Anime... Why haven't I grown out of it?

For a large amount of my childhood, I was very into anime. Not just anime, but the whole anime/manga/popular Japanese culture thing. I was into colourful characters with huge eyes, loved Japanese music, and became an all-around fangirl of the stuff. And I was often told by those older than me that anime was a phase, and I would grow out of it. And for a couple of years, I thought they had been right.

Look him in the eye and tell him he's not sexy... for a drawing. 

Work happened, harder school, a lot more duties fell onto my plate and I was forced to give up a lot of the spare time I was so used to having when I was younger. Things like anime, scifi shows and comics wound up getting put on the back burner while I worked to be able to afford the things I loved. I had less time to devote to hobbies, so a lot of things sat forgotten in the bottom desk drawer. I had limited time, so I wound up only following one or two comic series at a time and maybe watching one or two shows I was really into. That didn't leave much time for anime or manga. I was a grown-up and I had grown-up problems to deal with; a job, tax forms, trying to look put-together at family gatherings... I suppose anime wound up being forgotten for a while.

Part of the problem might have been pure tiredness. When I got home from a day at school or at work, I really didn't want to go rooting through different animes to find something new to watch, nor did I really want to go rooting through my old stuff to figure out what I wanted to re-watch. Basically, I didn't want to work for my entertainment.

To be honest, Netflix spoiled me.
"Instant queue." Can't get any easier.

I'm not sure what it was that brought me back to anime, but it started with Gundam SEED. It must have been something my ancient history prof had said, because one evening after that class, I went rooting around the anime drawer for it.

It was as if I'd never stopped watching. SEED led to SEED Destiny, the led to a re-watch of Death Note, which led to my friend forcing me to sit through an episode of Le Chevalier D'Eon which led me to where I am now, determinedly searching through new series that don't bore the crap out of me.

Does this ever get interesting?

But honestly, I couldn't explain it. Even cartoons I love as a child have lost some of their colour to me (the Transformers seemed more interesting when I was seven). But somehow, SEED was still as awesome to me as it was when it aired in 2002. (Honestly, has it been that long? Damn.) Sure, I laughed a little more at some cheesy dialogue, maybe made a few jokes at characters' expense, but who doesn't do that about their favourite things? The thing is, anime hasn't lost its appeal, even though I could now be technically classified as an adult.

Maybe it's my desire to never grow up. My bed is still covered in Transformers or Spider-Man sheets, there are still cartoons on almost 24/7, I still act like a five-year-old if I go out shopping with my mother. Maybe this could be the appeal, but I have a different theory.

I've met people of all age groups who enjoy anime and manga. There are titles out there to appeal to each and every one of them. You've got titles like Junjou Romantica or Gravitation for your teenaged girls, you've got titles like Naruto for younger boys. Then there are titles like Death Note and the various Gundam series that seem to hold universal appeal. Anime is not just another cartoon for children, it's a whole new art form that can take many forms. Certainly there are anime titles for younger audiences, but there are also those for older ones as well. It's like any other genre of entertainment. Why should it just be disregarded because people don't understand its appeal? I'm not saying everyone needs to like anime, it's a matter of taste, of course. All I'm saying as that anime fans seem to be getting a bad reputation, even with the more mainstream "nerd culture" that's growing. I think it's time or that to change.

Cheers.

There is nothing in this world better than fighting robots.