For some reason Anime is one of the hardest things to sell to your peers. Whether it’s the childish view, the porn assumption; Anime has always been, for me at least, something that no matter how much I encourage people to watch, never works out. This has always bothered me considering I am an avid believer that Anime is for everyone. Just like music, books, and western T.V. and movies, Anime has enough diversity within its medium to let everyone find a niche that they can grab onto and enjoy.
But again I have trouble breaking through the barrier of opposition and while I can’t force someone to sit down and watch something, I have thought of the next best thing. Guilt them into watching it, by actually gifting them Anime this Christmas. So as per the holiday season I have decided to purchase gifts for family members who have never shown an interest in Anime and have turned down multiple advances of me recommending them shows I think they would like. For these gifts I had to do some agonizing over thinking about what would be the perfect shows to get “them” into Anime. To no Surprise I chose something different for all of them. Death Parade for my Parents, Maria The Virgin Witch for my Sister and her Husband, and Psycho-Pass for my other sister and her fiancee. All the reasons are too deep and personal to explain so I wont bore you with those.
Now sometimes there has to be some serious self-analysis as to why you want a peer or family member to get into Anime. Most of the time it can be seen as pretentious. Like you’re the one who has the best taste in things and everyone else just doesn’t understand, so you’re gonna make them. While I consider that to be a little true, it’s mostly an urge to share something that I think they will truly enjoy. While some of the shows I picked aren’t my absolute favorites or what I think are the best Anime has to offer as a Medium, I tailored them all to the people I care enough about to put this much thought into their christmas present. “Anime is for everyone” is a phrase I will continue to champion until it’s engraved on my tombstone. I’m not hoping for them to become Anime fans due to this either, I just want to show them something they will like, but just needed a little push.
Also to further validate or invalidate my stance, I will be checking in halfway through January with how far and what their experience was watching these shows. Hopefully I can get some good insight from non-anime fans and better hone my skills as a recommender as well as understanding the masses who don’t like Anime, and for what reason.
If this is something you have done or have thought about doing, leave a comment telling me how it worked and who you shared it with. I’m genuinely curious and would like a hint of what to expect.
