By all accounts, I'm just a casual anime fan; catching snippets of an anime here and there but never actually committed to following the entire season from beginning to end.
However, once in every few years or so, an anime comes along which is so revolutionary and engaging to mainstream audiences that it creates an impact felt in the anime communities throughout the whole world. Sad to say, I was swept up in the hype of the afore-mentioned anime too.
Back in the 90's it was SlamDunk.
But then, I was still 7 and would bite toe-nails rather than even trying to pronounce 'anime' right.
As I aged into the young man (read: Awesome, sexy specimen of buffness) that I am today, I started to take anime much more seriously.
It all started 4 years ago with an anime called Full Metal Alchemist. An anime recommended by my best bud, Bryan "Gay Wannabe" Kho.
That was when my perspective of anime at the time (read: Japanese fag cartoons. LOL) took a complete 180 turn.
Full Metal Alchemist was as revolutionary as animes got, providing an intricate yet highly successful blend of narrative and Japanese animation set against an alternate universe during the Industrial Revolution where alchemy prevailed.
The anime chronicles the tale of two alchemist brothers, the Elrics; who seek the legendary Philosopher's Stone; a fabled artifact rumored to hold a great power. Their quest is made all the more compelling as they try to redeem themselves of their sins of resurrecting their deceased mother as well as trying to restore things to the way they were before the ill-fated deed.
To the Japanese, anime was more than mere Saturday morning cartoons for toddlers and children. With the occasional slapstick and comic reliefs, anime was Japan's equivalent to Hollywood's live action adaptations of literary masterpieces (manga in Japan).
Think Peter Jackson's adaptation of Lord of the Rings presented to you in animation format and you would have something resembling that of anime.
Thus, I had a new-found respect for anime took a deeper appreciation of it from then on.
4 years later, a reboot of the series that opened doors wide open to the anime world for my eyes to see still had me hooked and I fell madly, deeply in love with it once more.
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
I'm still not exactly sure to this day what sets this anime so far apart from the handfuls of other generic yet still critically-lauded animes out there.
What was it about this anime that outshined so many other animes back then and still today? What was its secrets to success? Regardless of what it is, it still possessed the charms and the feel of the original albeit a complete overhaul of its plot-line to adhere more faithfully to its manga counterpart.
With a passion for anime, one would also ultimately succumb to the awesomeness of J-pop music that accompanies an anime's opening and ending credits.
I certainly did.
YUI - again (1st Opening Theme)
SID - Lie (1st Ending Theme)
Hmm....
Judging from the length of the post and my ramblings about how incredibly uber-Awesome the anime is, I seriously am starting to question my statement above. Meh
I still am a casual anime fan, alright?
Better than being a fan of Japanese guys dressing up as slutty, trampy tranvestites.
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