Anime

Anime has been a part of my life before I even knew what it was called, and it’s for this reason that this has been one of my interests for a long time.

Anime is classified as animation originating from Japan. This signature style of animation and Japanese culture has flourished and has been showcased all across the world. Even in countries like lil’ ol’ Barbados where I was born, and where I encountered my first anime…any guesses of what it was? I already gave you a hint.

If you can’t figure it out then I’m sorry I guess you’ll never know.

I’m just playing it was Pokémon

I’m not sure of the exact age, but like any other introverted kid around 4-6 years old cartoons were the only thing in our life that mattered. Especially that nostalgic opening theme song…who could forget?

This show was my life as a kid and still watch it when I’m overwhelmed with life stuff and just need a break. I never felt like a lame kid for watching the show or shows similar to it because it was so popular. Pokémon’s adventure with Ash, Pikachu, and his rag-tag group always consisted of a girl willing to go head to head with Ash’s hardheadedness and a kindhearted older guy who was mysteriously amazing at handling and feeding Pokémon they encountered on their journies.

However, as I got older I started to explore other genres of anime and I quickly fell in love with the diversity of each genre and the distinct animation style of each anime. The slight differences in how each creator would draw their characters and the landscapes intrigued me. Not to mention the great music and captivating heart-wrenching scenes in anime like Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima.

Fairy Tail soon became my first action-packed anime as I transitioned into middle school, where the themes, language, and content were a little more mature than in the Pokémon franchise. It ran for 328 episodes over 10 years, starting in 2009. This show holds a lot of special memories for me because it is the first anime besides Pokémon that I loved, and that I could talk to people about. I made friends by having a simple conversation about this show, and many of them are still my friends today.