Why You Should Give Anime a Chance

Dear Vocal Readers,

Oh, anime, what a terrible name it has made for itself. I remember the first time I decided to watch a "true" anime series (By this I mean that it wasn't just a cartoon, but something completely different). I had been extremely hesitant to begin my trek into the anime fandom, but eventually started with Attack On Titan. This is exactly how that first experience went: I watched a few minutes, thought it was disturbing, and turned it off believing I would never try it again. Little did I know that I would eventually try the series again, and fall head-over-heels in love with it.

The time came on just another normal day that I gave it another try. My sister and her boyfriend were watching it, and that somehow made it feel more normal for me to watch it. So I sat with them and quickly became engrossed in the story. For once in a long time I felt truly intrigued by a show, and knew I had to binge more immediately.

After my first run-in with anime I was hooked! I started to attend anime conventions and watched other series like Parasyte: the Maxim, Haikyuu, Seraph of the End, and One Punch Man. Later on I would come across Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and My Hero Academia. These two series genuinely cemented my love for anime.

Enough about me though, this is supposed to be for you! I know that anime can have a very bad reputation for its big-boobed women and borderline sex scenes, but I guarantee you that not every anime is like this. Yes, sometimes the women have big boobs and is it annoying? Yes, it is. However, there are anime that do not focus solely on the features of women and put more of an emphasis on their personalities, crazy right?! Let me also tell you that not every anime is automatically porn. I have seen plenty of anime where the most "nudity" you see is a guy without a shirt on. Trust me everyone, anime is not as bad as you may have heard.

While there definitely are anime that fall into the negative stereotypes, there are plenty of perfectly "normal" ones. If you think people will judge you because you watch an anime or two, you would be mistaken. Maybe your strictly TV watching buddies may poke fun, but the anime community is more than welcoming and friendly as hell. We are not all older men like what you picture with "bronies," we are normal people like you!

With television there is always a lot of variety. But when you compare the variety of television content with anime content, there is no contest. For basically any genre you can think of, there is an anime for it. Whether it be science fiction or fantasy, anime has something that everyone can enjoy. Maybe you like robots? Well we got plenty of anime about robots for ya! You think it, an anime fan can name it. No matter what your style, there is sure to be an anime that will entertain you.

Am I suggesting that you go out and watch as many anime as you can? Of course not. I am merely saying that if you have never seen an anime before, that you should give it a try. Google is always helpful for finding one that you can enjoy, and it will also help steer you away from the bad eggs of the bunch. If you feel uncomfortable about watching one believe me, that is normal. But once you get past your worries and let that wall down, you will have so much fun! Anime can take you on out-of-this-world journeys with countless tears and laughs. So please, take that first step. I promise, you won't regret it.

Sincerely from my anime-loving mind,