Of course I still love anime. Wouldn’t be here if I didn’t…

Let’s get these rules out of the way first:

• Write a post about why you love anime. It could be your favourite thing about it or one of your favourite things about it, it doesn’t matter which, but just pick one!
• You can get as personal or as impersonal as you like. You might want to write about how anime helped you through a tough time or something that it has taught you or you might want to write about just how much fun you’ve had watching it over the years. Your choice.
• Nominate three bloggers to do the same.
• Link back to this post. I would love to see what you’ve written and I may compile a list of my favourite entries further down the line.

First of all, the one who tagged me for this is Kimchisama, so thanks to her. If you’re not already following her, you’re missing out, whether it be on stories about her students, fangirling over hot boys or just a semi-regular post full of friendliness.

Second of all, thanks to Ty-chama who created the tag. You can read her response to this prompt via the link in the rules above, but the more I think about this post, the more I think it was a good idea to make the tag. Much like the Reasons Why tag, it can be quite fulfilling to remember why you love anime in the first place to avoid burnout.

With that out of the way, onwards and forwards!

I don’t have any big stories on how anime got me out of depression or similar circumstances, but I think I once said to Karandi something like “anime is a dear friend of mine, more enduring than some of my real life friendships”. Then again, it seems a bit evil to say exactly the same thing Kimchi did, so…I guess I should take a different route.

Adding the Spellbook into my normal routine starting last year reminded me exactly how much anime needs to be for relaxation and entertainment, or else the fun gets sucked out of what should be a hobby. In particular, around May this year I worked hard, with only the barest of payoffs in one part of my life and, due to neglecting what should have really mattered, a failure in another part. I won’t say anything else about that, but Rokuhoudou really helped me get through it.

Furthermore, that brings me to the central point of this post: throughout the hard times and sad times, anime is an escape from the everyday and it can make your wildest dreams come true, provided they can be put into 2D animation. (That’s basically 2 points in one, but it still fits what the tag asks for since they’re related to each other.) Certainly, books and manga can create worlds, but nowhere are they brought more vividly to life than anime due to the animation, the full colour visuals and the sound. It’s a fully immersive experience (well, with 4D screenings or VR it would be, but it’s the closest, cheapest approximation), which is only as far away as loading up a video or cracking open a disc…and that’s the magic of it.

Well, just think about it…anime has entire genres dedicated to wish fulfilment and relaxation which you can’t find anywhere else. They may have become sticking points for us anime fans over the years since Japan produces so much of them these days, but they’re here for a reason and they’re here to stay.

Nominations, huh?

Since I feel like I’m losing an opportunity by picking Shoka when he hasn’t bothered to post anything non-OWLS-related in a few months, I’ll let Irina pick him instead. That leaves a bunch of other people, so lessee here…

• Negative Primes (Curiously Dead Cat), because unlike me, he does have one of those “anime helped me out of depression” tales I alluded to and it would definitely make for some compelling reading.
• Smile, because I need an excuse to link the Showcase and the PSA that goes with it.
• …and because I don’t think I’ve ever nominated him for any tag posts before, Cactus Matt.

So what do you find amazing about anime? Better get thinking before this tag shows up on your pingbacks – these things tend to get around pretty fast while they’re still new…