Expand Your Horizons: How I Grew to Love Anime and Manga

Growing up, I loved superheroes. Thanks to animated TV shows and live-action movies, I adored the Ninja Turtles, Batman, Ghostbusters, the X-Men, and Spider-Man. I spent countless hours glued to the TV, watching the movies in theaters with my parents, playing with the toys, and hooked to the video games. My interests expanded from there as I discovered comics featuring these cool characters and so many more that I never heard of before – I still remember the first time I spotted Gambit #1 and it had me totally absorbed. I continued to explore the Marvel and DC Universes in the comics, but I kept hearing about the show Dragon Ball Z. I don’t remember ever watching a full episode of the action-packed anime, but I do remember how I felt when I gave it a brief shot: I wasn’t a fan. I remember thinking that it was just too dramatic and out-there. To me, it was incredibly different, and something so different from the world that you’re used to can seem strange, especially if you don’t invest time to properly understand and appreciate it for what it is. I didn’t dislike anime, but I felt that it just wasn’t for me. This opinion stuck with me for decades. I’ve spent years being open-minded about comics, but I never dipped my toe into the anime and manga pool because of how I felt back when I was a kid. That’s pretty silly, right? Well, that all changed about a year ago.

Back when I was working as Midtown Comics’ Marketing & Events Manager, I was out for a few days because I caught some nasty bug – seems inevitable when you’re running around Manhattan on a regular basis. Right before getting sick, I was thinking about Midtown’s manga section and how we could find new ways to promote it. I would ask the resident experts about what’s popular – I really wanted to give the section some extra attention, especially to people like me who never really took the time to notice it. The most common recommendation was Attack on Titan, and I happened to notice that it was on Hulu when I was home and desperately trying to get my mind off being sick. I told myself I would give the show two episodes to win me over – that’s fair, right?

I cast aside my pre-conceived notions and started watching the anime with a completely open mind. Next thing I knew, I was out of new episodes to watch! The contrast of the horrifying story and the beautiful world was totally captivating, and the action sequences left me speechless. To me, it’s a show about staying strong when faced with impossible odds and suffering defeat after defeat – if you’re still alive, there’s hope for a better tomorrow. Right then and there, I knew that everything I thought about anime was wrong and it was foolish to not give it an honest shot for so many years. I wanted more.

With no new episodes of Attack on Titan left for me to watch, I jumped to the next most commonly recommended show: One-Punch Man. I really enjoyed Attack on Titan, but I completely fell in love with One-Punch Man. Everything that I didn’t like about anime as a kid – the over-the-top exposition while fighting, ridiculously strong displays of emotion – is embraced in such a lighthearted way. It takes all the tropes you’d expect from a superhero anime and then has a total blast with them. One-Punch Man had me legitimately cracking up and its stunning displays of power in fight scenes left my jaw dropped. I couldn’t get enough of it and it wasn’t long before I watched the entire season. I don’t think I’ve ever fallen in love with a franchise that quickly before – it’s a ridiculous amount of fun. Then I moved on to the next recommendation: My Hero Academia.

My Hero Academia unabashedly embraces the idolization of superheroes. Well, technically there’s an arc that begins to question everything, but I won’t spoil it. It’s a show that’s about giving your passion 110% - the catchphrase is “Go beyond, plus ultra!” – and always striving to be a good person and do the right thing. It’s full of familiar concepts and themes but the execution is absolutely stellar. One minute the show can have you laughing and enjoying a cool action scene, and the next minute it’ll hit you with some pretty heavy material. The show’s great at balancing its tone and making sure it can be enjoyed by viewers of any age.

I know I’m incredibly late to the anime and manga party but catching up is half the fun. Even though I swiftly binged through Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia, and One-Punch Man, I know there’s still a world full of potential that’s left for me to explore. I continue to check out more shows – Cowboy Bebop is next – and I finally picked up the manga collections of the shows that have me emotionally invested. I breezed through all the currently released One-Punch Man and My Hero Academia collections and now I’m counting down the days until new volumes are released. I was zipping through them because they’re just that good and the artwork is downright mind-blowing at times. In the meantime, I can delve into Attack on Titan, Death Note, and so much more. It’s great feeling this kind of energy – a sincere motivation to pick up a new adventure instead of approaching it with some skepticism. 

So, what’s the point of me babbling about my experience with anime and manga? Well, aside from blatantly promoting the franchises that I adore, I’m asking you to challenge your expectations and give something new a fair chance, even if you’re pretty sure that you won’t like it. Maybe your opinion will stay the same, but maybe – just maybe – you’ll find a new passion.  The amount of joy I’ve experienced while reading and watching One-Punch Man is remarkable and I’ve found something new in life that’s worth being enthusiastic about. If I stubbornly stuck by my dated opinion, all the smiles and laughter that I experienced would’ve never happened, and it’s pretty safe to say that we could all use a little more happiness in our lives. Keep an open mind, people, because it’ll eventually bring something new and spectacular into your life. Expand your horizons, plus ultra!

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2016: No manga in my collection. 2017? Well, see above.