15th April 2020 is National Anime Day which means I can finally feel like talking about another passion of mine. Pizza! (Gotta keep a sense of humour!) With the fury of negativity currently flying around, I wanted to do a bonus post on my little escape from reality.
For me I have several things to occupy my free time, including hobbies and interests that keep me motivated and moving forwards; gaming, listening to music, walking, and adventuring to name a few. I’ve hinted towards film and television before, but haven’t really expressed that much detail about it on my blog. The only exceptions were characters I felt could be dyspraxic and a previous post, where I briefly brought up Your Lie in April (YLIA). Apart from YLIA, I haven’t directly opened up about any anime at all. There’s probably little hints sprinkled around my blog, as I’m a cheeky writer who likes to add subtle Easter Eggs into my writing. Since the Post-Series Depression post I wanted to do a follow up to bring to light the positive side of film and series. It’s ironic, that part of a good film or series is feeling sad and empty afterwards because it was that epic and special. I embrace such a feeling because I challenge it to be that special to leave an impact on me.
While I’ve been a fan of anime most of my life it’s only been in recent years that it’s turned into a full-fledged hobby. After going through a real rough patch of depression, I felt I needed something consistent to fall back on. With the vastness of anime I felt it was perfect, there’s an almost unlimited supply!
When it comes to entertainment, I like to find myself spirited away from my own reality for a brief amount of time. Television, especially nowadays, are littered with countless reality and competition TV shows that do absolutely nothing for me. Occasionally, a quiz show can work as a nice past-time, but doesn’t even come close to comparing to a fully immersive experience. Like a video game or book I want to get absorbed into a different universe with a compelling story and rich characters. There are live action shows which are great too, but with animation there’s more you can do with it. Plus, with live action it can look dull and doesn’t quite help break away from reality, because it looks like reality. Animation, even ones that are incredibly detailed, offer a whole different universe from reality. Sure, not all anime are great but when one strikes gold, oh boy does it strike it well.
Western animation can be great and awe-inspiring too and there are plenty of animated films that are among my favourite films of all time. However, there’s something extra special when it comes to anime. As it’s different culturally, you’re going to end up with something different to the mainstream entertainment. Although, anime is getting to the point of mainstream too now and are getting created with a western audience in mind but they still offer something unique. For the most part anime is just like anything else, a distraction from life and something to unwind with. But with such a vast selection there’s going to be ones that are going to be absolute gems. I have so many favourite for so many reasons, but this post is just a quick appreciation for anime in general. Maybe I’ll share my personal choices in a different post, if that’s a direction I want to take my blog in.
But I like to hear your side. Are there any anime you have fond memories of or a specific one you’re currently watching? Let me know!
Thanks for reading my totally random ramblings, my next actual planned post will be a potential dyspraxic character. Stay tuned for that!
