In the United States, anime for the most part, does not get the respect that it deserves. While it does have a large fan base, it is continually overlooked by the masses and written off as weird or nerdy.
I don’t claim to know everything about the genre in it’s entirety — because there are hundreds of different animes — but I have seen enough to know that there are a lot of quality shows that are inexplicitly being slept on.
One of the main reasons anime is shunned is that it’s a cartoon. How can a cartoon possibly be on the same level of story telling and character development as other traditional shows like “Breaking Bad” or “The Walking Dead”?
Most American cartoons by nature are episodic and either appeal to kids or young adults and so when Americans see an animated show, they most wrongly lump it together with the likes of “Spongebob” and “Family Guy” when anime is so much more.
Take for example, one of the most popular animes, “Naruto.” The show follows a young ninja who was shunned by all the other kids growing up because he was different and how he overcomes his rough upbringing on his quest to become the leader of his home village.
Each time Naruto learns a new ability it’s not just given to him, he has to learn it.
Whether it be learning how to walk up walls or how to create his now trade mark attack, the rasengan, the viewer sees Naruto struggle at first then later on master the ability. You get excited when he figures out how to overcome a roadblock. Little things that give you a strong sense of progression make you more invested in the character by seeing how hard they’re working to achieve their goals.
Another reason to start watching anime is that most shows give off a nice positive message.
In an age where most American cartoons are either comedies that are meant to appeal to third graders or contain pure toilet humor, it is nice to see an animated show that preaches a positive message.
For example, the show “Death Note” which is centered around a genius who finds a notebook that grants him the ability to kill anyone who’s name he writes in it. The main character begins killing criminals and justifies his murders by claiming he’s attempting to create a new world and he has to get rid of them.
While that sounds pretty dark, later on you see that no matter how you justify doing wrong, you always pay for it in the end which is a positive.
Or in the show “Hunter x Hunter” the main character is looking for his father and must pass an insanely difficult exam that tests your psychical and mental strength. He shows that with perseverance and a little bit of stubbornness, you can do anything.
Finally, one last reason more people should give anime a chance is that the genre as a whole is so big that there is a show for everyone to enjoy.
From sports to action to crime drama to fantasy there are quality shows out there from each genre that people are missing out on because it looks weird.
With all things considered, there really isn’t a reason to not at the very least casually watch a few different animes.
You never know until you try you may be surprised and really take a liking to it. It can’t hurt to try and there is a strong possiblitiy you will open yourself up to new and engaging story lines.
There are plenty to choose from and the quality of story telling and character development is unmatched by any other type of cartoon.