My History with Anime

Nothing fancy this time, just recounting the point in my life when I discovered anime.

The Beginning

Just like most anime watchers, there was a point in my life where I didn’t even realize I was watching anime. A lot of people my age (I’m 21 btw) grew up in an era watching shows like Naruto, Dragonball Z, One Piece, Zatch Bell!, Pokemon, Yugioh, InuYasha, Cowboy Bebop, and many more. In the moment most viewers believed they were watching a high-octane action cartoon but only a select few knew the truth. A lot of us were secretly watching anime. For some this intrigued them, and they delved deeper. For me however, I just kind of forgot about it all. Until one fateful afternoon when I just happened to stumble upon Inazuma Eleven; after that my life was changed forever.

Inazuma Eleven: My First “Real” Anime

Roughly six years ago, I was bored one afternoon browsing through the Nintendo EShop when I happened to find this quirky little game made by Level 5, titled Inazuma Eleven. I was very curious because the name stood out to me. I watched the trailer for the game and found myself invested in it all.

The Nintendo EShop also had the first three episodes of this anime for all to see, so I immediately watched all three in 480p on a very small screen. I was instantly hooked and craved more. Because I was new to Anime as a whole, I had no idea where to look. Like most new anime watchers, I went straight to Youtube. The episodes were in 360p and cut into three seperate parts, but I didn’t care. I just wanted more. For the next two years I consumed nearly three hundred episodes of Inazuma Eleven and three movies. I loved every second of it and this silly show about overpowered soccer got me through some tough times. After all that time I needed more anime to fill the ever-present hole in my entertainment, so I scoured the internet looking for more, which lead to my discovery period.

The Discovery Period

I was a ravenous beast and needed more shows to watch with no idea on what to look for. Luckily for me I had a few friends who were really into anime and they constantly berated me for my lack of knowledge on the subject. Without them I wouldn’t have discovered my big three; King of the Braves: GaoGaiGar, Code Geass, and Eureka Seven. These three shows defined my experience with anime. If Inazuma Eleven was the catalyst, then these were the explosion. From then on, I just started watching whatever caught my eye, both the good and the bad. I discovered many hits and a few regrettable misses. (For my full list of anime seen click here) After a while I started slowing down as more responsibilities, social obligations, and multiplayer video games entered my life and that leads me to where I am now.

The Current Anime Watcher

Now that I’m almost done with college and the responsibilities of life will take over most of my time, I don’t get to watch as much anime as I used to. With how many I’ve currently seen, I’ve become more cynical with anime. One could say that I’ve become jaded; I just can’t find the same enjoyment that I used to back in the day (I sound like such an old person). However, due to my new jaded nature I’ve been able to weed out all the garbage and only focus on what I believe to be the gems of anime. But then again, my gems can be someone’s garbage and vice versa, but I’m just a guy with opinions so what would I know.