Will I grow out of anime?

Hello guys, Justin here and welcome to the Otaku Mind where today we’re talking about anime and your life. Last month an anime fan youtuber named Gigguk (if you like anime please subscribe to his channel) released a video talking about growing up with anime in his life and how he often wondered if he himself would grow out of anime. It was a very touching video and got me thinking about my childhood and me discovering anime. Like most kids in the 90s I too was a huge fan of the Pokémon franchise as were my friends. I didn’t go completely overboard with it like Gigguk, I didn’t design my room off the Pokémon I just played the games, collected cards, and talked about it with my friends but as time went on my friends eventually grew out of Pokémon except for me. Now eventually I stopped playing the games and after the Johto region I stopped watching the anime not because I grew bored with it I just wasn’t that big into Pokémon anymore. As time went on I was discovering new shows like DBZ, Sailor Moon, Yu Yu Hakusho, Yu-Gi-Oh, Rurouni Kenshin, One Piece, Naruto, and the studio Ghibli movies that caught my interest. I still had a soft spot for Pokémon and to this day I still love the series and check it out every once and awhile to see what’s going on but I was focusing on the other new shows that I discovered who were showing me something new that I had never dreamed about and I loved it. My parents for the most part were okay with me watching these shows. They didn’t really understand what I was watching but didn’t see it have any negative effects on me in real life so they left me be. Back at school I never really talked to anyone about these shows. Not because I was embarrassed or anything it was just that I never found anyone who shared my interest and since I didn’t want to come across as weird I didn’t try to get anyone else interested in what I watched. I wasn’t really a quiet kid in school, I was very active with my school life. Even though I had my own group of friends I got along with everyone in the class, was part of the yearbook, played basketball, and was actually class president so yeah I was pretty active.

All throughout high school I kept my interest in anime a secret until college when I met my roommates who also shared an interest in anime and for the first time ever I was open about my love for anime and it felt great telling guys what I thought about this anime, watching anime together, comparing animes, and hearing their recommendations. I felt as if I wasn’t alone in the world and wasn’t weird for liking something that for the most part was seen as something just for kids. Now, I’m in my adulthood, just turned 28, and yet I still love anime. If anything I love it more now than I did when I was in high school and I’m watching more of it now than in the past. Hell, I like it so much I’ve started my own blog reviewing various animes that I’ve watched. Now this does make one think, what keeps us coming back to watch anime especially for guys in my generation who more than likely kept this a secret from everyone in order to save face? Well this question varies from person to person. For me personally, what got me interested in anime was the creativity. No two shows ever felt the same. If I wanted to explore the seas I would have to watch One Piece, if I wanted to see ninjas I would have to watch Naruto, or if I wanted to see the hijinks of a teen boy becoming a spirit detective I would have to watch Yu Yu Hakusho. Every anime opened a new world for me to see, explore, and learn. While some of the lessons they taught us were the same the way in which they were presented left a lasting impression on us. They didn’t feel forced or shoved down our throat, they were all presented in a way where they showed respect for their viewers and even if you didn’t get it at the moment you would come back later and get it. We all saw this growing up but others at the time just saw a silly cartoon for kids and didn’t take it seriously until today.

What caused this change? Everyone likes to point to Avatar but I like to think Samurai Jack laid the ground work for Avatar to launch from. Anyway, Avatar started airing and it became liked by kids and adults because not only was it telling a great story but it gave us memorable characters, great action, and philosophies that could be applied to our lives. From there everyone slowly started seeing that cartoons just weren’t for kids and we started getting shows that not only were aimed at kids but were aimed at adults as well. Shows like Adventure Time, Steven Universe, MLP: FiM, and Gravity Falls which were originally meant for kids gained an adult following for what they were doing (to the point where you could argue that these shows have more adult fans than they do kid fans). Some of the best shows out there right now are cartoons meant for adults. Rick and Morty is one of the funniest shows I’ve seen in a while and Bojack Horseman might just be the best show to come out in years. This mindset eventually worked its way over to anime where everyone stopped viewing anime as just for kids and created a culture where we not only feel accepted but are proud and celebrate our interest in anime. We no longer felt ashamed, embarrassed, or alone for liking anime because we all saw that there were others like us out there who shared the same interest and we were growing. Everyone began to see that anime can be dark and scary like Re:Zero, action-packed and exciting like One Punch Man, deep and philosophical like Cowboy Bebop, or funny and relaxing like Space Dandy. A majority of animes out there weren’t meant for children in the first place but instead young teens and adults but for some reason when they were bought over here everybody just assumed “oh it’s a cartoon, it’s just for kids, don’t watch it” but now thanks to a growing culture everybody is starting to move away from that mindset and I thank God for that because anime is great and you shouldn’t feel embarrassed or ashamed for liking it. If something brings joy and fun to your life don’t throw it away. Embrace it and be proud of it.

So, will I ever grow out of anime? I highly doubt it. I’m a guy who likes interesting and creative things and as long as there’s an anime out there that I find creative, catches my interest, and makes me think about something or presents it in a new light than I’ll watch it until the day I die. For everyone else out there, I’m sure there will be times in your life where you’ll feel burnt out from watching anime and need to take a break or you’ll just become too busy with your life and won’t have time to watch anime as often as you did in the past but I don’t necessarily think that means your growing out of anime. I’m sure they’ll come a day when I’ll stop writing blogs. I’ll become too busy with my life that I just won’t have time to write them but as far as anime goes that’s something I’ll always have time to watch and enjoy. It’s just like Gigguk said, weren’t not growing out of anime, we’re growing up with it and there’s nothing wrong with that. A world without creativity is like a world without colors. Empty, dull, and boring. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.

Thanks for reading. As always feel free to leave a comment in the comment section or send your comments, feedback, or request to iamprojectnitsuj@gmail.com