A while back, I had a long info page, mostly about my academical interests, and my history with anime. Also some long diatribe about Kanon 2006, and how it changed my opinion of anime. Tl;dr, I've been watching since the mid ninties, having several nerdy siblings that were interested. Mostly remember Saturday Morning Anime on the Sci Fi channel. Toonami came around, along with a few shows I liked. Famous ones like Trigun and Cowboy Bebop. And in the 2000s, I started looking at fansubs and dvd releases. Kanon 2006 really cemented a love of those high-quality cartoons from Japan.
That's been deleted, because it was from a different time. Around 2011, I watched Madoka Magica, and while it was a fantastic show, I found anime lacking. Not in the 'nothing will top it so why bother' kind of stopped. More in the 'ok, this shit is getting old' kind of stopped, and moved on with my life. Basically, I found I preferred spending my time playing video games over trying to watch subtitles and what not. There probably was some psychological trauma, since 2011 was also the year my dad died. But truth be told, I figured that'd have the reverse effect; he was the type who'd try to limit my exposure. Something to look into if you're a psychologist.
Other factor was way too much "cute girls doing cute things," or basically pandering with no substance. Truth be told, I'm older now and may have (even) more of an appreciation for slower series like CGDCT, mostly for unwinding with coffee, and I still loved my cute anime girls. However, when all I saw was pandering, I dropped watching anime pretty quickly. So yeah, anime didn't get old, the PANDERING did. Sorry if you like your nonsensical boob jiggles and panty shots. I couldn't care less about who is "best girl," because another anime will come around to ask the question anyway.
But then Youtube tried to get me to watch a couple review channels that resonated with me, so here I am, back to watching anime. Or at least trying to. In retrospect, I've found anime to have more variety that I enjoyed, while actually getting even trashier than I remembered.
Log Horizon finally has a main character that's my power fantasy, while Eromanga Sensei just makes me go "what is wrong with you, Japan?" My Hero Academia is even getting me back into Shounen, a genre I got bored with pretty early due to Naruto and Bleach's problems, and coupled with Rurouni Kenshin's author becoming his own main character's antithesis. And they finally have PURE FANTASY. Shit, I don't even know if America does any pure fantasy that isn't Lord of the Rings or super heroes.
Also had a thing about sub vs. dub. Not sure I care either way, although it'd probably go to dub because I'm getting sick of trying to 'read' what I watch. Too bad subtitles are cheaper and come out quicker, and truth be told there are still nuances to anime the Japanese actors do better. But I'm finding a bunch of cheap ways to watch dubs, and they seem to be of a good quality.
... This ended up just as long as before, didn't it?
I guess people also do ratings, and how they felt. 10s would probably be series that were good in most or all aspects, that still resonate with me, and I would consider define me and my tastes. 9s would probably be those that had aspects I love, but enough flaws or imperfections that I would shrug about. 8s were definitely worth watching. 7s were enjoyable, but meh. Lower than that, and we get further from those feelings, towards just forgettable.
tl;dr: Been a fan for a while, mostly fansubs and DVDs in the 2000s. Stopped watching in 2011 and just played video games. Got back into actually watching between 2016 to 2018 and trying to catch up.
Developing a system for catching up with anime. Right now it's something episodic or simple during the day for work, then something requiring more attention or binge worthy during the evenings and weekends.
Confirmed 100th Anime: Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms
Finagled Timeline 100th: Steins;Gate
Anyway, after all that, I don't know if I'll keep up with anime. Right now I'm looking at manga more, since most of the time it's the original. Also, the idea most anime are adaptations, that they're glorified ads for the original, and they lose something in the adaptation. I don't want to be one of those people who look down on others in the fandom because they watch anime, however the idea of having a library of manga is now kind of a dream of mine. I'm probably going to avoid most shounen jump titles; they run way too long, and don't really interest me enough. Most of the time they're on a subscription app.
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hi want to be friends
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HEY GUYS MAYBE I SHOULD FINISH SOME OF THOSE ANIME I BOUGHT SO MANY YEARS AGO. WHAT DO YOU THINK?