The Effects Of Watching Anime You May Not Have Realized

Watching anime affects you in some way, shape, or form. And that’s not a bad thing like anime haters try to make out.

You’d be surprised at the misinformation and outrageous claims people make on the internet these days.

What’s most important, as with most things, is how it affects you and how you interpret it.

Here’s how anime does that, and what the result typically ends up being.

The effects of watching anime:

1. A desire to travel to Japan

There are a lot of things that inspire people to wanna go to Japan. Anime characters, scenes, backgrounds, and locations are just some motivations.

Or at least it makes you wanna go there more than a regular TV show would (when talking about anime).

Compare that to American TV, films, or even Japanese films and TV from any other country.

It’s realistic.
There is appeal.
It can be good.

But that’s about it. There’s no strong desire to wanna get up and go to that country because of it.

Anime has that effect on people. New fans and experienced fans.

Everything is so bright and colourful, and in some ways – exaggerated, that it sparks your imagination of “what it must be like” even more.

As long as you’re not delusional, you shouldn’t be disappointed with the Japanese reality.

2. You lose interest in other forms of entertainment

The effects of anime can’t be underestimated.

I don’t know about you, but when I dived into anime I started losing interest in other forms of entertainment.

When I say other forms of entertainment, I’m talking about:

TV programs
Films
Soaps (Imagine that)

And regular TV in general.

Cartoons as well.

While there’s an appeal to films and TV because it’s realistic with real people, anime is not. And THAT is the difference.

Not even cartoons in general can compare to anime for its flexibility and dynamic nature.

The topics, subjects, themes and stories in anime are in their own league because it’s fiction.

That’s what gives it the uniqueness it has, and why people who watch anime slowly lose interest in other types of media.

Or at the least: they watch it a lot less.

That’s thanks to anime’s DEEP catalogue of genres and the insanity (or beauty) that comes with it.

The designs are surprisingly realistic, funnily enough, or near enough., And that’s another appeal of anime over other forms of media.

What other form of media has Waifu’s like anime.

Or what I should say is: how is it that people are so fanatical about “Waifu’s” when they’re not even REAL?

The appeal of Waifu’s is something else and has become a big thing. Especially in the last decade.

That’s all in spite of its fiction.

That again is a testament to anime’s uniqueness and the boundaries they’re able to push and create because it’s fictional. While still making the characters realistic enough for you to relate and treat them as actual people, in an animated fashion.

That distinction is EVERYTHING. And is the reason for fans losing interest in other entertainment!

The effects of anime are like that.

Relevant: The Psychological Effects Of Anime, And How Fans Are Impacted

3. Your friends and inner circle may change

Anime, despite blowing up in the 1990s and attracting millions of fans ever since, is judged in a negative light.

It’s scrutinized, criticized, belittled, downplayed, and even misrepresented on purpose. Propaganda and a constant attack on anime is real and consistent.

It’s almost as if the hate train has unlimited fuel that works off nothing but ignorance.

This is why your friends and inner circle are likely to change when watching anime and becoming a fan of it.

When you start to get:

Involved in the anime community.
Share your anime interests with others.
Openly wear anime merch (if you go that far).

And other things related to a hobby, people around you WILL judge you for it. Not everyone, but a lot will.

Common things you’ll hear:

Anime is childish.
Anime is for losers.
Anime is stupid.
Anime is porn.
Anime is for paedophiles.

And basically every out of context, exaggerated, and wild accusation you can think of.

The type that shows a person’s ignorance and lack of understanding.

That’s just a part of doing something unconventional by society’s standards, but there’s a good side to it as well.

On the other hand, your friends and inner circle may become more:

Understanding
Open minded

And you may meet people who share your experiences and the bullsh*t (and good stuff) that comes with it.

Both online and offline.

Some anime fans decide not to be public with their interests, and choose to hide it and be private about it. So this doesn’t apply to that.

But at some point down the line, you’re gonna stop giving a f*ck about all that, and the effects of anime may change certain friendships.

Relevant: Why Anime Is “Apparently” Bad For You, According To The Internet

4. A new appreciation for art

Anime art is like nothing you’ve ever seen.

It’s colourful.
Vibrant.
Sharp.
Unique.

Anime art is different by design.

It doesn’t take much to see that even from a glance at your average anime series.

Being from Japan, a country unlike the West where most “popular” media is made, anime brings a new feel with its wild but creative designs.

This naturally gives you a new appreciation for art, because there’s no other art that’s identical to it.

If you’re a creative or even a designer, you’ll have even more of an appreciation for the art than most.

Like any other art, anime can become cliché or dull. Because art and all forms of creativity are eventually copied or redone too many times.

That’s normal. But the approach and style of anime art, especially when focusing on certain studios and authors, is something from another planet.

One aspect is the human-like designs that refuse to pander to the usual, sometimes ugly “cartoon” designs that are purely unrealistic.

Anime’s human but “animated” design gives it that feeling of fiction but still lets you relate because of the sense of realism in the art and drawings.

5. A new appreciation for authenticity (not sugar-coated)

Some of you will know the anime: Shimoneta, made by J.C Staff, and some of you won’t.

If you’re into Ecchi anime, you’d be wise to give this a try.

Shimoneta is about a society riddled with SJW’S (social justice warriors), and political correctness gone mad.

Ayame Kajou, a main female character, refuses to accept the notion of perverted jokes and sex in general being “filthy”, to the point that it’s against the law.

The anime goes in an interesting direction, and there are a lot of truths to take from the show.

It’s not just for entertainment and a good laugh.

The thing with anime compared to other media: