Entering Into the World of Anime

Hello everyone,

My name is Payton Kearney. I am a senior at Heidelberg University, set to graduate next year in spring 2026. I am majoring in English and minoring in both Psychology and Inclusive Early Childhood Education.

For this assignment I chose to write my blog on the subject of anime. Anime is something that I love because, to me, it contains the perfect blend of emotion and storytelling that can create something truly memorable. Anime has not only been a way for me to slip away for a while when life feels heavy but is also something that has helped me to understand myself better as an individual.

This may sound a little silly to some, but anime has allowed me to see that it is alright to struggle sometimes in life, as long as in the end you continue to grow, develop, learn, and move forward, too.

Throughout the course of my blog I am going to delve further into the world of anime. Anime is considered to be a medium of animation that has become beloved by many all across the world since the early 20th century.

Originating in Japan, anime combines unique characters, detailed storytelling, and expressive visual elements that allow its viewers to experience different imaginative worlds while still exploring a large range of themes that contain varying life lessons.

Anime as a whole encompasses far more than what we typically think of as just simple cartoons. While it has strong elements of emotional depth, it also includes various cultural ideas, too. 

Anime is even intertwined and connected alongside other forms of media, such as manga and video games, for example, providing multi-platform storytelling experiences that are known to place an emphasis on both artistic style and pop culture. 

There is also a variety of different types of merchandise out there that is available for consumers to be able to purchase regarding anime, including figures, apparel, stationery, and other small collectibles. These smaller collectibles can include, but are not limited to, keychains, posters, and buttons, just to name a few.

Anime conventions are something that is also popular amongst many fans of both anime and manga alike. According to YumeTwins Kawaii Culture Blog, anime conventions are "multi-day events focused on anime, manga, and Japanese culture." Anime conventions are typically hosted at large convention centers and are known to bring in numerous fans from all across the globe.

To continue, anime conventions are a place where fans can easily bond together by enjoying their shared interest in anime. Oftentimes people who attend even dress up in cosplay, which is where they do their best to replicate a character from an anime show or manga through their clothing, accessories, hair, and makeup. Lastly, anime voice actors and manga artists are often seen attending these anime conventions as well, providing fans with an opportunity to meet them and maybe even get an autograph while they are chatting, too.

In future blog posts I hope to dive into more detail about how anime has played a powerful role in having a major influence in the media globally, especially throughout Western animation. I will initially do so by establishing more about its Japanese origins to a fuller extent.

Then, I will explain many of the various genres of anime that are present today, highlighting some of the key points that each genre offers to different audiences. In addition, I also will have the opportunity to expand my writing to speak more about both manga and video games, noting how while they are known to tie in alongside anime, they can also stand alone in terms of media as well. 

Overall, I have many ideas for this assignment that I am genuinely excited to be able to share with everyone, and I cannot wait to do so. My goal as my blog progresses is to shine a light onto anime as a whole and to have the chance to inform others about what it actually entails. As a longtime viewer of this particular medium, I sincerely feel that there is much more to anime than what is initially shown to us on the surface upon first glance, and I hope to present it broken down in more detail to everyone as time continues onward.