Growing up I have been a huge fan of anime (Japanese animation). I thought it was amazing that such stories could be conveyed through this anime. What set anime apart from regular children’s television for me was that it was more mature and conveyed real life situations better for me than cartoons. A great example is the anime “Digimon Tamers”. Digimon Tamers was targeted towards kids but it tackled real life topics such as loneliness, depression, divorce, death, and separation from friends. My child-self couldn’t handle all of this at once but it somehow made me want to pursue a field in writing.
One study conducted in Malaysia showed that children who watched anime online were influenced strongly and positively by the characters. The children wanted to be happy just like the characters. I suppose in a way I was the same as the children in the study. When I saw Digimon Tamers, the main character was a regular boy named Takato. He had no special skills and seemed pretty wimpy but as the story went along he became determined and wanted to reach his goals. That was something I wanted to achieve as a child.
This same study indicated that the genres of anime were endless. The genres ranged from sports, self-defense, journey, food, action, drama, comedy, and relationships. All of these genres are able to motivate children and even teenagers to accomplish goals. The study showed that these genres of anime caused positive interaction between the children they studied. When the children talked about the anime and their favorite characters, they were very enthusiastic and excited to talk about them with their friends.
I want to have influences of Japanese anime in my story. When I write a story or comic I take influences from anime rather than american comics. That is why I am not a fan of the superhero genre as much. I am more of a fan for stories that are deep, intense, drama-filled, and something that just seems badass. I don’t get that same feeling from superheroes because they seem cliched to me. If this ever gets published I would most likely need to hire a new artist to do the art and I would want it to be reminiscent of a manga.
Anime has been such a huge influence for my stories and my dream is to have a show with my stories that are inspired by Japanese anime.
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