My Weeb Journey

I've never been hardcore against anime like some people who think it's just cartoons and therefore immature but I get intimidated by the sheer amount of options and how intense the fanbases are. However, I was a huge Naruto fan growing up. I watched it as it aired and read the manga from start to finish. I never actually finished the Shippuden anime but I blame that on getting distracted by other shows.

I have decided I am not doing myself any favors by avoiding anime. So, I am officially on a journey to watch as much anime as I can. Just for the sake of easing myself in I am starting with some of the current most popular shows that my anime friends recommend.

I am also trying to watch as much as possible at one time. What that means is I am watching a couple seasons of a show and then switching to another show to do the same. This way, I am watching as much as I can simultaneously. A lot of content out there.

With my current system, I am 252 episodes into One Piece, have watched four seasons of Hunter x Hunter, I'm caught up on the My Hero Academia anime, started Attack on Titan, and am considering Black Clover next.

Honestly, I love the concept of ninjas, pirates, superheroes, and magic, so I had to start there. It gives me a solid foundation I would say. Plus now that I have embraced anime, I am open to anything. There is so much out there that I think it would be easy to only watch anime for the rest of my life when I want to start new shows. I have no problem with that.

Also, I fall in love with cool power systems, great world building, and worlds where anything is possible. It inspires me as a creator, keeps me hooked, and makes me think about where I would fit in these worlds.

The versatility of chakra and chakra natures, special techniques, and kekkai genkai in Naruto is limitless. I enjoyed seeing more and more of the Naruto world as the story progressed. The other hidden villages had things that made them unique and diverse.

I find the range of Quirks I have seen impressive. They go from should be ridiculous, to cool things you would expect in a hero world, to world breaking powers. But a good lesson that comes out of the show is anyone can be a great hero if you master your Quirk and get creative.

One of my favorite things is how someone's Quirk is incorporated into and enhanced by their hero suit. Some examples are Sero; whose costume helmet looks likes a tape holder and has the Tape Quirk. Shinso who uses a voice changer to trick people into answering them, which is the trigger for their mind control. Rin, who uses a Quirk called Dragon Shroud, has wrist launchers to fire the scales they cover themselves in. Lastly, Deku had his boots and gloves fortified to compensate for his lack of control over his power while he learns. I guess I am just a fan of fashion and function.

Obviously, I haven't seen most of One Piece but Devil Fruits are fun too. Again you have to get creative to realize the full potential of the powers but there are ways to unlock new levels of power.

I am still pretty far from Haki being formally introduced but I have looked into it and I am intrigued by the concept and excited to see how that boost Luffy and his crew.

Not to mention, a good anime is like any good story, it's about complex characters exploring their world while they grow as people and learning lessons along the way. For all these reasons, anime deserves to be a respected storytelling medium and this is coming from a guy who is a newbie to it in general.

But I am enjoying my transformation into a weeb. Honestly, I am already a nerd so this is just an extension of that that will really boost my nerd credentials I think. Plus I love a good discussion about nerdy things, so watching anime gives me more things to talk about.