Why I like anime

[fub]

A comment on my last post with anime reviews asked: “So… why do you like anime?” The more I thought about it, the more I thought the answer warranted its own entry.

Let’s say this upfront: Anime is a medium, not a genre. There are many different anime with many different subject matters and visual styles. And certainly not all anime is good: there’

Comments

[changeling72]

Thanks for the thoughtful answer.

[tabular_rasa]

Yeah, I'm perplexed when people think they can confidently say "I don't like anime" because it's such a broad category. Do the same people have an inherent bias against any form of animated media? It's like saying "I don't like graphic novels" or something equally broad. You probably would have a version you would like and you just haven't seen enough of it yet to make the call.

I don't watch a lot of anime myself, but I don't make time to watch a lot of television, period. I have to be at least passingly familiar with a lot of it though sort of as part of my job, lol. (I hear a lot about anime popular with my students from them). I've had a few series recommended to me I should look into at some point.

[fub]

But anime does have a certain style of story-telling and visual 'language' that you have to appreciate (or at least stomach) before you can enjoy anime. I have a friend who can't watch anime for this reason: he just doesn't have an interest in that mode and gets bored, though he can watch the (trashy) series of his youth like Dragonball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh because he grew up with them and can tolerate their visuals because of habit.

So I totally understand when people say they don't like anime, even if they like other animated things like Pixar movies or western animation. It's ok that it's not for everyone.