Cynthe Love’s Blog

I was about to start a posts on a specific anime when I decided that I would tell a little about this medium and why I have such a love for it. I hope to shed a little light on what attracts people to anime and why it differs from other forms of media.

I have only been an avid anime watcher for a few years but from my first introduction with it I know I was in love. What a strange concept to be in love with media, but there really is no other way for me to put it. I had always been familiar with what anime was, but I never really watched it. I think I was facing the same difficulty that a lot of people new to this genre face, with all of the anime out there, where do you begin? And how do you determine that you are in fact watching an anime of quality. My now partner has been watching anime for much longer than I have. Before I started into it, he was always telling me about what he was watching and I was always fascinated, but not only did I not have the same access to anime as he did but I also faced difficulties from the people around me being incredibly judgmental. Living in an environment that is not accepting of anything new makes it incredibly difficult to introduce anything into it. But before long I finally developed some self assertion and stopped listening to what others thought, and although I still have to listen to them and their inability to understand how I could be enjoying anime, it does not matter nearly as much. This idea of an army against anime is an idea I will return to a little later. But first: the fateful day I finally found access to my first anime.

I was at home sick, flipping through the movie stations on the satellite when I saw “Cowboy Bebop: The Movie” was beginning. The name rang a bell, I wasn’t exactly sure why but I thought I would give it a shot. In retrospect most likely my partner had mentioned it as something he had been watching. Right from the introduction I was completely hooked. I watched it with rapt attention from start to finish. The best part was I was able to watch it several more times and the movie network loves to replay movies a million times. And after my first soiree there was no going back. Then of course I immediately started to try and absorb anime in as many forms as I could as much as I could.

So why do I love anime so much? It offers me something that mainstream entertainment media just can’t seem to. The animation allows me to be transported into another world. I can have a truly surreal experience watching the story of the characters unfold. Although the plots and settings often involve the supernatural and fantasy settings the strength of the characters makes them very believable and you become very attached to them. I personally find mainstream media a bore. I listen to Indie music, I play the games no one bought, I watch independent and foreign films, I need my entertainment to push the envelope. And while anime may be considered mainstream in some parts of the world, I can confidently say it is not where I am in North America. And pushing the envelope is a major characteristic that I love and appreciate about anime. A good anime will work to bring something new to its viewer, while maintaining the essence of what is expected. I have not seen a new movie that really blew me out of the water for a long time, because I find the mainstream to be so rehashed. But an anime studio there will always be something familiar about their style, for example, something like the style of animation they use or a stock character that you can recognize their purpose, but there is always something unique about every product that they put out. Anime also contains a depth to story and character that are difficult to find elsewhere, the sort of story that if you blink you will miss something. But it is the complexity that gives them endless re-watchable value, you can watch the same series several times and still be itching to see it again.

And despite all of these great qualities there is an on going stigma against anime. I first encountered the distaste for this genre with my family. At first it was “aren’t you a little old to be watching cartoons?” or “what kind of freaky show are you watching?” But really you’re never too old to be watching cartoons and as for the freaky show what could possibly be freaky about it, there are sometimes human like beings with tails but now with Beowulf and Angelina Jolie it must be a little more palatable now. Have I mentioned my family loves mainstream junk? But the real irony of their statements is that they say all these things and yet they’ve been standing in the room for 20 minutes and can’t take their eyes off the television. They criticize because they don’t understand and yet they’re still captivated by it. The same situation happened with my roommates but they began to take an interest and now watch them with me. The only person who I sat down with to watch a movie and took to it right away was my Oma. We watched Howl’s Moving Castle and she loved it!

But it still comes down to the question in my mind that I have no idea where this stigma began. Maybe mainstream viewers think that anime is all Pokemon and Bakugan, or for children. But there is so much more, it works in the same manner as any movie there are children’s movies and movies for adults, anime follows the same pattern. But I’m torn on whether or not I want anime to start becoming more popular. Although it would drop the price of anime I kind of like being in the know on what a treasure anime is.

If you think that anime might be for you, but you don’t know where to start. I would recommend Cowboy Bebop as a starter series and for a film anything that studio Ghibli produces. Some of my favorites are Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa. I hope all this could be of help to someone new to this medium. I really do recommend that everyone give it a show at least once. And whether you have a stigma against it or are just interested, I say try it out for size. You might be surprised.