In Defense of Japanese Anime

In America, there are anime lovers and anime haters... and those who have never heard of crazy Japanese animated television. Either way, I feel slightly embarrassed to write that I actually do like anime. Why is that? I feel that in America, to be associated with this crazy East-Asian-trend-now-spreading-to-the-western-world called anime is to be sitting on the pinnacle of eccentricity, the definition of a geek (or otaku if you want to use the japanese word). Yes, I concede that I am a weird nerd, but it’s because I spend my free time dancing to the Rite of Spring and pondering the value of infinity and different types of infinities, not because I appreciate and like watching anime.

Perhaps we are repulsed by Japanese game shows, but calling Japanese anime “stupid” is like calling American television “stupid”. The scope of Japanese anime is now so large, that there is an anime for everything that possibly exists, from parodies on European history to women’s ski jumping to galactic wars to high school swimming to magical teenage girls with superpowers to murder mysteries to the afterlife to historical documentaries to magical wizards to people who strive for world domination to deeply dramatic love stories to theoretical physicists to video games to musicians freaking out about auditions to inane comedies seemingly about nothing and... just real life. In short, Japanese anime is not confined solely to popular franchises like Pokemon, Naruto and its stereotypes.

The main difference however is this: While American cartoons and animated films are primarily directed towards the younger audiences, Japanese anime is directed towards both the young and old audiences (yes, there are adult genres of anime), including the teenagers in between.

When I was first introduced to anime, I was amazed at how much more meaningful it was than just watching Cartoon Network. It can be hard to believe, but some of the anime out there have as much plot complexity, thematic meaning and symbolism as the novels we read in English class (although on the contrary, there is also anime that is just completely silly).Anime can be a totally unique art form. For instance, I can easily say that the most intense movie and perhaps most meaningful tragedy I have ever watched was a surrealist Japanese anime. But of course, there is an anime for everybody.

As Toyin Yusuf, President of the Japanese Club says, “It is impossible to hate anime, it is the same as hating ALL BOOKS or even LIFE in that matter. Anime allows you to explore different societies, cultures, intellectuals, dimensions, adventures, drama - things you may have never seen before. And at the end of the day, it would always give you a good laugh.”