User:Skypiercer

My Life Journey Through Anime and Manga
I first got into anime during my first year in middle school years. My first anime was Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Back then, anime wasn't as popular and as acceptable as it is now. Everywhere I go, there was always a negative view on anime and I can't help but feel insecure about my hobby.

As time passes and anime begin to be widely viewed through television shows like Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon, my circle of friends begin to also explore anime as well and we become closer through our shared hobby. Even so, television shows like Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon were still considered more of cartoons than anime at that time so I can't really say that everyone has truly accept anime.

It wasn't until the early 2000 that anime was embraced as its own culture. The contribution to the culturalization of anime has a lot to do with Hayao Miyazaki's work, particularly Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and Howls Moving Castle. It was then that anime was finally being distinguished and moved away from cartoons. Before then, anime like Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon were pretty much still consider as cartoons. After being distinguished, more anime were being produce such as The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Voice of a Distant Star. I remember being so happy that I could go to a theater to watch anime and not some live action movie.

A few years in, the anime industry reached a high peak where they are producing a lot of movies that can generate sells without the need of a fandom. Even less well known anime such as G-Gundum, Yu Yu Hakishou, and Yami no Matsuei are being shown in Asian channels. Those were the golden days of anime. Where anime are produce in quality and not in quantity. The art was unique and the story was original. A very good but short decade of anime history.

After the peak, the internet became widely used and people begin to pirate video. That's when anime started to become unable to support their productions and resorted to the sales of manga and light novel. The work of original anime gradually decline and the industry slowly switch to a manga adaption system. This was when I started to read manga instead of watching anime.

In present time, most anime are like infomercial than they are a story. The industry begin to adopt a familiar system of art which further decrease the artistic variation that anime once had. Anime and manga begin to gradually change their work to cater towards a fandom instead of going for an original work. Thus, a culture and industry exist only for otaku is born which marks the death of original anime and manga art.

Favorite Anime
My favorite anime is Princess Mononoke. I love the story and the attention to details that the author puts into his work. Not to mention the social and political symbolism that was put into Princess Mononoke as well. It was a master piece transcending beyond time. An anime that will continue to be loved by those who has watched and will watch it.

Favorite Manga
My favorite manga at the moment is Shut Hell. I love the unique art and the story portrayed in every page and is captivated by the emotions that the author put into the characters. I feel a deep connection with Shut Hell and the power of words. More to it than that, I love how the manga is so life like. All the characters and the story itself seem so real. It is almost as though I've left this world behind and entered into their world.