snakebrain

In many ways, my introduction to anime is incredibly stereotypical.  I used to hate it because I, like many I'm sure, thought that it was all like the crappy Saturday morning cartoons I was exposed to, such as Pokemon, Digimon, and Yu-Gi-Oh.  I thought all anime was badly animated nonsense about kids with huge eyes running around summoning monsters with cards and red balls.

But then, I watched a Hayao Miyazaki film.  Yep, like many, many others before me, Miyazaki kickstarted my love of anime.  The first film of his I saw that really stuck with me was Spirited Away.  I quite liked it, and ended up watching more films of his, ultimately watching what is now among my favorite films of all time and Miyazaki's best, Princess Mononoke.

I don't know if it was Mononoke that convinced me to try out anime TV shows, or the constant nagging of my friends who were into anime, or a combination of the two, but either way, I decided to give it a shot.  The first anime TV series that I rented and saw was Fullmetal Alchemist.  I'd chosen it because the title intrigued me and I'd read good things; needless to say, I was blown away.

After that, I was hooked, and still am.  I love anime -- though I still hate Pokemon.