Hbomberguy posted:

This is basically it. Monty Oum is the ultimate anime fanboy, and by appreciating 'his work', viewers are vicariously appreciating themselves. This is why relatively straightforward critique ("mutilating your tools and purposefully using a worse version of a software is not good practice") is being imagined as school bullies (with mental disorders, because why not?) picking on a kid in the cafeteria. While the kid is technically Monty Oum, The Oumchild is a stand-in for everyone else who appreciates anime in his very specific way, but didn't ever get the chance to make it themselves. Interesting side-point: Oum is treated as if a frail child, even in the imaginations of those who like him. This is telling.

This ties into my theory about this show and others like it removing all the good parts of anime through obsession with the signifiers of good-ness. Because there's nothing actually good in the show, a fan's discussion of the show necessarily has to revolve around how successful it has been, how much of a workaholic coolguy Monty Oum / Rooster Teeth are, their personal fanfiction character and how they would fit into official canon, and continuous re-insistence that the fights are 'cool'. The point is the part where you actually enjoy the show in some meaningful way is endlessly deferred elsewhere. It is weaponised desire. Monty Oum is a genius in the very specific way the creators of porn are geniuses.