a lot of appreciation for the genre through shrines.

I think the same things appeal to me in a shrine, whether or not I'm familiar with the subject. Of course, there's a "squee!" factor at finding and reading about something you already love, but the way a shrine creator presents their subject visually and through their words can stir curiosity. I find this is still true today... A recent example is Whitney's one-page shrine for Alistair from Dragon Age: Origins. While I had played some older BioWare games before, revisiting and reading the shrine was one of the motivations for playing a more recent title. As was the case before, I've approached the game/ character a little differently than if I hadn't read anything at all.

Dunno if this covers every question above, but just sharing some thoughts.

[Destinie]

There's been a lot of shrines that have gotten me into fandoms, or at least interested in following the series. To name a few: Shiori's Passionate (Wedding Peach), Saya's Butterfly (xxxHolic- the fiance and I both watch this one ;P), and Kibumie's Little Black Lord (Black Butler, but I haven't kept up with the manga in a while. Plan to get back to it when I have time!) But that's just a few! I know there are many more. ^o^ I enjoy fansites a lot more than reading information on Wikipedia because I get a taste of why that person likes it and can decide if I would like it, too.

Spoilers are never a problem for me because I love reading about them and experiencing it for myself. Because what you read in a spoiler is sometimes interpreted differently because we each have our own personal experiences with the series or what have you.

And finally, have you ever made a shrine for a subject whose fandom you were introduced to by someone else's shrine?
Back in the day, probably! But not recently, I think. Does it count if I was introduced to a fandom by someone else and we were talking about making shrines together? :O

[Todd]

Yes! Like Karen, old Final Fantasy sites got me into that series of games...

It's funny, cause nowadays if I see a series or game I might like, I look online to see if there are any shrines to the subject. I love seeing how people perceive these games and series, and why they love them.

[Cherri]

I'm not sure it has happened to me. But looking at Destinie's Ur shrine Asunder and Varen's Bayonetta shrine Diva May Cry made me want to play the games. So I guess it counts, maybe. And Saya's kingdom Hearts site, Inter Somnia, makes me want to pick Kingdom Hearts again (after much hatred for the game).

I do like looking at sites to fandoms I love though.

[Crystal]

I can think of at least one case where this happened. Samantha's Yomi shrine made me want to go watch Ga-Rei, which I actually did.

[Sarah]

(I should reply to my own discussion!)

ATM I can only think of one site that ever got me into a fandom/series. It was one of the shrines made for the very first One-Page Shrine Marathon. The shrine was named Memento Mori and it was dedicated to the book Life of Pi. I believe it was Aranie of beatbox-bandits.org who made it, so sadly it is no longer online. :( Anyway, I remember reading through the site and thinking how interesting the book sounded, and that I wanted to check it out right away. So I went to my library and borrowed it. I'm really glad I did, too, because I enjoyed the book immensely!

[Eden]

Amy's "Storybook Children" shrines got me into Utena. I just stumbled upon them while I was working in my HTML class back in high school and they got me to watch the series. It's my biggest fandom next to DBZ and Sailor Moon. :)