For those of you who don’t know much about me, let me paint a picture for you. I’m a Fashion Merchandising major at a private, southern university in Texas. My hair is platinum blonde, and my nails are rarely kept natural. I have a bit of a spending problem at Target and Nordstrom, and I’m constantly reloading my Starbucks account to make my daily iced coffee run. My favorite colors are blush pink and gold — my room is practically decked out in this palette. I love pairing my hour-long makeup routine with a messy bun and an oversized t-shirt. All in all, and at my core, I’m a basic girl. I shouldn’t enjoy anime so much … but here we are.
Now, how I got into watching anime means I’m going to, once again, paint a picture for you. On a brisk Saturday night last October, I was home alone, dog-sitting while my parents are out of town for the weekend. The dogs and I are laying in my parents’ bed with the TV remote in my right hand and a mango White Claw in the left — which you can already tell is not a good combo. To say the least, I was not in the ideal state of mind to pick something Academy-Award-winning to watch. Before I realized what I was doing, I clicked “play” on an anime feature that was recommended by my best guy friend. (Gavin, if you’re reading this … this is all your fault.) This was quite literally the most confusing episode of TV I have ever watched.
I go back to campus the next day and tell my roommate, Lauryn, about how I randomly turned on this anime the other night and how overwhelming confusing it was. Don’t ask me exactly how we got from point A to point B, but the next thing we know, Lauryn and I are sitting on the couch watching the show. Apparently, watching anime wasn’t that insane of a concept to her, and the more time that passed, the less “insane” it became to me. Eleven months later, Lauryn and I still plant ourselves on our couch to binge anime. Surprise, surprise: several of my other friends also watch anime (shoutout Isabelle, Zoe, Josue, and MT).
In hindsight, maybe I was a bit cruel to tease Gavin and other fans of anime for liking the genre. If you put aside the cringe “Baka” stereotypes affiliated with anime, you’ll actually find some really good television. A year ago, I was the last person to ever want to watch anime, and now, here I am with it on in the background as I write this article.
If you’re getting into anime for the first time, you can’t go wrong starting with Hunter x Hunter. The characters, the arcs, and the writing — so underrated, so good. My second favorite would be Demon Slayer, as I definitely cried watching the movie in theatres this summer. I’m still trying to finish all the other animes I started.
So yes, anime is definitely not on-brand for me. However, I’m still glad I accidentally got into it. It’s easy and entertaining to watch and something fresh to add to your weekend binges. To all the basic girls reading this: This is your sign to watch anime. You’ll thank me later!