Relatable, versatile, educational: Why you should consider watching anime
The joy of spring break has come to an end, and midterms are mostly behind us. Finals are looming overhead but are not yet ready to pounce. This may well be the best time to catch up on or discover shows. Have you considered anime?
Here are the Clog’s five reasons why you should think about adding anime to your radar. If you’re already a huge anime fan, then this article may not be for you, but for those who are new to the idea and ready to open a door to happiness, please read on.
There’s something for every(one) genre
Anime is not just cute girls, talking animals and people with gravity-defying hair. It covers many genres, in fact, ranging from slice-of-life and romance, to thrillers and horror, to fantasy and supernatural. There are also a few “special” genres that fans are instantly familiar with: shoujo and shounen, the former targeting a teen girl audience and the latter, targeting teen boys. A little bit less common, there are also josei and seinen, which target older women and men.There’s even mecha, which focuses on mechanical and scientific innovation. But among all these choices, there’s one thing I learned after many years of interacting with other anime fans: You watch what you want.
You can watch it almost anywhere
Now that you’ve decided on a genre and maybe even an interesting-sounding title, you might want to bail because you don’t know where you even go to watch it. Luckily for you (and me), 2021 is an amazing time for anime because Netflix, Hulu and even Amazon Prime support some of the biggest titles right now. As you graduate into this lifestyle, you might discover more lucrative sites, but for now, these are great places to start.
Great life lessons can be learned
Once upon a time, I heard that reading increases empathy. Another time, I heard that reading allows one to live a thousand lives. Today, movies provide the same benefits, anime included. Some of my childhood heroes were anime characters, and my favorite sayings and rules I live by were taken from shows such as “Naruto.” The stories may be rich and entertaining, but the life lessons are the real gold at the end of the rainbow.
It’s oddly relatable
Have you ever said, “C’s get degrees?” Saitama from “One-Punch Man” can relate. “Living on your own costs a lot?” Kiki from “Kiki’s Delivery Service” agrees. Does, “I’m tired from crying so much,” sound familiar? Usagi Tsukino from “Sailor Moon” said that, too. In short, we’re all just living in an anime.
It can be considered an actual hobby
Anime-watching is quite possibly the most passive hobby you can participate in and still find a large community of like-minded people. If you’re lazy like me but still want to be a part of something, you can start with that reason alone.
As you can see, by starting to watch anime, you’ll gain so much more than a way to kill time as you push the thought of finals further into the distance. As listed, there are plenty of reasons to hop on the bandwagon and watch anime. If nothing else, it’s worth it simply to become a part of our scheme for world domination. Anime fans unite!
Contact Angelina Yin at angelinayin@dailycal.org.