My fifth storytime animation! Although this one is more like a storyboard animatic bc i started my storyboard class so im trying to focus on that hehheh. Th…
Crank@ani.socialSomehow I managed to remain ignorant of anime until I was a proper adult. Partially the blame for that falls on the fact that when I finally got my hands on the Internet I became too busy playing MMOs, and the only way to watch anime, other than piracy, was TV. So that meant all you could get your hands on was Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon. So yeah, Dragon Ball was probably my first anime, but at the time I was unaware that’s what it is. It was just another cartoon to me. And after that I didn’t touch anime willingly for a long time because of the stigma. Then I binged AoT and I was completely hooked. Now I watch a lot, but I still won’t touch Naruto or Bleach, because this kind of stuff doesn’t appeal to me anymore. I probably would have liked them as a teen, but now it’s just another run-of-the-mill shounen, so not what I’m into.
Hazel@piefed.blahaj.zone
Unique_Emerald_Sol_I@ani.social 3 weeks ago
Calling bullshit that anime only became “mainstream” by the time of AoT’s final season. That was literally only 2020, anime had been mainstream for years at that point (I’d argue close to two decades). Also I remember watching those Bleach episodes as they premiered, the 3am claim is hyperbole, Toonami may have been part of the Adult Swim block by then but there was plenty of anime airing at primetime (as she herself mentioned earlier in the vid). I’m definitely being pedantic but these youngin’s actin’ like they had it so bad while vastly overselling the experience irks me.
Also I find it a little weird how she mentioned “anime stigma” like a dozen times and never once brought up the way a lot of parents used to associate late-night anime with hentai? That may be because of youtube, tho.
ReluctantlyZen@ani.social 3 weeks ago
Is that a US and/or NA thing? What constitutes as mainstream? I hear all the time how anime is mainstream now, but I just don’t see it. Are there a lot of fans? Sure, especially in certain online spheres, but irl I rarely see it mentioned in any way. Most don’t even know what it is.
When I hear “mainstream” I think blockbuster cinema and pop music; most people like it. It gets widely talked about in everyday conversations and media. I just don’t see how that applies to anime.
Unique_Emerald_Sol_I@ani.social 3 weeks ago
In terms of blockbuster: how about Demon Slayer’s Mugen Train movie being the highest grossing movie of 2020 worldwide? Infinity Castle was also the seventh-highest grossing movie of 2025 (and was the highest-grossing international film in the U.S.). That’s beyond Disney making Ghibli a household name.
Yes, my views are going to be U.S-centric, I’ll admit that, and I’m sure what counts as “everyday conversations” is going to vary by region – however for me “mainstream” means things like the above, that anime movies like Chainsaw Man and One Piece see theatrical releases outside of Japan and get placed on lists of highest-grossing movies worldwide. Pokémon is also partly anime and it is literally THE most profitable IP in the world. Big companies like Sony and Disney have anime as part of their regular catalogue. It’s not some niche little thing that only scrappy companies like Tokyopop will touch anymore. Goku is in the Macy’s Day Parade (which is a major national event in the U.S., I am completely unaware how well-known it is outside the country).
I’m sure you can argue that there are a lot of anime that no one outside those really entrenched in the greater anime fandom have heard of, but to discount anime as a whole being some niche form of media only known to those in the hobby is, IMO, misguided at best.
Oh, and something else to back up my claims: a 2025 global research report by Dentsu found around 30% of “global consumers” (which I’m reading as those with disposable income, probably 16 and up) watch anime at least once a week, and another 2023 report for the U.S. specifically found that 1 in 3 adults 18-54 watched “viral anime titles” with that number going up to 44% for Gen Z aged 18-24 at the time.