In 2000 A girl I had a crush on in middle school loved Sailor Moon. I was intrigued so I tuned into CN in the afternoons and was hooked instantly. Then DBZ came after. Since then I had a hook on anime. In 2005, my best friend bought his first anime boxset, Neon Genesis Evangelion. At that point, I began buying boxsets for myself, the first being Please Teacher, and I've got quite the collection today. You enjoy the characters, amazing stories, the giant robots, etc. So much better than what American TV can deliver. It's like being taken on a new adventure each time and you can't wait to get on board.

Hornet65 wrote:


I sorta do....

Thank you to everyone who has replied so far. I look forward to reading more answers from more of you!

(@Longtime - Such a rebel! Your answer made me laugh. )

WEll what made me like anime would had to be toonami with the airing of shows like DBZ the fighting and the storyline just got me hooked and back then there were few shows like that on tv so i was turning every afternoon. But after toonami left the tv i stopped watching anime for years until the year 2010 i bought the anime called Kaze No Stigma and it was a gateway for me back in the anime world then i start finding sites like the ATN where i can watch anime for free and Ive been watching anime every chance i can get .The songs even gotten to like certain animes some songs i can even sing which is pretty cool because im singing in a different langauge other then the one i speak . Anime to me is like a tale of daydreams you see brought to life in realtime which is super awesome some animes are so good that you dont even wanna watch tv anymore .I would say anime will be forever watch by me till the day i die .

For me, the answer to both questions are really simplistic, but I'll start with this one first.

What keeps you watching?

There's really nohting more to this one than "Because I like it."


What drew you to anime?

There's a few factors to this one.
As kid, I fell in love with various shows, but one that has always stuck with me was Robotech.
Later, finally being able to watch TAN on VOD and also at the same time, watching Black Lagoon on Animidnight.

But I think what truely set me on the path to destruction, was this:

Well, since you asked and this is going to be a long one - Sorry!!!

Like others, I didn’t know what anime was. I grew up on Saturday morning cartoons and some I found to be better than others. Years later I was up late one night, flipping channels and came across Cartoon Network. I forgot what show was on – I think it was Inuyasha – and I became immediately engrossed. I watched a few more shows that night and I was hooked! I did a little research and found out I was watching anime. I thought back to some things I liked to watch as a child and realized I must have been a fan even then without realizing it.

I got hungry for more and at some point, found Anime Network on VOD. Again, I just had to have more and eventually found my way to TAN, where I have been quite happy ever since. I am learning more about what I like and there are always great shows here as well as good recommendations for shows elsewhere. I am so addicted now that I rarely watch regular TV anymore.

For anime in general, I like the style of the animation, the music and the story, as well as the characters. Anime seems to be more solid than other types of cartoons. The stories are interesting and sometimes main characters actually die. The first time I saw something like that, I was shocked. I was also shocked by the tears running down my face. I can’t believe I cried over an animated story, but it also threw me further into anime. Although some series are left kind of open, many of the shows have an actual beginning, middle and end which I also like. There are very few anime that I have been truly disappointed in.

The classics are great, but every year brings more new shows to try out and fall in love with. That will always keep me watching and coming back for more. I love to see what types of new characters have been created and the stories that go with them. Anime is just an amazing art form to me and I’m glad I found it and can appreciate it. Through watching anime, I also find myself picking up little facts about Japanese culture and I find I appreciate it more as well. I love learning things!

I was also a big Godzilla fan as a kid and within the last few years, I’ve also been watching some Asian movies and dramas on TV. I find those to be very well made too. It’s amazing how one thing leads to another! I guess some addictions are worse than others, but I really have to thank TAN for mine!!!

Snowy Stampede wrote:


Please excuse this threadjack, but as an aside, I also have the Please Teacher boxset-and it now has Wendy Lee's autograph on it! She was the VA for Hatsuho Kazami, Mizuho's mother.

Newshawk wrote:


Only someone as esteemed as you is allowed a threadjacking, Newshawk!

Let's make this simple and to the point:

What drew me to anime?
Easy, the fact that it's animation, period. The magick that went into making those pretty pictures move like that, whether on the big screen or little, always left me at awe. What dark forces might have been at play to make such wonders of the human imagination come to life. It didn't matter whether it came from the east or west, north or south, to me all animation was kool:

Star Blazers
Speed Racer
Robotech
Fritz the Cat
Snow White
Scooby Doo
The Flintstones
etc...

What keeps you watching?
It's animation...

I first started watching it because my best friend was obsessed with it. At the time I really didn't know what she was talking about and so, because I do not like not knowing about things I looked into it. Once my friend saw that I was interested, she quickly pointed me to her favorite, which was Tokyo mew mew. After watching that and thoroughly enjoying it, I moved onto other anime and have been watching it ever since. I think I still watch it because it just draws me in. Its like if I am watching anime then nothing else matters at that point in time. It also annoys my parents to pieces, which is a definite plus.