General Anime Question

[Andy Mancini]

I have been watching anime since "Dragon Ball" was in syndication (1994 I think, I was 13). It wasn't since my accquisition of a DVD player (okay, a DVD drive for my computer) that I actually started buying anime that isn't broacast on Cartoon Network. Since then, I keep on getting bugged by my father, who continuously asks how I can watch that "campy Japanese crap". See, his knowledge of anime begins and ends with "Speed Racer" and Kimba the White Lion". He then starts about how "a sane, normal adult in college can be into that kiddie s**t" and wonders how my life can be so boring that I "force" myself to watch this "bizzare, perverted stuff". After he's done with his little speech, making my brother and I miss a major plot point along the way, he goes into the living room and promptly turns on "The Iron Chef".

I'll admit that my tastes are pretty strange ("Ranma 1/2", "Neon Genesis Evangelion", "Urusei Yatsura"), but still. I found that a lot of anime is better than the crap that they put on American TV. Really, which one is better: NBC's "Must See Thursday" or "Tenchi Muyo in Love"? I don't really watch a lot of TV (If it isn't animated or wrestling, I won't watch it), so it's not like I'm frying my brain on TV. (All right, I do watch both "The Drew Carey Show" and "Andy Ritcher Controls the Unvirse", but they don't count because of how bizarre both shows are.) And it's not like I'm some anti-social nerd either. Heck, a friend of my brother and me has us record Toonami because he doesn't get cable. (I live in the country, where corn fields and the smell of cow droppings rule over all. A lot of people don't get cable.) Has anybody else run into family/freinds that do this? I've learned to ingore, then make fun of, it once he leaves, but I'm just curious if anyone has run into this sort of thing.

[kiddiesunshine]

nah. my friends/family either like anime or have no idea what it is besides pokemon and dbz.

[bfmusashi]

It's all because of the public's general idea that cartoons are meant for kids, and ONLY for kids. Unfortunately, this is a assumption that's difficult to change. Your dad's also probably under the assumption that anime is a fancy word for "dirty Japanese cartoons". This is what a very large number of the general public thinks, unfortunately. It's difficult to convince non-believers that anime isn't just stuff like La Blue Girl, but maybe if you actually showed your dad some "public-friendly" anime (something like Princess Mononoke, I guess) he might change his mind.

[I.R Joey]

If you can get your hands on these show these to your dad.

Cowboy Bebop: Even the dub is really well put together, and it just breathes all kinds of style. Use something like Asteroid Blues, are the Real folk blues part 1 and 2.

Grave of the Fireflies: Haven't seen this one but I heard it's a very interesting look at postwar Japan.

Evangelion of Lain: Screw up his brain so badly that he can't think straight for an hour

If that don't change his mind, I don't know what will.

And yes all to many times I've met people who look at me funny when I say I love cartoons. It probably has to do with the fact that so many people think Anime is just stuff like Pokemon.

[Galaxia]

::groooooaaannnnn:: You have NO idea!

Yeah, my sister and parents have no idea why I'm into anime (or cartoons in general), so I can definitely relate. They think it's "stupid", "dumb", and "weird". Um, yeah I'm almost 19; am I allowed to have a mind of my own? I like being different! I had that same problem in high school (about people thinking I'm a weirdo because I like anime - I had about a small handful of people in my school that actually watched it, so that was okay), but then when I went off to college I found more people that are into anime ^__^

I wouldn't want to show them any anime because they wouldn't like it at all, no matter how good it was. They'd probably get annoyed at all the violence in it. Geez louise...

Good thing I have lots of friends now that like anime! I've even got my boyfriend to watch "Cowboy Bebop" and he really liked it.

Everyone, be proud of what you're in to - don't go along with the mainstream if you don't want to!

[Momijii]

Gosh you have it rough I'm lucky because just about all my family likes anime I even have a brother in the comic book industry.My dad and mom look at anime one of their favorites is Fist of the north star,heck even my grandmother looks at anime.

[RogueMartian]

I know exactly how it is. I explained to my dad my anime fascination, so he understands and even likes a couple of the shows I like (He's still not on to DBZ, but give me some time). The rest of my family on the other hand is unconvertable. My uncle leaves the room whenever I try to put on toonami or non-toonami anime (e.g. Akira, Princess Mononoke, Perfect Blue, etc.) My aunt thought I was a complete loser for watching cartoons, she couldn't understand how a college student could watch that crap. I practically begged her to watch Princess Mononoke before making any judgements but she said she couldn't because the new ally mcbeal season took precidence (I really haven't spoken much with her since she said that, it was one of those moments when you realize you have absolutely NOTHING in common with another person). The only other person who appreciates cartoons with me is my 7 year old sister, its pretty depressing, because all of my other friends aren't into it either. If it wasn't for these boards, I'd never get to discuss any cartoons or anime.

[Lachesis]

Well, there's always denial. Me and my similarly obsessed brother just learned eventually to stop talking about it until we got to college. Then converted roommates. Easier for everybody that way. Of course, it helped that my parents had at least watched anime when they were kids, so they actually got that it wasn't all hentai and fanservice. Still, my mother used to poke fun at my cousins and their Nadia tapes until one of them actually went off to Japan to become an animator. Now she just consoles his mother.

[Fish]

My family and friends all accept that I like to watch cartoons and some of them like anime too. Of course I have heard the " aren't you too old for this" but then I show them Ninja Scrool and they don't say anything *g*
My mom thinks that most the stuff I watch is interresting and she even went so far to say that it keeps me out of trouble to have a hobby - She'd rather have me at home watching cartoons instead of being out doing ....whatever she thinks I would be doing
My dad tends to make fun of all the "touching" scenes you often see in anime, which almost never are in american cartoons, but I interpret that as his way of coping with his own feelings because he might have a hard time showing his own so by making fun of it, it makes him feel better...Either that or he just thinks it's lame :P

I don't really care what other people think about anime. I realize that your either like it or simply dont.

<>< F I S H ><>

[Invader_Spooch]

god, im sorry for all of you who's parents/friends/loved ones dont support your interests (even give you crap for it). My dad took me to go see Princess Mononoke (in the theatres) and he loved it. My older bro watches my Ninja Scroll, Akira, Perfect Blue, and Jin Roh DVDs all the time (he is a film buff). I dont really understand why people whould be mean like that. Why is it so bad to watch cartoons?? Do they think your going to be a brain-dead idiot with the intellect of a toddler if you enjoy adult animation (or even "childrend" animation, like Dexters Lab?) I just dont understand alot of people. They preach tollerance, but yet they gotta harass people like us. Im sorry to go off on a rant, but that really pisses me off.

[Mike Toole]

Anime (and animation in general) isn't for everybody. Try to keep that in mind if you want to convince a friend or relative of its merit.

Last summer, I made my dad sit down with me and watch Castle of Cagliostro. He paid attention, and seemed to enjoy the story and action scenes, but when the movie was over he admitted that he found the fact that it was animated and slightly cartoonish to be too distracting for his tastes.

Some people just don't like certain stuff. My mom won't watch any science fiction. (She's seen some non-scifi anime-- Ghibli stuff-- and likes it.)

[Sumi_Masen]

All of my bros(except the oldest) don't get why I like anime..... and it's really stupid because they're the ones who got me hooked on it.

My mom understands why I like it, and the only anime I know of that she really likes is Robotech.

My dad does, in no way, see why I like anime. He asks me stuff like, "How can you watch this crap? It's so stupid and pointless."

Yup......... but lots of my friends like anime, so we can always agree on stuff like that.....

[Barb Gordon]

About half of my friends love Anime as much as I do and watch it, talk about it, and probably dream about it, all the time. The other half aren't interested in it whatsoever. Some of them like to tease me every now and again on how I can watch "anicrap" and listen to the "anicrap music". But, one of them loves Transformers, another loves Spongebob, so.....they don't go much farther than playful teasing. My mom appreciates anime for the artbooks she's seen. She doesn't get anime, but she thinks the art in the artbooks or beautiful. My big sis likes to tease me about it sometimes. Always bugging me on why the hell the eyes are so big, she says it freaks her out. And she'll always go into my room which is covered with anime posters, and ask why I have picture of "girls" in my room...even though she knows they're guys, she just loves bugging me. But hey, who doesn't think Duo Maxwell or Rurouni Kenshin aren't girls at first glance? Now my dad on the other hand likes stuff to do with Japan in general. He loves watching Iron Chef and this one Japanese drama that's on every saturday night. When he has some free time he used to watch anime with me. Loved the action ones of course, he found Rurouni Kenshin pretty interesting. Anime certainly isn't for everyone. I've got some friends who don't get it whatsoever, some who are indifferent and some who love it. And there are differences with the people who love it even. Some friends think that because they love Sailor Moon and DBZ, that they love and know a lot about Anime. But of course, they're dead wrong. And those kinds of people seems to annoy my other Anime friends who have like 20 +series on DVD or video, read manga, listen to anime music and JPop, go to conventions and spend about half the day talking anime with someone. I'm somewhere in between those two extremes,lol.

Barb^-^

[Melon109]

My mom has no intrest in anime, but my stepdad has seen some anime on the Action Channel. He has watched Nija Scroll, both Patlabor movies, Shadow Skill, Macross Plus and Macross II, and Princess Mononoke. He doesn't watch any of the anime on CN or any other channel. Sometimes we talk about anime. My friend has some magna, but she doesn't really watch anime.

[Gyro]

At first my dad didn't like me watching anime. He thought it was all sex and violence. Then one day he actually sat down and started watching Cowboy Bebop, and says, "This is pretty cool, what is it?" and I reply, "You wouldn't be interested, it's all sex and violence." Then he gave me a strange little look and said, "I had no idea how entertaining this stuff could be." Now he watches anime with me all the time. It's amazing how quickly people will pass judgement on something without acually seeing it.


EDIT: 600th post!!!

[Sandoz]

At first, my parents thought that my love for anime was just a phase, and I'd eventually grow out of that "kid's stuff". But I've been a fangirl/otaku for 3-4 years now, so I think they've gotten used to it (though my father will probably never recover from seeing a cross-dressing Sailor Moon cosplayer ) My mom's a bit more accepting of it. She's even become a major Cowboy bebop fan, and is eagerly awaiting the movie release even more than I am.

[JustJack]

My parents are cool about it. Sure, they see me watching "Revolutionary Girl Utena"..and, of course they worry...but ultimately, they're cool. Heck, my Dad loves the stuff(He wont admit it, but when my Bro & I are watching Ninja Scroll, we see Dad standing in the doorway of the room, & we know he likes what he see's.). My Mom sometimes complains about the "Violence, & nudity" which is standard on many GOOD anime, but I dont care. My girlfriend doesnt know the first thing about anime..but she's not bothered by it. She'll sit & listen to me talking about the Armitage the 3rd Sequal coming out in the metal collectors edition DVD case...she wont know a word I speak of..but she doesn't mind.