Anime Day- Why I like Anime

This is going to be a little unlike the usual posts I make. Instead of the self-help type of posts, I’m going to be explaining why I- someone who formerly disliked anime- switched my opinion and found myself falling in love head-over-heels so quickly with the genre. I’m also going to be elaborating a tad on some of the plots behind popular anime that I have watched so far.

So without further ado, let’s jump right in!

*splashes into the anime pool*

 

#1. The Animation.

Entertainment companies all over the world are starting to convert to 3-D equipment to bring a new demension to shows and movies to their audiences. However, Japan is one of the few countries where 2-D hand-drawn shows and movies are not only alive, but thriving. As someone who’s aspiring to be an animator with the hand-drawn look, I absolutely love the snot out of it. But I will say that some of the movements were jarring at first because I wasn’t used to the style of animation since I was someone who grew up in the Western World who constantly watched western cartoons since I was small. It took about 6 months of watching anime in my free time to get accustomed to Japanese animation. Maybe even less. *shrugs* Time flies when you’re throwing watches.

Above- Death Note: One day, a teenager named Light Yagami finds a notebook called a Death Note outside on school grounds. While poking his nose into the Death Note and leafing through the pages, he discovers he can kill anyone if you write their name in the Death Note and picture their faces as you write it. The student’s life soon spirals out of control after he dedicates himself to ridding the world of it’s crummiest (and unconvicted) criminals with his ugly pet shinigami (Japanese god of death) tagging along. What happens next when the police are after a mass murderer that they don’t know how to find?

Opinions on Death Note: If you’re just getting into anime, I can’t recommend this series enough. The show was SO well thought out and witty. Has swearing and sexual innuendos. If you’re one for police/detective shows, this show was hand-crafted in heaven just for you. Just make sure you don’t stop watching until you’re done with every episode. Genre: Suspense

 

#2. Character Development.

Depending on what anime you watch, the character development is fantastic. Not every anime has over-powered characters where the only time that you can somewhat feel for the main character is when their muscles can’t get them out of every situation. *cough*DRAGONBALLZKAI*cough* (but really, even some of those characters are flushed out well- please don’t hurt me?)

This was also one of the myths that I had thought about anime. It was that every character had superhuman powers or dealt with magic, and they all went to school in their school issued uniforms- all the girls were klutzes, and all the guys were jerks or shy (talk about predjudices). And though animes do touch on at least one of those categories, the popular ones are usually well done.

 Above- Yuri!!! On Ice: Yuri Katsuki made it to the Gran Prix Finale ice skating competition only to suffer a crushing defeat. He returns home dejected, half wanting to retire and half wanting to continue his ice skating career. He goes to his local ice skating rink where he skates an impressive program just for fun while his friends recorded him. Much to Yuri’s horror, he finds that his friends posted the video on the internet and it went viral- even attracting the attention of the world’s best ice skater and Yuri’s idol, Victor Nikiforov. And even more astonishing yet, Victor offers to be Yuri’s coach! Will Yuri accept Victor’s offer, or will he choose to retire? (there’s wayyyy more to this series even though there’s only 12 episodes as of January 2017)

Opinions on Yuri!!! On Ice: I really enjoyed watching the main character grow and transform during the entire series. I was able to relate pretty well with Yuri because he was shy in the beginning and grew to find his confidence in his skill, which is pretty similar to my own personal experience (even though I don’t ice skate but I wanted to even before I saw YOI). This particular anime is called a shounen ai, which is the genre that focuses on the platonic part of a homosexual relationship. There is also swearing and steambath scenes, but you don’t see anything due to clever object censoring (where an object in the background keeps you from seeing any potentially embarrassing parts). Genre: Sports/Romance

 

#3. Action Scenes.

Some of the action scenes are amazing in anime- and I know what I said earlier, but I do throughly enjoy my action. Even more than romance usually.

A few good examples that I’ve heard and seen clips of are Attack on Titan, OnePunch Man, and Mob Psycho 100. Good animes that I have personally seen are Tokyo Ghoul and Hunter X Hunter. So if you’re an adrenaline junkie or an action-ista, anime is for you. Take your pick! There almost always an action scene or two in an anime that even isn’t under the action genre.

Above- Hunter X Hunter 2011: One day, a 12 year old named Gon Freecss found out that his dad was actually alive instead of dead like he previously thought. Gon finds out that his father, Ging, trained to become an elite fighter and member of society. He follows in his dad’s footsteps and becomes a Hunter to find him.

Opinions on Hunter X Hunter: I really like the action and even the character development in this series as well. There are so many likable characters and they’re introduced at a reasonable rate. I even laugh a little bit because Gon is like Ash Catchem 2.0 and Hisoka is Mettaton 2.0 (for those who know the game Undertale, you’ll know exactly who it is when you see him). It took me about 4 episodes to really get invested into the characters and start binge watching everything on Youtube and Netflix. Has swearing and violence/dark themes and undertones. There are also a few scenes where you see naked Kisoka rear end, so if you blush easily, this might make you turn red. Genre: Action

 

And because I really want to get this post out today, I’m going to make this into a part 2 … that is, if anyone is interested in seeing a part 2. So be sure to like or leave some love in the comments if you’re interested!

Thank you for stopping by and reading my post!

 

~Felicity Annora.