Origins of An Endless Love
Have you ever watched a show and thought, “My life is different now. Nothing will ever be the same.”?
Me neither… Okay, a few times. It depends on what I am looking at. I have to be interested in the plot, the characters, the aesthetics. I need to be intrigued and convinced to keep watching for more action, suspense, drama, laughter. Other than horror movies and Pixar films, anime has always made me feel a way. The first anime I ever watched was Sailor Moon back in kindergarten. At least, from what I remember that was the first one other than Studio Ghibli movies. God, Kiki’s Delivery Service was and, still is, a banger.
Sailor Moon gave me a starting point for good plot, catchy, memorable openings and how to judge a good character from a crappy one. For example, Sailor Jupiter is arguably the best. There, I said it.
I remember weekly trips to block buster (sorry kids, you missed a hell of a time to be alive) and running to the back corner to get all the Sailor Moon DVD’s I could grab with my tiny arms. Something about the artwork, action and wholesomeness had me loving the series for years. Then, I learned how anime is different from cartoons, most of the shows I watched were, in fact, anime and here we are more than fifteen year later. I love anime, manga, Webtoons, comics; anything that provide the visuals that regular books cannot. Don’t get me wrong, I also love reading and writing, so books are great. They are often the reason there is manga and anime. Good examples include the Devil Is A Part-Timer! (light novel turned anime), The Remarried Empress (light novel turned Webtoon), and Maximum Ride comic series (regular novel turned graphic novel).
Once I was properly educated, I dove into anime and manga like never before. It helped a bit that I was already interested in Japanese culture thanks to the stories my mother used to tell me about her time in Okinawa while she was in the Navy. Japan already seemed like this unimaginable, amazing place. The fact that they produced my favorite shows was the cherry on top. My love for anime was a roller coaster ride. First it was fun, then it became something I hid from potential bullies before it morphed into my own rebellion. I was a cheerleader, in band, and loved all things “geek”. It was not as cool or accepted to like things like anime back then. I am happy to see that certain shows have become mainstream in fashion, conversation and hobbies for kids and teens these days.
I remember a distinct moment in time when I felt the need to hide when I went to the manga section of book stores or the library. It was always a stressful game. I wanted to grab every book in sight and read Inuyasha, Bleach and One Piece without fearing sneers from kids my age. The first experience I had was in middle school. I chose to check out a couple manga books from the school library. Turns out, only the biggest losers read them. I was told my kids I thought were my friends. I heard their laughter and laughed with them, turning them back in a couple days later in secret. When our school had book fairs, I should have focused on appreciating the privilege I had of parents who encouraged my love of all books and willingness to pay for them. Instead, I would sand which manga between ‘normal books’ hoping that no one would see. It was not until high school that I would openly admit I read manga and watched anime if someone asked.
Anime has done a lot for me. I love sharing how it helped my through a couple dark times in my life and got me through the last few months of a horrible roommate situation. Along with my sports, art-making and loving family. It was a supplement to the times I needed something more than a couple hours at the gym, a good, long talk with my parents or spending time making artwork for myself.