Remember AnimeOnline? It was destined to be the next MySpace–or by popular demand, Facebook. With the help of FUNimation Entertainment, it was the premier site for fellow Otaku to meet up and make friends, ala MySpace or Facebook. Unfortunately, the AnimeOnline went offline, displacing the AO staff–and the people who inhabited the community.

With Facebook and MySpace killers on the rise, there are very few anime social networking sites who have (yet) to make a lasting impression like AnimeOnline did. These sites feature the native MySpace-like qualities of a social networking community.

GaiaOnline

GaiaOnline is the first true social networking sites designed for Otaku. Not only is it a forum, but it’s coming along as the next big RPG-style networking community. A lot has changed since I wrote about it a long time ago. There’s even a GaiaOnline MMORPG in the works.

AALikeThese2

“AALikeThese2″ stands for “African Americans Like These Too”. The community started as a side community of the Delaware Anime Fans Group designed for mainly Black (and non-Black) Otaku and Asian culture enthusiasts alike. It began as a series of satellite sites hosted on GaiaOnline, LiveJournal, and MySpace. In 2008 after a failed presences on a ProBoard hosted forum, the founder created a MySpace-esque version of AALikeThese2 on Ning.com. Today, there are over 600 members and growing.

Cosplay.com

Cosplay.com is THE premier social network for catering to anime cosplayers. You can share your cosplay photos from various anime cons, post your previous and upcoming cosplay photos, and post in the foums. There is so much to do on the site, even for hardcore cosplayers: it can become quite addicting.

MyAnimeList

MyAnimeList doubles as both a social networking community, as well as an interactive list of Anime (and Manga) you’ve watched (and read). MAL even looks a lot like Facebook, but it’s very far from having the same Applications as the sophisticated MySpace clone.

OtakuBooty

I was not sure whether I needed to mention this site. When I heard about OtakuBooty in 2007, it appeared to be a dating site designed for Otaku, ala Match.com or E-Harmony. It turns out that’s it’s just another social media website for all anime fans (or all things in geekdom, from Star Wars to Batman). The site is free, but to help keep the site running, a paid subscription is available which unlocks extra content that’s probably not worth getting after the first few months after joining. But if you like the site and have the cash, it could be worth it.

Conclusion

The sites listed above are very active. There are more I could have listed, but they are either inactive (Such as AniFriends, which is dead), closed, or not close enough to count as a Facebook/MySpace clone for Otaku. I personally have accounts on MyAnimeList, Cosplay.com, and AALikeThese2 as “Sanjo-chan”. If you have one or created an account, feel free to add me and be sure to say hello! You could always communicate with other fans who have other social networks in their repertoire. Why not try them out?

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Written by: Sanjo-chan (507 Posts)

Posted on: February 6, 2009 13:04 (Otaku> Sugoi Uebusaito!!)
Tag(s): communities
Website: http://centakume.info/