Konnichiwa, or hello to anyone that doesn't know Japanese. Welcome to my little space here on MyAnimeList.
I'm a college student going into history, majoring in East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, etc.). My goal in life at the moment is to graduate and become a history teacher in a middle school. I have found that teaching may be an interesting profession to go into, though I'm hoping the stress and debt of college doesn't wear me down first.
My interest in Japanese animated works starts somewhere early in life. Though I didn't really watch much during my single digit years, my eldest brother was a huge fan of Robotech (Macross to you purists), and most of my siblings have seen it as well.
My first true anime was Ronin Warriors, and what was shown on Sci-Fi's old Saturday Anime network. It had things like 8-man After, and Project A-Ko. At this point, though, my interest didn't flesh much yet, not even when I hit the teens, and my sister brother got Vision of Escaflowne and Neon Genesis Evangelion, respectively. I just felt that they were cartoons (*snicker at Eva*) made by the Japanese, and were more mature than normal cartoons.
It wasn't until, like everyone else, when things like Pokemon and Digimon were showing that I started to express more interest, though I was a bigger fan of Digimon than Pokemon (Actual story of some kind greater than "gotta catch 'em all" stuff that repeats over and over... and over again.).
However, truly it was Rurouni Kenshin that piqued my interest in the country, and I truly started to watch anime like a fan. I started to get into fansubs, though in limited doses. I joined the anime club at school and got to watch Trigun and some of Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040, and then there was Spirited Away. I also dabbled in Naruto.
It wasn't until I started to get into Bleach that I decided to put in further interest, the trickle turning into a stream. At this point, I also dabbled in manga, starting with Full Metal Alchemist and Chrono Crusade. At this point, I found Haruhi Suzumiya and Utawarerumono, and a stream became a river. By Christmas I had the full set of Shrine of the Morning Mist, claiming the spot as my first bought anime.
However, it wasn't until March of that year that anime became a passion. It wasn't Haruhi. It wasn't a Miyazaki movie. It wasn't Bleach, Cowboy Bebop or Evangelion.
It was the 2006 version of Kanon. The very genre of romance and harem I had come to resent held a gem surpassing anything I had ever seen before.
The river became a flood. Soon I started hunting for series that some heralded as works of art, or others that presented a theme that captivated me. I watched Air, and currently own the whole series. I noticed Mushishi, and see it as a work of art. Haibane Renmei is in my collection, with Kamichu and Serial Experiments Lain. Bleach dropped out of my interests, and I barely touched the shounen genre anymore, unless it was interesting, like Shana or Tsubasa Chronicle. The Rurouni Kenshin manga was all mine, and Tsubasa is the next great series I'm collecting.
I am an old anime watcher, seeing some minor stuff from the early 90's. However, it wasn't until the new millennium that I began to truly dabble in the fine art of anime and manga. I see the world like it was a Japanese animation. Will I lose interest? Maybe. But I would definitely recommend some of the stuff I watch and read over typical things on TV.
My tastes vary. Although I may find a genre lacking, I might find a decent number that are watchable or that I'd wholeheartedly recommend. I might even hate a genre, but find one or two gems that exceed all my expectations.
Never the less, if I find a show or manga that is interesting, I will look it up and watch it. Boredom can strike, and a random project that I would probably never have watched, or even refused to watch before, may become my favorite of all time.
That said, although my tastes vary, if something intrigues me, or strikes me on an emotional level, then it may become one of my favorites, regardless of genre.
Also, my anime list may be larger than what I've put down. There are some I know I've seen, but I did not list due to either it being from way back and I can barely remember it, or not really being one I cared for.
Any anime I have listed as "none" typically means I borrowed it from a friend.
If I download a show, and I really like it, I'll buy it. If I discover it after it's aired and licensed, and can find it fairly cheap, I'll buy it.
Also, in regards to the sub vs. dub war, I am one on the dub side, although whichever is fine. I find that a production can hit me better and be more memorable if it's in my mother language, English. If the dub truly is bad, I will go sub. But, if I find it decent, I will go dub. I have yet to find a dub that can make me go immediately to sub.
All time favorite anime: Kanon 2006
All time favorite manga: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Favorite of the season: Clannad
