Now I know this is kind of a taboo thing, even to younger people, and understandably so. Not many people enjoy watching cartoons when they are older than 10 years old, especially ones that are in a foreign language not even close to English. But it really is a legitimate style of art, with millions of fans of the genre all over the world. It is currently growing incredibly fast here in the West, and even permeating the mainstream media with animes like Attack on Titan, RWBY, and the Dragon Ball series. But why is it so popular, and why is it a legitimate art style instead of the perverted cartoons that many outsiders see it as?

Let me just start by saying that anime is art. It is typically hand drawn by a team of artists who are extremely dedicated to what they are working on. It just happens to be drawn a million times with slight variations for each scene since it will have to move, like a flip book. Some animes are created on computers with CG effects (computer-generated) that allow characters and objects to appear more 3D. But even when they are CG rather than hand drawn, the artists involved are still extremely dedicated to the project at hand, and will spend literally hundreds of hours to produce just half a season of a series. So what part of this is not art? There are even animes created not for the story line, but simply for the visuals.  Also, many music videos in Japan use anime during their music videos, since it allows the producers more creative freedom since they can draw what they want, compared to being restricted to only the physical objects they have on hand.

Anime can also have extremely interesting art themes. Many animes follow a similar kind of art style, including the main characters being pretty cool looking with crazy hair and random animal parts (though not all, obviously). And to some people, it is completely normal to have half-human, half-animal people as main characters or bright purple hair with green highlights from birth. It can really spice up the visuals included in the show. But some really try to be extremely realistic, like the FATE/STAY series, which caused a storm for its incredible depth in shadows, lighting, and sound distribution. For some people, it is not just a shiny cartoon show, but a work of art with its own little universe of styles and norms.

It has also helped bridge some of the gaps between the Western and Eastern cultures. Many animes are dubbed into English so that non-Japanese speakers can watch it without the subtitles at the bottom of the screen. Many producers try to use universal situations that take place all over the world, not just in a basically-Japan-with-a-different-name kind of place. The series Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure has settings that take place all over the world, starting in Victorian England, moving to 1920’s New York, jumping to South America for some Indiana Jones-type exploration and mystery solving, and more. Or maybe if it is a more fantasy-oriented anime, the producers may create a whole new world from scratch, like in Gate, where the producers made a world similar to Middle Earth in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

There is also a huge fanbase for these “Asian cartoons.” In the US alone, the anime streaming service Crunchyroll has just over a million users with premium accounts, and another 200,000 users monthly that watch without premium accounts. This excludes “non-premium” sites like KissAnime, who charge nothing for HD quality or memberships, and run off of donations and ad revenue. Anime is even bigger in Japan, where almost all anime is produced, and South Korea. Japan is particularly infamous for its anime-themed stores, where customers can get the latest manga editions (like anime comic books), dvd sets of fan favorites, or even life sized cut-outs of their favorite characters. Then there is the clothing, toys, posters, special-edition candy, bags, costumes, accessories, and more. It’s the anime equivalent of comic book stores here in the West.

So realistically, anime really isn’t that weird. We’ve all watched cartoons before, even adults. So what’s the difference for anime? Is the fact that they speak a different language or possibly focus on kids in high school really that a big deal?  (There really are a TON though. Like a ridiculous amount.) It is simply another medium of entertainment from somewhere else in the world. Millions of people around the globe are dedicated fans, myself included. When you first start watching it, sure it can be weird. But I’m sure that if you give it a try, you’ll find a genre that can please anyone, even your weird uncle Clyde who only watches movies where everything blows up but ends with a nice heartfelt romantic moment.