By Ariana Rathan
Anime, by definition, is “a style of animation originating in Japan that is characterized by stark colorful graphics depicting vibrant characters in action-filled plots often with fantastic or futuristic themes. But for some of its watchers, it is so much more.
Anime can send fans on journeys to new worlds, introduce them to magical powers as well as relate to their everyday lives. The unique characters, the changing plots, the detailed animation and the connected community are what make anime one of kind.
Recently, anime has become more popular, especially due to the influence of social media. Find out what our Baron anime fans have to say about which animes they have enjoyed watching and what they like about them.
All photos are provided.
“My favorites would be ‘Attack on Titan’, ‘The Promised Neverland’, ‘Maid Sama’, ‘Naruto Shippuden’, and ‘Death Note’. For ‘Attack on Titan’ I like the plot and the writing, for ‘Death Note’, I like the mystery and planning for one step ahead and also for L. For ‘Maid Sama’ it’s the classic romance anime that everyone watches and for ‘The Promised Neverland’ I liked the plot and I read the manga, and I also like ‘Naruto’ because it’s one of the classics. I’m excited about ‘Attack on Titan’ because I know spoilers and I have power over my friends who don’t read the manga. I really like the writing and the plot, it’s something that isn’t like anything else. In anime, you can expand your boundaries and limitations than it does in real life,” sophomore Michele Nguyen said.
“[My favorite anime] is ‘Your Lie in April’. [It has] interesting character development on top of the best musical pieces you will ever hear in anime. [My favorite anime movie] is ‘Your Name’. [It’s] beautifully animated, I’m talking Studio Ghibli standards here. ‘Your Name’ captures that sensation of waking up from a dream you wish lasted longer. [My favorite manga is] ‘One-Punch Man’. [It’s] one of the few mangas that kept me reading mangas, very addicting. [Also] sub > dub. [What I like about anime is that it] distracts me from reality. I feel as when we grow more fond of modern technology, anime will continue to grow in influence and viewers,” freshman Jayden Trinh said.
“‘Sailor Moon’ is probably my favorite. I just started ‘Hunter x Hunter’, because a bunch of my students has recommended it. I watch a bunch of things at the same time I never watch just one thing, I watched a couple of episodes of ‘Cells at Work’ and I got through season 1 of ‘The Promised Neverland’. I watched one season of ‘Attack on Titan’ and I haven’t finished that yet. I love Ghibli movies [like] ‘My Neighbor Totaro’, ‘Fayded Away’ and ‘Howls Moving Castle’ is probably my favorite. The music is really good, the animation is really good, and there’s a bit of a love story. [Anime is] another form of escapism, it’s escaping into a different world, it’s a place that is not real and I guess it’s kind of nice to be in a very detailed world. It’s got a very detailed storyline and lots of characters. Based on my observations with students, it seems like there are more students watching it than ever before, but there also seems to be a hard divide for the people who love it, and there a good group of students who don’t know what it is or think it’s too culty,” science teacher Katrina Brighton said.
“[My favorite animes are] ‘One Piece’, ‘Black Clover’, ‘Death Note’, ‘Mob Psycho 100’, ‘Hunter × Hunter’, and ‘Attack on Titan’ are some of my favorite animes. Their world building, storytelling, characters, music, animation, and action make them really fun and interesting to watch, and they always keep my attention. I started watching anime around middle school, but the only anime I watched was ‘One Piece’. When I started high school, I learned more about many more animes, and watched animes like the ones I said above and many more. I am really excited for ‘Demon Slayer’ Season 2 and ‘Attack on Titan’ Season 4. Even though ‘Attack on Titan’ Season 4 is already out, I haven’t started watching it yet so I can binge it later when most of the episodes are out. The visual aspect is what makes me like anime so much. The animation and art style, especially in big moments of the anime, make watching it so much more enjoyable and worthwhile. Coupled with a good story and fun and relatable characters, good animes can make 20-minute episodes feel 5 minutes long,” senior Daniel Matthew said.
“My favorite animes are ‘Kengan Ashura’, ‘Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood’, and ‘Your Lie in April’. ‘Kengan Ashura’ is a martial arts anime that makes semi-realistic martial arts entertaining for the average viewer. The characters when not fighting are shown to be likable characters you can root for. ‘Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood’ was one of the first animes I watched. It was a great introduction to anime and I sometimes feel bad that I can’t watch it again for the first time. ‘Your lie in April’ is my favorite slice of life anime that showed me that a good anime can make you teary-eyed. My favorite anime movie is ‘Your Lie in April’. The animation, character development, and plot were so beautiful. My favorite manga is ‘Kengan Ashura’, I read this only because I know ‘Kengan Ashura’ probably won’t get any more seasons. I started watching anime consistently in 7th grade. My favorite thing about anime is the animation. It’s the one thing for me that sets it apart from all other forms of visual entertainment. I think more people have been watching anime recently seeing how everyone is stuck at home,” freshman Aidan Truong said.
“Right now I’m watching a lot because I start one and then I got halfway through it and then something happens because I’m either going to cry or cry so then I stop it. I’m currently rewatching ‘Fruits Basket’ and I’m watching ‘Assassination Classroom’. I really like action [mangas], but it’s easier for me to follow along if it’s everyday animes. I’ve read ‘Attack on Titan’, a lot of romance ones, ‘Maid Sama’, ‘Cowboy Bepop’, and ‘Neon Genesis’. In 4th grade I got an iPod, and I went on Youtube and all of the ‘Naruto’ episodes were on there and I would watch it for hours. It’s definitely a coping strategy, I can’t tell you how many I watched in middle school. I feel like during quarantine more and more people started to watch it because everyone had the time,” sophomore Lily Drescher said.
“My favorite anime show is ‘Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood’ because it was the first anime that kept me continuously invested. My favorite anime movie is ‘Grave of the Flyerflies’ because of the heartbreaking storyline and the heartwarming ending. I began watching anime since elementary school, starting with shows such as ‘Dragon Ball’, ‘Pokemon’, and ‘Beyblade’ on Netflix and Nickelodeon. My family also owned a ‘Ponyo’ CD, which we played on repeat in the car during long drives. I’m looking forward to the release of both the movie and second season of ‘Demon Slayer’, as well as the new season of ‘Promised Neverland’. I love the detail in artwork and animation of some animes, my favorites being ‘Demon Slayer’ and ‘Attack On Titan’,” senior Evy Lam said.
