Have You Ever Turned Your Back on Anime?

Yesterday, I came across somebody, that somebody being my friend. Over the past couple of years, she has grown to like anime very dearly. She treasured it. It made her happy. As of yesterday though, she said that she no longer likes anime, that it is not “appealing” to her. This had me thinking. Would I ever turn my back on anime?

In a recent article I posted, I talked about burn out from anime. To explain briefly, I had fallen out of anime for a while, but not entirely to the point where I no longer liked it. Now to go back to my current point, would you ever fall out of anime? I don’t know her reason besides her saying it’s not appealing. What is not appealing about it? So I asked her. And her response was the same. She had stated that it is no longer for her. She posted on Twitter how she said it’s not for her. I completely understand her, and maybe the logic behind her answer, but at the same time, I’m baffled on how someone who loves anime could just turn their back on it. I ask the question again. Would you ever turn your back on anime?

I remember once I stumbled upon an article about anime burn out. It peaked my curiosity, so I kept reading. I had read stories about how people knew friends and ex friends who had loved anime and now just seem to hate it or either pay no mind to it. One talked about how a girl’s ex best friend loved anime since she was a child, and now she was a drug and alcoholic, and I know this is a very extreme example, but do other people turn out like this? Well, maybe not necessarily like this case, but do they follow society who look down on anime, think it’s for kids, and will go waste their lives away at parties and at clubs? Why is the genre so niche? Why is anime looked down upon? Is it because people think that it’s for kids and stupid that others follow the crowd and play follow the leader? I will never understand it. Being an anime fan, I could never fall out of it. Have I thought about it? Unfortunately, yes, I have. What caused me to have such thoughts? Maybe it was because I thought that was the reason I would never have a girlfriend again? Was it because the main group of people didn’t like anime and always made fun of it. I think it all boils down to me trying to fit into the crowd, yet that was the one thing I try to avoid on a daily basis. I group myself as a leader, but in this case, I was a follower.

Anime is the one thing that makes me happy. It’s what makes me different. To turn my back on it is like turning your back on a pet that was always there for you. You neglect it, and in time, it wants nothing to do with you. The anime community is one of the nicest group of individuals I have ever stumbled upon in my life. There are the bad eggs in the group no doubt, but the majority of the crowd are polite, open, and willing to accept you for the person that you are. There is no judging because we have all been ridiculed before, and to do so would be hypocritical of them. They know who you are. They treat you like family. On Twitter, there’s something called AniTwitter. AniTwitter has had its ups and downs, but mostly it is all positive thinking and people. To wrap it all up, anime has always been a part of who I am. It’s what makes me the person I am today (along with Hatsune Miku but that’s a different story for another time). If you ever think about quitting anime for good, question yourself first and ask yourself why. Why am I quitting anime? If you can find yourself a good answer, than do what you think is right. I personally, would never drop out of it. After all, I am trying to promote and spread the word of anime to more people. Tell me your experiences with anime in the comments below. Until next review guys.

If you want to talk more about this topic with me, you can do so on Twitter at twitter.com/djddueces. If you want to see what I am watching, you can do so at MyAnimeList.net/djddueces. My Tumblr (which is basically all Hatsune Miku images) and Instagram are the same, at djddueces.