Why Everyone Should Watch Anime

 Animes are not your typical Tom & Jerry-, Steven Universe-, or SpongeBob-like cartoon shows. Those cartoon shows, while great themselves, only make up a fraction of what shows there are to explore. One of the types of TV shows that has recently gone mainstream in many parts of the world is anime: one of the biggest rollercoasters of all other rollercoasters. What many people teased others for a couple years ago has now broken box office records, influenced social media, and made the teasers look like fools today. I firmly believe that every single person in the world who has access to a device and an internet connection must watch at least one anime, as it is truly one of the greatest things ever added into this world.

What is in it for you?

Well, to start, watching anime is like the analogy I previously mentioned where it is one of the biggest rollercoasters in a theme park compared to other coasters. Some people may be comfortable in their little kids, 3-meter tall "rollercoaster", but once they try the big guns and take on the thrilling experience of a bigger rollercoaster, they will be glad they have matured. The benefits of watching anime do not even have to be compared to riding a bigger rollercoaster; in general, it could be compared to just trying something better! Watching anime exposes you to a lot of different genres for you to explore: romance, action, seinen (darker/mature), komodo (kids), isekai (reincarnation), and more! It's like going to a delicious, world-class restaurant with a variety of options to choose from. Each of these options offers world-renowned anime. For example, seinen anime has Tokyo Ghoul; action anime includes Naruto, One Piece, Black Clover, Attack on Titan, and Demon Slayer; and romance anime include Your Lie in April, Your Name, and Violet Evergarden. These animes are truly exceptional--you will be entranced in a never-before-felt feeling that will satisfy your boredom, heighten your TV show standards, and connect with more of your friends! The critic ratings and reviews on these shows are also high in websites such as IMDb, which is known to be very critical of American movies.

In addition, one major reason why anime is considered mainstream is because of how much its industry has been growing and how its movies has broken box office records!  In 2017, the anime industry made $19 billion USD according to Comic Book. In 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic, CrunchyRoll reported that the anime industry still made $19 billion. However, in 2020, Globe News Wire and Precedence Research indicated that the industry made $25 billion. Last year, it made $26 billion. Now, according to Grand View Research, the industry is growing at a whopping 9.7% annually. Furthermore, many key anime movies broke some box office records. For example, Demon Slayer: Infinity Train made history as Japan's biggest box office hit by becoming the biggest single-day gross of $11 million USD and biggest three-day opening weekend gross of $44 million. It quickly became the highest-grossing anime movie in the entire world despite its release during the pandemic! Many other anime movies including Jujutsu Kaisen: 0 and One Piece: Film Red made successful debuts and have been shared in many social media platforms such as Instagram and primarily TikTok.

If you current don't like anime, why is that? While not every show is a 9- or 10-out-of-10, there are many animes that will exceed your expectations and make you want to watch more! Watching anime is not a child's thing or a little kid's thing--it is an everyone thing. At the most recent Anime Matsuri 2022 convention, Houston, Texas' most popular Japanese convention, they reported the highest number of attendees that year out of the 16 years they have been around. As someone who went to that convention, I saw nationalities, ages, genders, and people of all kinds! Finally, popular TV show Friends has a lower IMDb rating than Attack on Titan (8.9/10 compared to 9.0/10). Now, go expand your taste!