Ask John: Where Should a New Anime Fan Start?

Question:
I was wondering since I just started to be an anime fan, where do I start? Do I have to buy subtitled Japanese cartoons? I’ve heard that a lot of anime is just porn, so how do I make sure? All these questions formed into one, where do I start?

Answer:
Anime is a hobby of watching and collecting Japanese animation. With that in mind, you should watch whatever you find looks interesting, and you should watch anime dubbed and subbed to determine which you prefer, then go with that preference. Other people may give you recommendations, and there will almost doubtlessly be people that will try to convince you that there are “right ways” and “wrong ways” to be an anime fan, or that there are shows that you should watch and others that you should not, but ultimately you guide your own viewing and collecting based on what interests you and what entertains you and you alone. It’s relatively difficult to get a job in the anime industry, so you should think of anime fandom more as a hobby than as a career. And anime is not like collecting comic books or baseball cards or coins or stamps because there’s very little financial speculation in anime collecting. Very few pieces of anime merchandise ever appreciate in value, so most anime fans don’t buy anime merchandise with the intention of re-selling it later for a profit. Anime fandom is almost purely a hobby based on personal entertainment, therefore you should watch whatever anime you enjoy, and watch it in whatever way brings you the most pleasure.

Many Western anime fans were introduced to anime through dubbed anime broadcast on American television, whether it be Astroboy or Battle of the Planets or Robotech or Sailormoon or Dragonball. Anime broadcast on American television is the most accessible form of anime for many people and may be a good place to begin. Your local video rental shop is also a good starting point. Pick something with a box cover that looks interesting to you and rent it. If you like it, watch more of it. If you don’t like it, try again with something else. With this simple strategy, you’re bound to find something that appeals to you. If you weren’t interested in fantasy animation in the first place, you wouldn’t be asking this question. This may sound like an expensive proposition, but you’ll find that most experienced anime fans are eager to share their enthusiasm by loaning out tapes or DVDs, and there are thousands of anime clubs across America that offer free public screenings. But keep in mind that anime is not an inexpensive hobby. Collecting anime is relatively most expensive in Japan, both because of the amount of anime available and because of relatively high retail prices of anime and anime merchandise in Japan. While anime videos are cheaper in America than they are in Japan, American retail prices are still expensive relative to other domestic home video releases. It’s possible to be an anime fan without spending any money at all, but in my experience very, very unlikely and uncommon. If you’re interested in experiencing more anime, be prepared to spend a lot of money feeding your new obsession.

Anime does have a reputation for being “just porn” or being all big eyes, big breasts, big guns, and big robots, but as you experiment with anime you’ll discover that this reputation is unjustly founded on superficial, highly exaggerated first impressions spread by people that don’t understand anime and criticize it without attempting to research or learn anything about the art form. It would be incorrect to say that there are not highly exploitive examples of Japanese animation, but just as the Hollywood film industry and the realm of prose fiction have both exploitive and artistically credible offerings, the anime genre includes examples of both obscene exploitation and artistic excellence, and everything in between. For the most part, the anime industry and anime fandom relies on the wisdom, intelligence and discretion of individual viewers to be responsible for themselves and critically choose their own viewing selections.