In Defense of Anime

Before I begin, I just want to say that I, myself, am an anime fan. Even though I will proceed to make fun of other anime fans. The reason for this is that being a fan of Japanese cartoons of this specific style makes you somehow lesser of a human being; a "weeb". NOT ALL ANIME IS HENTAI, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE, WHICH SHALL BE EXPLAINED LATER. There are varying levels of anime fan, and I agree that some die-hard anime fans are a little too much. However, I am here to defend the art style known as anime that stretches the bounds of imagination and expands the limits of how art is expressed. The misconceptions surrounding anime destroy people's open minds and close them off to the possibility of enjoying the shows.

One of the common misunderstandings surrounding anime is the fact that they are from Japan. This can cause many problems. First off, the culture that is in Japan can be strikingly different than that in the US. Some things that an American would see and immediately frown and denounce as wrong, is somewhat acceptable, or at least more prevalent, in Japanese society. Many people focus on the sexualization of Japanese girls, and this happens in anime too. I do not watch anime for this reason, and very rarely are the "popular" or "good" animes focused on sexualizing women; they focus on character development and story arcs. Another common misconception is that all anime is screaming protagonists yelling at antagonists who seem unbeatable. To be fair, anime does fall into particular tropes, like the protag being beaten down by the villain, then motivational music starts playing and the villain knows that he is shit out of luck. However, in recent years, many groundbreaking animes have come out and challenged the basic tropes, for example, Seven Deadly Sins, consistently challenges the morality of both the heroes and the villains. The fact that anime is created in Japan also makes people shy away from giving it a chance. Some people can't stand subtitles. I, for one, use subtitles even when there is English audio. There is also dubbed versions of episodes, so people can still enjoy anime in their native language.

The struggle of being an anime fan is seen. Sometimes, I am reluctant to announce one of my favorite shows. People look down on me for enjoyed "cartoons". I argue that anime can do what any live action movie can't. Shows like Game of Thrones cannot recreate a battle between two galaxy-size robot juggernauts the likes of which is seen in one of my favorite animes, Gurren Lagaan. The art style in anime is also appealing to me. I enjoy seeing vivid colors displayed on the screen and letting my imagination run wild. Animes can satisfy all the different tropes; romance, action, sci-fi, comedy, and more. Americans actually influenced the Japanese art style when they introduced American cartoons to a broken Japan after WWII. Anime is different from hentai, which is a Japanese pornographic art style that uses the anime drawing style to draw porn. Now, the worst misconception of anime and the reason why people do not like people enjoying it is because people equate anime and hentai as one in the same. This infuriates me. That is like comparing BangBros to The Office. Hentai is something that is completely different. It has about as much plot development as any X rated film in America. Anime is something to be appreciated with an open mind and an extensive imagination.

My Hero Academia, the most recent anime I finished, is one of my favorites of all time. Not only is it funny, it also challenges the traditional stereotype tropes of being a superhero that you would see in America. This show brings me so much enjoyment. I love being able to watch as the characters grow in their lives. I can connect and enjoy the experiences in a different way. I implore people to give people that watch anime more slack. Try it. It might not be for you. But I ask for people to be able to have a more open mind. Don't make fun of people for what they enjoy. Unless they are a pedophile. Lock those bastards up.