This is a typical conversation that seems to come up fairly often in my life.

Person: What kind of anime do you like?

Me: I don’t watch anime.

Person: But….you’re ASIAN!!!! How do you not watch anime?

Me: #notallAsians

It’s true. I’m not into anime.

It’s weird because I do enjoy animated movies and TV shows. Some of my very favorite movies are animated.

Yet for some reason, I just cannot get into anything Japanese animation.

I feel though that I have given it a try.

I have seen episodes of Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, and Cowboy Bepop, as well as other shows/movies that I do not know the name of . They did nothing for me. I wasn’t bored or disgusted. I was just very apathetic towards them. I have seen other titles that I don’t recall the names for but again I just didn’t really like them.

It’s not that I go into watching these things with a negative view set in place. I really do try to have an open mind and hope that maybe I can still somehow become a fan. I actually did go pay to see My Friend Totoro in theaters and I did enjoy it. I did have many questions about why certain things were drawn in the way they were. I think that seems to be frowned on and I should just accept it.

But overall I just can’t get into it. I don’t know exactly what it is. I’ve watched both dubbed versions in English as well as in the Japanese version with subtitles. I know it’s the style and this will sound odd but I can’t stand how the motions of the mouth don’t fit with what the person is saying no matter what they say. I’m also not a fan with the style of drawing used. It is just not aesthetically pleasing to me. I realize that it is the norm for this genre but it does nothing for me.

Overall it’s just not pleasing to me at all. And I feel like it should be.

I have huge respect for the artists and they do a fine work. It’s just not for me.

I have many friends who are HUGE fans of anime. Their DVD collection is filled with many TV series and movies. They are always trying to get me to watch some. I feel bad that I can’t get into it and I feel like I should be a fan. I feel left out when I hear others talk about it and I can’t join in.

I’m not going to ask for recommendations for what you think I should watch. It’s not that I don’t think you’d give me a good one. I’ve just come to accept this fact about that this is a world that I will never be a part of. And that’s ok.

Credit for image: http://loldwell.com/?comic=japanned-by-critics