When I was child I most watched the children-oriented channels. Many of those channels showed American -produced animated shows. Thus when I first saw anime, I did not realize that it was anime. My interest in Japanese first appeared when I was in elementary school, where it was mandatory for all students to take four foreign languages. Through these language classes, I began to realize that the shows that I could not distinguish from American cartoons was anime. My history with anime has been a wax and wane cycle, with it leaving and entering my life rather sporadically.
Similar to may other people in my generation, the earliest memory of anime is tied to Pokemon. I received my first Pokemon game in elementary school and was immediately taken by appeal of it. The games appeal spread to the card game and later the anime. Later in the elementary school, I became obsessed with the Toonami programming block, that showed anime and anime-esque shows in the hours following school. I remember being enthralled by Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, and Yuyu Hakusho. I also developed the habit of waking up at around 5:00am to watch the anime, Hamtaro. The cuteness and the fantasy of anime was very thrilling to me.
My interest in anime was also shaped by my growing interest in manga. When I around nine years old, I received my first manga. “Cardcaptor Sakura” told the story of ten year old, Kinomoto Sakura who after releasing the Clow Cards, must capture them all. The story was intriguing and cute like many other magical girl series, but reading it I was fascinated by the art and the story. I felt a connection to the the young characters that were portrayed. Today, I still enjoy the series and the genre, that shows was in; the magical girl genre. The average nature of the Cardcaptor Sakura did have an anime adaptation that I did watch the part of, but for most part I did not watch it.
Cardcaptor Sakura
In middle school the appeal of anime remained, however the stigma began to rise. Many of my classmates may have still enjoyed anime, but the numbers started to get fewer and fewer. The societal expectations of race became a factor as well. When people found out I like anime or Japan, it was perceived as being not becoming of my race. Since I am black, it was not thought that I should enjoy anime or things not stereotypically black, or else I was trying to be ‘white’ or reject my own race. In a society where enjoying society is considered ‘weird’, as a racial minority who is already categorized as ‘other’ to even further oneself from the mainstream can difficult. I was also wary of being called a ‘weaboo’ by the people around me.Thus while my enjoyment of anime did continue, the scrutiny of it began to grow. I continued to read manga and watch anime through middle school. I mostly watched Naruto, since I felt the action was interesting and fun, but also the connection to the Naruto’s character. The tenacity of Naruto was inspiring to me, since middle school is a time of uncertainty. All the adventures were exciting and friendships formed in those adventures.
However, when I moved to high school, my consumption of anime and manga began to drop. I continued to enjoy manga since it was something that could enjoyed privately, however my consumption of anime dropped. Also the social stigma of watching anime or reading manga had grown even more since middle school and thus I stopped talking about it in public. When I entered my third year of high school, I no longer had time to watch anime or read manga. I stopped reading manga, and began to focus more on American television and my studies. The break with anime and manga arose out of the need to focus on my studies, but also possible feelings that manga and anime were childish or immature. The concern about being called a ‘weaboo’ or being seen as other may have contributed to my break from anime. I did not start watching anime again until I entered college.
As I entered college, I found that watching anime could be useful and enjoyable to me. First, I could use it as listening practice since I study Japanese language. Also I found that watching anime or reading anime did not make me seem immature, they were purely hobbies. Also through learning about Japan and Japanese culture, I did not have to worry about being consider a ‘weaboo’ since I was studying the culture in academic sense rather than only thinking about the culture through anime or manga. Around the time that I entered college, I found anime that interested me and easier avenues for watching anime. I began to watch more anime, for the educational value, but also because I enjoyed more. The variety of anime was more than I had as a child and now I have my choice of what I want to watch. Recently, I have been watching more light-hearted anime, mostly in the genres of slice-of-life and comedy. I find these light anime enjoyable since they tend to explore the relationships between people and the world around them. Anime and I have had a long and interesting journey, but now I accept it as part of educational and recreational identity.
Anime I have enjoyed recently:
Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun
Barakamon
