Just how mainstream (or not mainstream) is anime?

First of all, I want to be clear about what I'm aiming for with this thread - A simple accounting of how mainstream (re: popular, widely known, widely accepted, influential, etc...) anime is. If possible, I'd like to avoid debates over whether or not the current status of anime is good, or whether we should want to be more mainstream or less mainstream. I'd just like to determine how mainstream anime is.



This is something I've been thinking about lately, because I've encountered a lot of mixed signals in the last year or two. It's also because my own personal situation (living in very rural Canada) cuts me off from the anime scene in the real world. I like to be as accurate and well-informed as possible about the things I love and am interested in, so I'd love to hear from other anime fans on their takes on this, and their own experiences as anime fans.



As for the mixed signals I'm talking about:



1. Anime sales in the most direct sense - DVD/Blu-Ray purchases - Tends to be in the 10s of thousands, at best. Respectable, but definitely cottage industry territory.



2. Nonetheless, there's perhaps nothing more commonplace on the internet today than anime character avatars. I see them everywhere. I see them on major pro sports message boards, I see them on political forums, I see them on twitter (and some of the twitter accounts with them have sizable followings). They're everywhere, on places that have nothing to do with anime, and they seem to be easily accepted. The image of anime, anyway, appears to have conquered the internet. No small feat.



3. The image of anime is everywhere on the internet, but then, it appears quite random. What I mean is that there's little pattern to it. There's no one particular anime character or show that seems to be pushing this. DBZ, Pokemon, and Sailor Moon were a mainstream trifecta in the 90s, and I don't get the sense that any of the more recent specific anime shows has hit that level of popular awareness.



4. Anime has very minimal-to-nonexistent presence in the mainstream news, like CNN and the New York Times (in sharp contrast to sports stars and actors and music celebrities, all of which tend to come up fairly frequently). But then, mainstream news itself is arguably in decline. From what I've read on it, they don't enjoy the readership or viewership that they once did. As such, I'm not sure how good a measure mainstream news coverage is of how mainstream something else is (ironic, I know ;) )



5. Anime-based or related YouTube vids often do get very large view counts. I've lurked a bit on some of the more (in)famous modern internet spots (Reddit, the chans), and there does seem to be good anime knowledge by the people chatting there.





One thing I've begun to suspect is a generational divide of sorts. My age makes me a very late Gen Xer or a very early Millenial. I'm born right in the middle of that overlapping section that gets disputed by people who care about such things. My sense is that while anime is not mainstream with Gen Xers and Boomers, that it may well be mainstream with Millenials. Such a generational divide could, I think, account for the mixed signals I mentioned above.



So, I'm curious to know everybody's experiences here as an anime fan. Particularly if you're under the age of 30, and hence a clear-cut Millenial.



If you're attending College or University, how large are your anime clubs? Are they amongst the largest clubs on your campus, or are they relatively small?



The anime or anime-related conventions you attend - What sort of attendance figures do they pull down?



I'd like to get a better "lay of the land" so to speak. In this case, the cultural landscape.





Final question - On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 = 1000 fans or less worldwide, and 10 = NFL in America/Soccer everywhere else, how mainstream would you say anime is today?

Just how mainstream (or not mainstream) is anime?