The Japanese anime manga phase

[International 4-8818]

Ok, well i have been here for two years. As people have seen i have not really gone into the other forums besides music, intro, pay to post, and misc.

The other day i was going through my families attic and i found a box labeled "the box of crap". It was my box from the teens. I blew off the dust and looked in it and my my, it was my old anime books, vhs and dvd sets, posters, drawings, and all that Japanese paraphernalia. I looked at the stuff dumb founded and said, "Holy crap i was an asian nerd back in the day?"

I could not believe that i had invested so much money into, well now i think it is lame/ waste of space (due partially to my high American living lifestyle). I kept asking myself why did I like this stuff. I popped some of the dvd's and VHS's in and sat down and watched some of it. I could not even watch a 5-10 minutes of it. It didn't make sense to me. Why did people have gigantic tears along their face/ I questioned how badly the animation was and further questioned why i watched this stuff. I even said, "Why is this octopus raping this woman?" (haha) The only thing I could watch was the gundam shows partly because i am trying to get my masters in robotical engineering.

I guess i just out grew it (no duh). But i wonder what drove me to watch it. I looked at the yearbooks (empty of fellow classmates signatures) and found out that i was a loner back in the hay day. Could it have been that in the phycological mind set that i used this insane weirdness of cartoons to escape from reality?

I ask you, why do you watch anime and manga?

For people who have out grown it put down your thoughts of what you think of it now?

[Wio]

The better question would be "Why do people dislike 'kiddie' stuff?" I'm not taking about the Teletubies, but something like Pokemon. We get older, dismiss it at 'childish' and move onto something we figure is more appropriate.

My theory is that what entertains us is a bit relative to that by which our peers are entertained. This is because we can share our experience from watching the show with them. I'm sure that there's more to it though.

[Wio]

The better question would be "Why do people dislike 'kiddie' stuff?" I'm not taking about the Teletubies, but something like Pokemon. We get older, dismiss it at 'childish' and move onto something we figure is more appropriate.

My theory is that what entertains us is a bit relative to that by which our peers are entertained. This is because we can share our experience from watching the show with them. I'm sure that there's more to it though.

[clowangel]

Good questions. I haven't 'outgrown' anime and manga. In fact, it's something I've grown into. It's something I enjoy, and it entertains me. Nowadays, not many things make me laugh. A good laugh is always good.

Maybe it's 'kiddy' but I like watching anime like Pokemon (the subbed). It reminds me of my childhood days when all I wanted to do was travel the world and see animals. I still do. But now that I'm older, I realize I need money for such adventures; something I have very little of. It's always okay to dream a little right?

[-Batman-]

I'm similar to that.

I can watch the anime I liked back when I liked it.
But I can NOT get into newer anime no matter how hard I try (Deathnote being the only exception so far)
I can sit down, and watch old episodes of Yu Yu Hakusho, outlaw star, Tenchi Muyo, hell even DBZ, Poke'mon and the freakin' Guyver and enjoy it.
But I just have no interest in the newer crap. Because...I don't know actually.
I fell back into American comics.
My 19 years of living look like this.
first memories - 11-12 = American comics and cartoons.
from 12-16 = Anime and Manga
then from 16-now it's back to comics.

[Leorina]

I've simply become addicted to it. From what I've been told, it's in my nature to stick with something once it's caught my interest.

Since fifth grade, I've been discovering new aspects of anime and manga that just keep me interested enough to continue following what I deem worthy of spending my money on.

Once they no longer keep me interested, they will most certainly be out of my life.

[clowangel]

You know it's the same as when I turn on the tv, flip through the channels and land on something like Arthur. I'll just watch it for old times' sake. It's nostalgic.

But I can't say I feel that way about current running anime. I happen to like art, so I'm drawn to well-drawn anime with good plots. I also like writing by the way. I guess it ties in directly with my hobbies and interests.

[TheAsterisk!]

There's actually quite a few anime that were popular when I was in grade school that I detested but that I now watch all the time (like Dragonball). Pokemon is only good if it's the older ones where the blue haired villain (Team Rocket? It's been a while...) is always forced into women's clothing when disguised (He actually said, "Next time, we'll steal men's clothing" once!).
I can't stand most new stuff, though (like the vaunted Naruto). When my brother watches Naruto, our whole family gathers to make wisecracks about it just to see how fun we can make it (-very-).

I think the reason I watch the animes I do is because I've some wierd need for comedy in everything I consume. It's not to escape or because I'm a social hermit (that's what Star Wars is for); I just view anime as I would any other cartoon or film, but translated from elsewhere.

[Knuffle Bunny]

Ok, well i have been here for two years. As people have seen i have not really gone into the other forums besides music, intro, pay to post, and misc.

The other day i was going through my families attic and i found a box labeled "the box of crap". It was my box from the teens. I blew off the dust and looked in it and my my, it was my old anime books, vhs and dvd sets, posters, drawings, and all that Japanese paraphernalia. I looked at the stuff dumb founded and said, "Holy crap i was an asian nerd back in the day?"

I could not believe that i had invested so much money into, well now i think it is lame/ waste of space (due partially to my high American living lifestyle). I kept asking myself why did I like this stuff. I popped some of the dvd's and VHS's in and sat down and watched some of it. I could not even watch a 5-10 minutes of it. It didn't make sense to me. Why did people have gigantic tears along their face/ I questioned how badly the animation was and further questioned why i watched this stuff. I even said, "Why is this octopus raping this woman?" (haha) The only thing I could watch was the gundam shows partly because i am trying to get my masters in robotical engineering.

I guess i just out grew it (no duh). But i wonder what drove me to watch it. I looked at the yearbooks (empty of fellow classmates signatures) and found out that i was a loner back in the hay day. Could it have been that in the phycological mind set that i used this insane weirdness of cartoons to escape from reality?

I ask you, why do you watch anime and manga?

For people who have out grown it put down your thoughts of what you think of it now?

The first thought that crossed my mind was - You don't belong here.

And then I realized that even though I'm such an anime freak, I've barely even stepped into the actually "anime" topic. I just hang around siggies and misc.

And now I know why. The "anime" forums are filled with
"Who's your favorite character?"
"OMG [insert anime character here] is so HOT! WHO AGREES?"
...:/

I love anime because I haven't been exposed to better things.
It's sad, really, I don't know anything more entertaining than anime. But anime isn't junk. It's a form of cartoon, and most people think that real-life actors are better.

But have you seen highschool musical? After being forced to watch that, I appreciated anime so much more.

Of course, there are always crappy anime out there. Just stay away form those.

To be honest, I've actually grown out of anime. [I'd never thought I'd find myself saying that >>] I still have my barrel of anime knowledge though.

[Manhattan_Project_2000]

I can't stand to watch 99% of what I used to watch. There were some decent things (Akira, GitS [the movie and the SAC series], FotNS [assuming you watch it with your tongue firmly planted in your cheek], FLCL, Cromartie High, Lupin the Third, Crest of the Stars, Some of the Gundam series, others I forget) but for the most part, it's horrible. Then again that's pretty much everything, anime fan or not. So I still watch some of the stuff on CN, but I'll be damned if I'm paying for it.

[Sanosuke23]

Much like Deadpool, I enjoyed American comics, then got into Japanese animation, and now I've been poking around comics once again.

However, I never really stopped appreciating either. It's all a matter of expanding your horizons I think. Read Shounen Jump, but try picking up Marvel's Civil War series. Or The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, if you can find it. Or Cerberus.

I love all of it, and don't think I'll ever simply "grow out" of it all.

[PanzerJager]

I saw it first when I bought some a long time ago because I was looking at different styles of animation for a project in school. From them I have watched different ones on and off.. Not really what you would consider an avid watcher.

[MistressPookyChan]

I tend to go in phases. Sometimes I like it and I'm in the mood for it, and sometimes I'm not. In uni, for example, I grew out of it. But now that I am living in Japan, it is hard not to see anime and manga. Have my fav styles changed? Not really. When I got into anime, I loved Ranma 1/2 and Di Gi Charat. Both of which are still favs of mine. But I think that the difference now is that I appreciate it as an art form. When something catches my eye, it's because of the aesthetics; how the characters look, the drawing style, etc. Then, I pick it up and take a look.

I usually don't go out and spend tons money on anime and manga, but if I do spend money on them, it's usually on some manga or character goods, and it's usually not a huge amount. My interest has recently been sparked again because of a friend of my hubby's; a major akiba otaku. He invited me to hang out with him and his friends at Comeket this weekend. I did feel a bit left out because I'm not hardcore into manga like them, but it was still fun.

Anyway, enough of my rambling. To summarize, people do change, but people also have ups and downs. Even if you are into anime and manga, you can find friends that are also into it.

[Masali]

I used to indiscriminately watch ANYTHING anime simply because it was Japanese, I was quite the Japanophile. Now, I'm EXTREMELY selective. I only read/watch, what I believe to be, the cream of the crop. Aka: Good story, Deep characters, and CON.TIN.U.ITY. So far, the only ones who have met my expectations have been the following:

Monster
BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad
Berserk
Great Teacher Onizuka

Other than that, I've given it up. It was fun while it lasted, now it's just annoying.

[Aizmov]

I still watch Anime, actually I watch more Anime now than when I was younger.

[Hideki Motosuwa.]

I just started a few years ago, and I'm still a noob when it comes to anime/manga. I think it will be quite a while until I "grow out" of this phase.

[sa5m]

I think I've grown out of it. I got interested in anime and manga in 7th grade, and grew out of it in 10th grade when I got too busy to think about it.

I think it's because so many stories are the same-- you've got action, romance, romantic comedy, fantasy, etc. Now I only watch certain anime that really have a different twist to them. Back then I would actually surf around trying to search for new anime to watch, and even if I found a boring one, I would still watch it to the end anyway. Now it's not like that. I barely watch anime anymore, and I don't think I've even touched a manga for like half a year.

[Memento Mori]

I used to be a huge Japanohpile, I swear. If it was Japanese, I would buy it. x_x' Now, I'm not like that anymore, but I still have an appreciation for anime, but more manga, considering there isn't much on TV anymore. Anime is just now....blah. It's all just crappy. The only anime shows I watch anymore are Eureka Seven, very rarely Naruto, Cowboy Bebop, GitS, and Deathnote. I still like watching the old Miyazaki movies (NOT Howl's Moving Castle) and reading manga, but I don't go to extremes where I'm obsessed with it.

Also, like akari said, I've stayed away from the topic of anime on threads because all of them are "WHO IS THE HOTTEST COUPLE?!" Or, if you recall, "Does anyone NOT hate sasuke?!"....or something like that. I find a few good topics, but most are like that. It's rather sad.

[Cless Alvein]

I ask you, why do you watch anime and manga?

I'll start off by answering with a question to set the stage.

Why do people watch any movie, play, T.V. show or cartoon?

It's the exact same thing.

For me it's story and art, in that order. I watch very little anime these days, but I'm already pre-registered for Anime Expo next July. I collect anime cels, I love Fantasy and Folklore and many of my ideas for the book project I'm working on are inspired by anime or video game storytelling alongside written works.

There is nothing childish about that, and "growing out of it" is not an indication of such. You grow out of a lot of things in your lifetime simply because you change.

[Akira Kogami[LC]]

I still watch Anime, actually I watch more Anime now than when I was younger.

Me too.

[StabWound]

I watch anime for the same reason I watch anything, entertainment. Just because it's animated doesn't mean that it can't have a deep storyline like anything else. Anyone who doesn't give anime a chance just based on the fact that it is animated is close-minded, in my opinion.

[MissChelly]

I've liked anime probably since about 4th grade maybe? I've never grown out of it- not yet at least. However, I was never a real Japan nerd- I wouldn't buy something just for the reason it's Japanese. I'd buy it because it's adorable though! :P
Of course there's times when I don't deal with anime much at all and then times when I catch up for the lost time, I suppose.

I definitely watch different types of shows than I used to though! When I was little, it was DBZ, Sailor Moon, etc... I'll still watch those shows once in a great long while, more for nostaglia's sake. But now as I've gotten older, I prefer horror and sci fi anime... then again, there's no way I would've been allowed to see those types of shows when I was little, with all the blood, gore, and boobs. LOL