As a Anime Coinsure I am constantly confronted with the question "what is Anime". My Dads old school, so his opinion of anime relies on the perspective of it as a cartoon. That anime is fake and childish entertainment meant for kids. I tell him its not but sometimes he ask questions I can never seem to answer. I saw a Tik-Tok post which lead me to to the idea of writing on this. Anime can consist of many things but ultimately it is a means to enter another world, a world of endless possibilities. TV shoes with human actors can never provide something without us expecting the outcome. And that is mostly due physical restraints as a human being, or their noticeable errors. Anime does not do that, we are on the same adventure as the MC and there are no drawbacks, stereotypes, or social norms to stop us from doing so. Anime can be defined as a means to enter another world because when you watch anime, anything is possible. you are allowed to experience the adventure for yourself no matter who the MC is or you are. Beauty, love, friendship, and adventure are only the few traits to describe anime because in the end with Anime anything is possible.
You want adventure, got you covered; want romance, don't worry a thing; need some gruesome horror, then your in for a surprise. Anime covers every genre and then some-more. With a supply so great that re-watching shows is no longer considered boredom but a restart on your adventure. just finished Demon Slayer go watch Naruto become the Hokage again. You'll be surprised to find that without restraint, the potential of a show is unlimited. Many times it is so great we have to re-watch it in order to see everything that happened. I've re-watched Sword Art Online Series 10 time and I still get goosebumps' on the last scene of Alicization.
If you love anime, love it with pride because your one of the people born with a profound mind capable of deciphering its power.
But if you don't like anime. Just know you will never understand what we are saying. And that is perfectly fine. It is OK for you to not understand our unique paradise. Its not my fault you weren't born with the mind of a Shinobi. If you feel left out boohoo, you have the same opportunity as us. You just chose to follow another's footsteps instead of your own.
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If your interested in sharing your own opinion go to my forum and search for the discussion labeled "What is Anime?". There you'll find others perspectives on Anime and What it means to them