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Old 2012-12-18, 11:36   Link #1
risingstar3110
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We will stop watching anime, when we stop dreaming?

I know many here only watched anime as another form of entertainment (like Hollywood movie) so what i'm gonna say may not apply to us all....


But six years ago, in the high of my anime addiction, a constant question always float over my head: "how can i ever stop watching anime?". Back then it has became a part of my life, a form of passion, a high form of entertainment that encourage my spirit and get me through the deepest stress. During that time, I constantly questioned myself on how anime can do such deeds, and why book, movie, games can't quite do the same.

Anyway, was busy with study, uni and private life. And then gradually, in recent years, i started to feel like i lost something, and like there is a gap somewhere in my life. It's like in those fictional movies when they clear the main character's memories of a dear friend, and he constantly feel like something was missing. Now i'm still not quite sure the (lack of) passion toward anime was causing that. But recently, just by chances, i looked at some anime i watched 6, 8 years ago. And suddenly i started to have that nostalgic feeling about the excitement, the determinations, justice, and naivety which i once had, that once ride me through some crazy time. It was so strong that it started to make me admiring my past self, and miss those passionate feelings.


Anyway, to get straight into the point. You probably called it "growing-up", "becoming more realistic", "facing reality". But if that is the case, is it the reason why we loves anime so much? Because it's unrealistic beautiful, ideal, and simplistic? Because power of love, friendships, loyalty can surpass anything? Because passion, determination, respect will always carry us through the hardest time? And there is clear black and white, and bitter taste is followed by after-sweetness?

And once we stops believing in those thing, that is when anime is nothing more than a childish show to us?
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Old 2012-12-18, 12:55   Link #2
totoum
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Quote:
Originally Posted by risingstar3110 View Post
But if that is the case, is it the reason why we loves anime so much? Because it's unrealistic beautiful, ideal, and simplistic? Because power of love, friendships, loyalty can surpass anything? Because passion, determination, respect will always carry us through the hardest time? And there is clear black and white, and bitter taste is followed by after-sweetness?

And once we stops believing in those thing, that is when anime is nothing more than a childish show to us?
Not to say that there aren't plenty of animes that fit the description you just gave but I really don't think this comes close to describing all animes out there.

So if someone stops believing in those things they can just go look for more realistic/cynical animes where power of love can't surpass anything and there isn't a clear black and white.
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Old 2012-12-18, 15:06   Link #3
aohige
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I don't know how young you are, but MEN NEVER GROW UP.
I'm nearing my 40s, and some-old-rutt in this forum is like, 55.

If you're a girl, you should have grown up at like, age 6. Or something.
Peter Pan syndrome is boys' privilege!

Oh, and the obligatory




No really though, people lose interest in youthful things at different rate.
Some of us... like myself... never, ever lets go. Some lets go at early adulthood.

It's all relative, and "mature hobby" such as fishing, bonsai, and other whatevers, in my opinion, aren't any more mature than any other form of hobbies.
To me, collecting Cabbage Patch Kids and collectable Barbie Dolls aren't necessarily inferior to cutting a tree into a miniture size one.
In that same thought process, I see cartoons and films the same way.
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Old 2012-12-18, 15:15   Link #4
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...anime is the conflict of fantasy versus reality... Avoid yourself from being diverted to the fantasy side of anime... you'll never get loss and you'll grow up a little more..
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Old 2012-12-18, 21:13   Link #5
Marcus H.
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Always remind yourself that there is an anime fan inside of you, no matter how riajuu you might have become today. And of course,

Quote:
Avoid yourself from being diverted to the fantasy side of anime.
My long backlog list may have shown that I haven't watched anime that much lately, but I'm sure that it also tells me that my journey in anime is yet to be finished.
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Old 2012-12-18, 21:28   Link #6
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I don't think I've been watching as much anime as before.
Mainly because I stopped trying to watch anime that weren't interesting. And because there are plenty of those anime these seasons.
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Old 2012-12-19, 00:52   Link #7
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There are many hobbies and games I no longer do but I remember them fondly. They are no less valuable they are then as they are now.

Then again some shit never gets old. Cartoons I used to watch as a kid, like Batman the Animated Series and Animaniacs still would be enjoyed by me today.
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Old 2012-12-19, 03:11   Link #8
Ichihara Asako
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I've been watching anime for several decades, and have no inclination to stop. While I don't dedicate myself to anime in any capacity, it is my main source of visual entertainment. I've never gone for anime alone, though. I've always mixed in other cartoons, and plenty of regular western TV/film too. It's not difficult.

People who say one should (or it is possible to) grow out of anime just doesn't quite understand that anime is simply a medium. It's certainly possible to grow out of genres, but dumping the whole medium seems a bit drastic to me.
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Old 2012-12-19, 06:56   Link #9
MarkS00N
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I watch Anime because it saved me when my life is low...
For sometimes I watched anime due to 'fun' factor, but it was hollow...
I laughed, I enjoyed, yet I felt nothing...

Then I decide to only watch and enjoy a specific genre and that change my whole point of view about why I watch anime...

Unlike many other, I come to anime world not because it fun, or to escape reality, or to get something to believe...
I watch to learn, to think, and then applied all the lesson I get from those to how I do my daily life...
Yet, the even though all of this seems mundane or achievable in other media, it is from this medium that I can feel fun and refreshed instead of lectured...

So, no...
I won't stop watching anime unless the anime itself dies, internet dies, electricity dies, the world as a whole dies, or me dies...
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Old 2012-12-19, 07:15   Link #10
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Some anime shows have a certain "magical emotionality" to it.

It's a certain emotional high and/or sentimentality you get when dreams and hopes become, in that one magical instance, a reality. There is a certain "emotional truth" to this that resonates so powerfully for many of us.

In anime, these moments are for me...

1) Various key moments in Key/KyoAni shows (viewers of those shows likely know exactly what I'm talking about).

2) The climax of K-On!!

3) Certain key moments in Madoka Magica (as dark as the show is, Gen very ironically gets "magical emotionality" I think).

4) Certain key moments in Gurren Lagann

5) Several different scenes in MariMite.

6) Akasaka's big moment in Higurashi Kai.

7) Certain scenes in the Saki anime.


I can think of some moments like this in western fiction, but most of them are pretty old.


While "magical emotionality" is probably most appealing to kids and teenagers, I think it's something that adults can appreciate as well. And, in fact, I think that due to our familiarity with the more cold and harsh aspects of reality, these "magical emotional" moments can become particularly meaningful to adults. I think this is where "Healing Anime" comes into play a lot.


I can imagine myself one day not being an active anime fan anymore. But should that day never come, it'll likely be due to the "magical emotionality" of anime.
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Old 2012-12-19, 07:15   Link #11
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I'll stop consuming any form of entertainment media when it ceases to entertain me. Anime is not immune--in fact, I've barely watched any new anime within the past year. If I'm watching something, it's typically an older series.

Another is the newest thing I've watched. I get tired of sifting through the mound of mediocrity looking for the next Darker Than Black, the next Puella Magi Madoka Magica, the next Eve no Jikan. Because anime's become more popular, less niche, more mainstream (though even now it's not even really close to mainstream), more and more horrible crap makes its way over here...

Gaming is the same way... I have to sift through lots and lots of worthlessness just to find a few gems... and not all of those can be faceted and polished well, either.
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Old 2012-12-19, 07:19   Link #12
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I watch because it is fun. It's like why I read books: for entertainment.
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Old 2012-12-19, 07:21   Link #13
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I watch anime for both fun and a means to relieve stress. Its like my substitute for "beer" since I never drink...
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Old 2012-12-19, 07:40   Link #14
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If something is fun, it will always be fun. If becoming an adult means to stop enjoying "silly" entertainment, then I rather stay a highschooler forever.
And anyway, there are lots of great and "mature" anime and manga. It isn't just for teenagers
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Old 2012-12-19, 08:58   Link #15
risingstar3110
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Thank for everyone's response, and honestly, i fully understand where everyone coming from. But still, i can't get it out of my head, on how my passion toward anime AND the naive dreams/fantasy which i am so fond of, has been fighting a losing battle against reality (without me realising for the past 6 years). And that i will never be able to live in the reality and truely enjoy anime (like i once was)

  1. Fact is, anime had so much impacts on me during my teenagers years (and lots of anime was aiming for this age so i'm not the only case), the time when psychologically speaking,we were seeking out for identity
  2. Fact is, i'm not talking about kiddie, immature anime like Pokemon when i mentions "beautifully unrealistic and simplistic". I'm talking about 99% of all anime being released within the past 10 years. And if number impress you, I finished 244 series+OVA during that time. I still enjoyed watching anime rather than labeling them silly. But can't truly enjoy like i once was
  3. Fact is, when i rewatched a few of those old anime, there is a big nostalgic feeling, and self-pity that this mature self of mine has lost and would never refound.

Maybe i'm just some over-insensitive idiot? Tell me if my rant has gone too far . But i have a feeling that i am waiting here for someone to tell me "yes, i understand what you meant, i once felt the same thing, but believe me (or believe me, the one who believe in you). Re-seek those passions and naivety the next time you watch anime. Real world and your stupid insecurity will beat it down, but stick with it, and it will lead you through the hardest time even as a grown-up, and you will never have to regret it..."

And i'm getting too romantic again
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Old 2012-12-19, 09:13   Link #16
ahelo
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For me, I guess the reason I've been continuing this is because I've started treating anime not just as entertainment but as an art. Also sometimes, anime has the power to sort of blow my mind whether in plot, in great character development, in entertainment, or even with just good production values. If anime can continue to conjure these kind of things, I doubt I can ever stop watching it.
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Old 2012-12-19, 09:50   Link #17
DXMichael
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I'm just a 17 year old (18 in January) that has recently started facing the harsh realities of life such as work, not being able to talk/meet with friends as much anymore, having to pay for things I don't want to pay for including a phone bill and weekly rent I give to my mum to support her (Well, I guess you could say I do want to pay that one lol) but the one thing I make sure to make time for and keep in my life is anime.

Over the past few years I've been keeping up with the new anime, watching between 20-30 anime a week and giving all the new ones a chance as well as sticking to my "Once I start it, I finish it" rule. I'm starting to realise that I can't keep doing that. It requires me to sacrifice sleep which then effects me at work the next day. I've been telling myself that I'm going to have to cut back on anime, no matter how much I don't want to simply because I can't keep up and handle the amount i'm watching no matter how much I'm enjoying them.

However, I do not intend to stop watching full stop, i'll make the time and sacrifice the little things to at least watch a few of what I love. Anime makes me happy, it really does. It does things that are amazing, including getting you attached to characters, making you emotional, sending goosebumps all around your body as you witness a death or an awesome action scene. It's even upset me a few times when a certain anime ends, but at the same time, it gives me hope that perhaps a second season will come or something similar. I'll probably grow up with anime and continue to love it.
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Old 2012-12-19, 10:05   Link #18
gsilver
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I'm finding my hobbies and interests becoming increasingly narrow as I get older, and I'm glad that anime is one of the (fewer and fewer) things that I can really get into.


Stuff like books, chess, legos, exploring outside, videogames, most TV (I still like some shows, but nothing like before) and other things have all fallen to the wayside. Sure, I still do such things occasionally, but the magic is lost.

I'm just very, very, appreciative that I can still get hyped up during the week and say "a new Hunter X Hunter episode is on Saturday!" when I no longer care about so many other hobbies that I used to have.
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Old 2012-12-19, 10:05   Link #19
Ledgem
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Quote:
Originally Posted by risingstar3110 View Post
But six years ago, in the high of my anime addiction, a constant question always float over my head: "how can i ever stop watching anime?". Back then it has became a part of my life, a form of passion, a high form of entertainment that encourage my spirit and get me through the deepest stress. During that time, I constantly questioned myself on how anime can do such deeds, and why book, movie, games can't quite do the same.
I feel very similarly to you, including the rest of what you wrote in your post. I suspect that there are a few reasons why anime evoked those feelings whereas other forms of entertainment didn't. The storytelling, the types of stories told, and the emphasis on certain aspects of life and humanity were big factors that made anime different, and that made it connect with us. If you're like me and strongly prefer subs to dubs, it probably helps that anime is in another language. It's a form of escapism, in a way, and having something outside of your native language aids in the escape from reality.

Quote:
Originally Posted by risingstar3110 View Post
And once we stops believing in those thing, that is when anime is nothing more than a childish show to us?
Not quite, the interpretation just changes. For example, consider the science in anime. When I watched anime back before my university days, the science fiction was fantastic. Obviously it wasn't reality, nor was it a blueprint for reality, but it felt as if we could make many of those things real if we tried. Scientific terms were tossed around series that left me scrambling to look them up and then figure out how they might be applied to reality.

After university and graduate school, my interpretation changed. I actually had a hard time getting back into anime because of it. Perhaps due to my greater knowledge, the scientific terms and concepts that were thrown around no longer seemed insightful, but utterly ridiculous; some of the science fiction aspects also seemed more like fantasy, because they were truly impossible.

Despite that, the series are still enjoyable. I no longer view them as possibilities for what we can do with the future; rather, I just enjoy them as story-telling devices.

I've used science as the example here, but the same could be said for many other appealing aspects of anime. Romantic relationships? Concepts of justice? All areas where anime can provide an appealing take on the topic, but that you discover don't necessarily work out that way in reality.

You can still appreciate anime even once you learn and accept reality for what it is. You just come to define anime a bit differently.

Quote:
Originally Posted by aohige View Post
I don't know how young you are, but MEN NEVER GROW UP.
I'm nearing my 40s, and some-old-rutt in this forum is like, 55.

If you're a girl, you should have grown up at like, age 6. Or something.
Peter Pan syndrome is boys' privilege!


Quote:
Originally Posted by risingstar3110 View Post
Thank for everyone's response, and honestly, i fully understand where everyone coming from. But still, i can't get it out of my head, on how my passion toward anime AND the naive dreams/fantasy which i am so fond of, has been fighting a losing battle against reality (without me realising for the past 6 years). And that i will never be able to live in the reality and truely enjoy anime (like i once was)
Again, I feel similarly. I can't tell you that you'll be able to return to the passions of your youth, though. When we're younger we don't know as much in general, and so everything seems simpler and limitless. As you know more you come to understand the limits. Granted, some of the limits are artificial (we perceive them to be there but they're not), but many are not. You lose some of your enthusiasm with that knowledge.
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Old 2012-12-19, 12:02   Link #20
MarkS00N
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Quote:
Originally Posted by risingstar3110 View Post
Maybe i'm just some over-insensitive idiot? Tell me if my rant has gone too far . But i have a feeling that i am waiting here for someone to tell me "yes, i understand what you meant, i once felt the same thing, but believe me (or believe me, the one who believe in you). Re-seek those passions and naivety the next time you watch anime. Real world and your stupid insecurity will beat it down, but stick with it, and it will lead you through the hardest time even as a grown-up, and you will never have to regret it..."

And i'm getting too romantic again
I guess I do understand your feeling...

About one or two years ago a can't feel attachment to anime I watch...
Maybe as a guilty pleasure where I can laugh and ridicule, but not the same way it attracted me back then...
So I decide to trace back, what I watch back then? What part of it that make me keep anime a special place in my 'heart'?
And once I find that it was a specific genre, the magic comes back and the rest is history, at least for me...

What can I say in the but for you to keep searching and exploring...
Then when you can't find what you want even if you already search the whole world, maybe the answer actually lies in first place your start it all...
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