So yeah, when I read “alternate world” it felt like somebody stole the best word I had to describe my feelings towards animes. And I am really happy to know why I like slice of life so much even though I have never met anyone who liked it before, since everyone else or doesn’t know anime, or likes naruto for the western reasons. But’s still kinda funny to know that most people surrounding me thinks different than I, and to discover that your way of seeing things is more fairly common in the opposite side of the world.

I’ve always collected comic books. Growing up (ha) didn’t change that. And I’ve always loved animation. Anime left me kind of cold. Except for Akira and Ghost in the Shell, I didn’t take much notice. Liked some stuff well enough, but not enough to be a “fan”.

Then one day, it all changed. My entire universe changed. My love and obsession began.

I found Lucky Star.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed Cowboy BeBop and Full Metal Alchemist and Bleach etc. Adult Swim, y’know?

But, in the end, they were just shows. I didn’t get as swept up and involved and fall in love with the characters like I do with Konata and Kagami or Nagi and Jin or Haruhi or Chocco. I am a 37 year old male and when the curtain went up at the end of the final Lucky Star, as the girls all stepped forward into that bright and unknown future, I was crying like a baby. My friends were going away and I realized right then how much I was actually going to miss them. By then I had figured out that Kyoto Animation did Haruhi Suzumiya, so I had to check that out….

…. well, I’m sure you can guess the rest. I enjoy the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) humor and wordplay. (I am going to enjoy it more if I can make it through the Rosetta Stone course. I’d like to understand firsthand, not get it through a questionable translation.)

My watch list is huge and growing, and 90% of it is the slice of life, character-driven stories like Genshiken, Planetes, Minami-ke, Tactics. Hayate no Gotoku and K-ON! are a revelation. Kyou No Go No Ni is absolutely delightful.

So, I guess I do have a more Japanese perception although I am American. I don’t watch anime to escape, I watch it to GO somewhere.

And it goes way beyond that. I research the things I don’t understand, jokes I don’t get, and in doing so have become fascinated with Japanese culture, history and tradition.

I hope this passion doesn’t die quickly. It’s quite exciting.

~ peace

As for me, my love for anime is connected to my love for animation. Because with animation, you can create all kinds of worlds that cannot exist in reality. (For example: a dog that talks, acts like a human and can tap dance.) So like most Americans, usually I watch anime as a form of escape. Although, there are cases where I actually enjoy the characters themselves as much as the actual story (ex. FMA, D.Gray-man), and once in a while I find a rare series where I like the characters more-so than the story…if there is one that is (ex. Azumanga Daioh, Kannagi). In fact, it was until recent years where I actually started paying attention to not only the plot, but the characters themselves as well. And yes, in the end it all comes down to what our prefered tastes are when it comes to, not just anime, but with everything that we enjoy.

And on that note, perhaps I will now go and rethink my ideas i’ve had for my own anime and/or manga series after reading this (which i’m still determind to release to the public one day).