My Experience With Anime As I Grew Up

     As time moves your opinions change, you develop more as a person, you start to enjoy different things. Anime is the same, the reason behind why you watch it, and what types of anime you enjoy change overtime. A fair number of people "grow out" of anime as they age, but no matter what, your view on anime changes as you age. This is what I am going to talk about today, my experience with anime and how my opinion of anime changed as I aged.

     I experienced my first anime at the age of twelve. I grew up without cable TV and instead my family would torrent TV instead, meaning that what you watch is limited to what you know. However when I was twelve my dad and I watched Spirited Away, my first anime. This opened up a whole new world for me, I originally thought that all animated shows/movies were meant for little kids (4-10 year olds), I never really thought that wasn't a little kid would enjoy it (same goes for my dad). You could say that my ignorance towards animation/anime was broken, it became obvious that you didn't have to be a little kid to enjoy anime.

Source: http://veewords.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Spirited_Away_Wallpaper_by_behruz.jpg

     A few months later we got the infamous Netflix, and I watched my next anime, Jyo Oh Sei. I ended up binge-watching the show in a single sitting, I was enthralled with the action and more mature theme of the show. Once again my thoughts and opinion of anime was shattered, it became clear to me that there was no limit to anime, the story and animation could take any shape and form it would like. And as a twelve year old kid, I was in shock and aw.

Source: http://pm1.narvii.com/5761/6ba7fdea6ff35d4008ad0082f8ae733c73a45ce3_hq.jpg

     From the ages twelve to fifteen I watched anime for the action scenes and for the sexual jokes, lets face it you can't get sexual jokes like you do in anime, I never really thought of anime as anything more than that. When I turned fifteen I discovered Ken Cannon (He is a con-artist), I watched a few of his videos and I wanted to learn Japanese the first step towards becoming a weeaboo. I slowly started to tread down the weeaboo path, convinced that anime and Japan should be worshiped, I guess you could say my views changed dramatically. Luckily when I turned sixteen I actually went to Japan and realized how messed up Japanese culture is, and how messed up weeaboos are (I also learned what a weeaboo was).

     The shock of reality from my trip to Japan set me straight, and I came to understand that anime should be taken as media entertainment, and nothing more. I continued this trend and by the time I was seventeen I had become very selective of what kind of anime I watched, I was no longer interested in the intense action or sexual jokes of anime. Instead I started to watch anime like Steins; Gate and Monster, I also stopped watching pretty much all "school" anime. I realized that anime could do what regular TV could not, produce horrifying (dark) ideas and storylines which could not be shown in a regular TV show. It pushed the lines of social acceptable ideas in shows, anime can push forward mature ideas, which are not meant for young audiences, nor are they seen on TV.

Source: http://images-cdn.9gag.com/photo/anBYWz0_700b.jpg

     Throughout the years, my views and opinions on anime have developed and changed as I grew up, and became more mature. As I talk to people who have also had their opinion about anime changed as they grew up, I have noticed that I am greatful that it has been part of my life up to this point. I may not watch very much anime now, but the experience and thoughts that I have had while growing up with anime, are something that I will always keep with me. All in all, I am happy that I didn't become a weeaboo, or that I turned out to be like TheAnimeMan.

     Thanks for reading about my experience with anime as I grew up, I am quiet surprised you made it all the way to the end :p If you have any questions or comments feel free to put them below in the comments below :)

AVirginTheory

Longer Anime vs. Shorter Anime (Virgin Thought)

     Greetings readers, I am back! This time I am bringing you my thoughts to the table about the watch length of anime seasons and what I think of them. If you haven't already noticed most "modern" anime are made up of 12-13 episodes in total, while older anime tend to have a minimum of 26 episodes. Don't get me wrong, if an anime is super popular it gets renewed for another season which adds an additional 12-13 episodes onto its length, some examples are Tokyo Ghoul, and Knights of Sidonia. There are many pros and cons from having shorter and longer anime series for both the producer and the consumer, but I will stick strictly to the consumer for now.

     The amount of time it takes to watch an anime, and the amount of time we set aside to watch anime, greatly reflects and changes how engaged we are with the show, and how much we will enjoy it. Shorter anime made up of 13 episodes (23 minutes per episode) takes roughly a total or 5 hours to watch, or 300 minutes. Longer anime made up of 26 or 52 episodes (23 minutes per episode) generally takes 10 to 20 hours to watch, or 600-1200 minutes. There is a huge gap in time between short and long anime, but which one is really better? If you only watch anime every once in a while, or don't have time to watch a few episodes of anime at a time, you would probably go with the shorter anime since you can complete series relatively quickly. If you watch anime frequently, or watch in blocks, the longer anime would probably suit your needs more than a shorter anime. When looking at time constraints only, the shorter anime series generally work best for people since it allows them to watch entire series relatively quickly and makes sure that the consumer isn't watching the same anime for 6 months straight.

     Now we shall compare the long and short anime based on the quality of their content, and ability to create and maintain a captivating storyline. The shorter anime is roughly the same length as two movies, meaning that it can properly develop the characters while still having enough time to carry out a proper storyline and sequence of events. The longer anime can do go much deeper into character development, and contain a large quantity of events, or long lasting events. However the longer the show, the more likely it is for the consumer to lose interest, or for the storyline to drag on for an unneeded amount of time. To put it bluntly the shorter anime are generally well put together, and condense, designed to put the consumer through a single viewing experience. When the longer anime are meant to pull the consumer into a deep character plot, where you follow the characters through multiple events and see them change and develop based on their experiences.

     When comparing the amount of time it takes to watch long and short anime, and the variety of strengths that each has, it is hard to decide a clear winner. What is really comes down to is personal preference, if you enjoy long story-rich plots you should watch longer anime, if you prefer shorter more focused storylines, you should watch shorter anime.  However I will dub shorter anime series better than longer anime series simply because if there is a demand, the producers can always add another 13 episode block, you can't really beat that in my opinion.

     Thanks for reading yet another one of my posts, and if you want to give your own thoughts about long vs. short anime, feel free to do so in the comments below. On a side note I have also decided that I will not be maintaining a posting schedule (although I will aim to continuously pump out posts), I will be posting more sporadically over a longer period of time. I simply don't want to commit to a posting schedule which I may be unable to uphold.

Have a wonderful day/night, and I hope you will stay tuned for the next post,
     avirgintheory

Should I Watch: Ajin?

   Welcome to yet another Should I Watch post, I have a feeling that I am quiet terrible at this, but it doesn't matter since you will probably read this anyways. This week I am going to be talking about the anime Ajin, the TV show, not the movie. I would also like to note that there are no spoilers.

Source: http://ajin.net/common/img/ogp2.jpg

   The first thing I should note is that the first five episodes of the TV series is actual the first movie split up into 5 parts, if you have already watched the movie and are curious about the show you will have to wait until episode 6 before you get any new content. Talk about being cheap, the first 5 episodes of the show is literally the movie, plus a theme song. If you are curious about the show and have not seen the first movie you have come to the right place. I shall indulge you with my opinion of the show (based off of what I have seen).

   The story is about a seventeen year old student named Kei Nagai who lives in a world were these mystical beings called Ajin roam the earth, they also look exactly like humans and if they are captured by the government they are treated inhumanly and sadistically experimented on. The only difference between a regular human and an Ajin is that Ajins are immortal and have a few extra powers on the side. I am sure you can guess who is an Ajin, if you guessed Kei Nagai you are correct.

I have to say that Kei is the most unpredictable character I have ever come across, he doesn't care for others but yet he feels the need to live by the rules and morals setup by society. He thinks logically and unaffected by emotion, but for some reason he feels the need to live by societies rules, it honestly doesn't make sense for someone of his personality. You can't judge him through 'good or evil', nor is he the reluctant hero, Kei's character is something completely unique from what you have seen before.

I have mixed opinions about the animation style used for the anime, it is the same style of animation that they used in Knights of Sidonia, except Ajin isn't a mech anime. The characters look pale, and their limbs sometimes seem way to skinny, it is harder to see emotion in the characters themselves. On the up side the action scenes are amazing, the animation is free flowing that brings fight scenes to a whole other level. The particles are amazing, camera angles, the movements, the animation style is perfect for action scenes. Sadly the animation the show isn't all fight scenes, there is also a lot of dialogue and plot, real story plot.

If I had to decide whether I should watch it or something else, I would watch it. It brings forward a new kind of personality that you never see, the action scenes are great, and the storyline isn't going to be "average" or "generic". I strongly recommend that you watch Ajin at some point in time, it isn't going to be the best anime you have/will ever see, but you won't be disappointed if you watch it.

I hope that you enjoyed this week's Should I Watch and I will more than likely write another one for next week, I plan on posting at least once a week :p

I hope you have a wonderful day/night,
     avirgintheory

Should I Watch: ERASED? (Should I Watch)

Welcome back to another Should I Watch! I have selected ERASED for this post's anime of topic, and I have to say it was quiet a good choice.

Source: http://adala-news.fr/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Erased-anime-poster.png

     The show is about a unpopular manga artist who sometimes goes back in time about 1-5 minute before a death occurs. We do not know why or how he got this power but one thing is for sure, he has a very dark past. The show maintains a very deep aura with a constant presence of a lurking darkness, and it is definitely a show that will give you food for thought. If you were to compare the anime to any other previously made ones I believe NHK, Psyco-Pass, and Steins; Gate are the best representations for what you can expect for many reasons.

     The anime goes deep into people's emotions and subjects that both the anime industry and society try to avoid, ERASED will give you new food for thought and once you have watched it. As the episode continues the suspense rises, it will engross you and force you deep into your mind in a similar style as Death Note.

     The animations are done very well, besides a certain person's lips, the voice acting is amazing, storyline, they did an amazing job on everything. I can confidently say that ERASED will end up being one of this year's top anime, I suspect it will rise in popularity much like Attack on Titan.

     ERASED is definitely an anime you should watch, I can't say it enough, go watch ERASED. Unless you hate non-action psychological anime, it is definitely something you should watch.

     I hope you all enjoyed the post, if you want to recommend anything yourself or say your piece, I would be more than happy to hear what you have to say :)

Have an amazing night/day,
     avirgintheory

Should I Watch: Myriad Colors Phantom World? (Should I Watch)

Greetings everyone,

     This is the first ever 'Should I Watch' post of many to come, today's anime is Myriad Colors Phantom World. I have just finished the first episode and I would like to give you are general summary of what the anime is like and my guess of what direction it will take. There are no spoilers in the post and I would like to ask anyone who comments not to put any spoilers in their comment, thanks for listening :)

Source: https://dafunda.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Myriad-Color-Phantom-World-696x393.jpg

     Myriad Colors Phantom World is based in the near future where people now have the ability to see 'spirits' called Phantoms, the protagonist is a male high school student who is part of a school club that hunts these Phantoms (they also get paid)... ... ... I am going to cut to the chase, you don't want to read yet another boring anime review that talks about the plot and the storyline. Instead I am going to tell you firsthand what the anime is really like, not the plot or storyline.

Speaking of 'plot' the main heroine has a very large "plot" and has a very interesting habit of showing off her "plot" in a very modest way, whenever she uses her powers she 'accidently' shows off her "plot". Unlike other anime she doesn't have much of a reaction afterwards, she simply doesn't care. I have never seen that before, she doesn't tease anyone, nor does she get mad at anyone who watches. There is complete indifference in her reaction, it is very hard to explain... you will have to watch it to understand. Speaking of characters the protagonist is your average anime hero who is shy and lacks ambition (also reads a ton of books), apparently he isn't very athletic but I can't help but notice that he is extremely quick to react whenever a girl trips down the stairs. Over the course of the season he will end up gathering quiet a large harem, and turn into the powerful hero who protects everyone.

The anime's storyline will end up being your average harem anime storyline, but unlike other harem anime it makes fun of the usual clichés. Every anime cliché that you know will probably be made fun of at some point in time, it is actually quiet refreshing.

If you are looking for a unique storyline or an anime that has deep topics than this isn't the anime for you. It is easygoing and light-hearted, it isn't the kind of anime that you would binge watch, its the kind that you watch when you are feeling a little down and need a bit of a boost. Overall I recommend Myriad Colors Phantom World to those who are familiar with the harem anime stereotypes and want something to watch on the side, don't except anything great from the anime, unless you are talking about the jiggle physics.

I hope you enjoyed the first "Should I Watch" of many, if you have any question please feel free to ask. I am sorry if the review was of poor quality, this is my first one and I will only get better as time passes, don't be afraid to give me some advice on how I can improve.

I hope you have a great day/night!
                 avirgintheory

New Post Series Called: Should I Watch (Update)

Welcome back everybody!

     The 2016 Winter Anime Season has started and there are now a ton of new anime being released, which I plan on talking about. Sometimes it is hard trying to figure out what anime you should watch, some are good, and others are bad. To help people decide what they watch I will be writing posts called "Should I Watch", they will be a general summary of a selected anime written by yours truly and based on the first episode of the selected anime. I would also like to point out that there will be No Spoilers in these posts, so rest assured nothing will be spoiled.

Sorry for the brief post, but I wanted to give you a brief summary on what I will be posting. Plus I have a lot of anime to review for these kinds of posts since I am planning on making them for as many 2016 winter anime as possible :p

With great regards,
     avirgintheory