With his television on standby and snacks within arm’s reach, one small town individual is ready to binge watch an anime series from his long-awaited queue list.
Just another late-night binging for Jayden Goulet, who was first introduced to anime from advertisements and talks among his friend group. This shows exactly how big the industry has gotten since its birth in 1956.
“I think it’s really good that some of the Japanese culture is making its way into western culture,” Goulet said. “It broadens our own personal culture.”
Most of the anime shows that are seen today are based on mangas (mang-gas), these are graphic novels or comic books mainly for adults and some for children. Due to traditional Japanese writing, you would need to read these books from right to left instead of left to right.
Anime isn’t just a regular animation where the end of a series ends happily. It offers twists and dark plots to give the viewer a sense of reality and how things could really end. It has made a lot of fans cry and feel sadness due to their attachments towards some of these animated characters. But don’t worry anime isn’t just about that, it has nearly 25 genres to choose from ranging from.
“Anime overall is a rich genre of things to watch. It can spin from romance, fantasy, thriller, or some deep meaning of things. It drags you to new worlds and expands your views on things,” Kayla Gomez said, who also watches anime.
Since anime has so many shows, there are some fan bases out there from shows that sometimes ruin the experience for newcomers because of how overwhelming they could get. Some would force their own personal preferences toward an anime and potentially ruin it for others to enjoy.
The anime industry has broken down cultural barriers throughout the years through animation and will continue to do so by creating more shows that cater to their audiences. So, sit back, relax and enjoy your snacks whenever you binge watch anime.
Written by Zach Lalin, Lethbridge College
