What is Anime? Part Five
In part five of my continuing series on what is anime, I’d like to touch on the effects that Japanese anime can have on it’s fans. Anime itself can be quite entertaining. It’s just fun to watch! Regardless of which style is your personal favorite, it will slowly but surely expose you to new aspects of Japanese culture. Learning to love anime will undoubtedly stir one’s curiosity about Japan and it’s people. The lifestyle, the language, the history…anime can open it all up. Try watching InuYasha and not wondering about feudal Japan! The wonderful samurai animes like Ninja Scroll and Samurai Champloo have the same effect! They draw you into the history of Japan.
Exploring anime will also expose you to the amazing costumes so common in most animes. They can be anything from the standard Japanese school uniforms and traditional kimonos to the fantastical extremes of the futuristic animes like Ghost In the Shell and Final Fantasy. The fans fascination with such clothing has led to an entire sub-culture of fans who attempt to recreate the fashions of their favorite anime characters in reality. This is cosplay. Cosplay is, quite simply, the practice of dressing up as your favorite anime, manga, game or film character. Usually it’s for a convention or other such genre event. The detail and skill demonstrated by some of the fans is absolutely amazing! And it’s fun. You get to masquerade as beloved characters, take on their personas for a little while and share in the fun.
Cosplay is for everyone!
Lastly, delving into anime, you’ll discover the merchandising that seems to go hand in hand with all entertainment these days. Anime is no exception. Though, personally, I think the products connect with anime are a lot more fun than your standard fare! The toys and models are like the animes themselves, amazing, colorful and unexpected! The fashion spawned by anime can be as simple as a t-shirt declaring your favorite show or perhaps a bag, my personal favorite! You’ll find something cool for nearly every popular anime out there!
One final thing I’d like to mention…the snacks! Oh, the joy of discovering anime snacks!! I’ve alredy talked about these delicious goodies before on my post Snack Attack and I’m sure I will again. So I just wanted to mention that as you get more into anime, you’ll find yourself longing to try some of the snacks and exotic foods that are so common among all anime. My advice is go for it! The Japanese palate is very different from the American so you’ll be trying things that simply aren’t our standard fare! You can try to resist but the food is everywhere in anime!
Mizuho Kazami–the siren of Pocky!
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[...] vs Subbed, Part Three — Different Styles of Anime, Part Four — Where to Find Anime, Part Five — Anime Culture and Part Six –Anime Fan [...]
i finally saw pocky at walmart the other day! FINALLY!
I like to think that I’m helping to broaden your cultural horizons! Oh, and you should check Kroger’s. They have chocolate and strawberry Pocky!! Thanks for the comment!!