Little animated characters running across the screen, jumping up and down with glee in their eyes as they defeat the antagonist. ‘Who are these characters?’ you may ask, well they originate from these special Japanese cartoons.

Due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) many teenagers are put under pressure with the current circumstances. A solution many students have found to bring relaxation in these difficult times is to watch anime.

Anime is a type of Japanese cartoon aimed towards all different types of age groups, but especially at the high school level. There are many genres that come in this one category of television including, but not limited to, Action, Romance, Drama and even Sports!

Senior Camila Alcantara states, “I would recommend people to watch anime so they could get more open minded. I’ve been watching for over ten years now and some people might find it weird, not their style, even uncool, or not their type of thing. They should watch it though, to just experience it and it helps the curiosity behind why it’s so popular.”

Animes are developed after the creator has illustrated a manga (comic-book). Usually most animes are formed from manga as it has a general script and is already well-liked before it is animated.

It is not only a form of stress relief since it exposes individuals to the Japanese culture and teaches important life lessons. The storyline and plot are extremely diverse, and the voices behind the characters bring it to life.

Since anime has originated from Japan the voice actors speak Japanese and non-Japanese speakers are given subtitles to read. However, many shows are also dubbed in English, which is when American voice actors take out, and overlay their own voices onto the original animation.

“The voice acting in anime is so emotional and well done, like you get the vibes from just the voices. The art styles are different, they don’t just stick to one thing, they explore different worlds compared to American T.V shows, “said Alcantara.

There is a community being built as individuals watch anime, since the similar interest creates friendships, and deepens bonds. No individual will ever feel alone as they know many others are like them in the world, watching the same anime they are, and experiencing the same marvelous joys from it.

The characters provide a sense of comfort as they personify human attributes. Individuals experience escapism as the different emotions from the storyline takes the mind off of the struggles in real life and transports the soul into a different world.

However, some individuals tend to stray away from this form of media, because it seems to be a very abstract idea to them.

Alcantara states “One main factor to keep in mind while watching anime is when you first start and want to get deeper into it to please keep an open mind, because anime has a lot of plots, ideas, and jokes that might seem foreign to the average American watcher but it is worth it at the end of the day!”

Anime could be watched everywhere from, T. V’s, to laptops, to smartphones. The top legal sites for watching this form of media is Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll. These sites feature many animes and if you are new to it, it could be overwhelming at first because there are so many to choose from, so some good anime recommendations will be provided at the end of this article.

Overall, there are many ways to experience anime, as there are genres for every individual and different format, such as subbed and dubbed to experience this wondrous media.

Recommendations for New Anime Watchers

Romance: Ouran HighSchool Host Club , Kimi Ni Todoke: From Me to You, Lovely Complex,
Toradora, My Little Monster

Action: Attack on Titan , Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure , Demon Slayer , My Hero Academia

Drama: Silent Voice , Your Lie in April , Your Name, Anohana
Thriller: Death Note , Erased , The Promised Neverland

Adventure: HunterxHunter , FullMetal Alchemist

Well-Known: Dragon Ball Z , Sailor Moon , Naruto

Science Fiction: Cowboy Bebop , Neon Genesis Evangelion, Eureka 7

Comedy: The Disastrous life of Saiki K ., Gintama, One Punch Man, Mob Psycho 100

Sports: Haikyuu , Yuri on Ice, Kuroko No Basket

Educational: Cell’s At work!, Dr. Stone

LGBTQ+: Given , Stars Align, Doukyusei, Bloom into you