Do You Have Family Members Who Like Anime?

[yukineko]

As usual, I can't give a short answer. I have to tell a story.

Until I moved into my apartment almost a year ago, I lived with my father and stepmother. My father's view on anime was straightforward-- he'd sometimes use it as defense whenever I complained he was treating me like a kid. "You wear shirts with cartoons characters on them and you watch cartoons! You are childish!" (Despite what picture I'm painting, he's a good Dad-- just incapable of speaking to me as if I'm no older than ten). So there was no chance of him ever understanding what I enjoyed about anime. My stepmother, on the other hand, would sometimes walk in while I was watching something and sit down to see a bit of it. She didn't seek it out, but she never acted as if she were above me because I loved it. She'd get into it sometimes-- and ask questions about what was going on. The one that she honestly got into however was Castle of Cagliostro-- to the point that she knew who Lupin was and what he was all about even when I was watching a different series or movie with him in it. That in itself made me feel good.

Then we have my mother, who is very supportive of my cel collecting hobby and doesn't think there's anything even the least bit wrong with my love of anime. She's seen all the friends I've met through both, and feels it goes hand in hand with my life long love of drawing and animation. While she's not into anime, I feel very fortunate that she doesn't hold the negative view of it many parents might. Not to mention she begged to show my cel collection to the rest of the family-- she just thinks the whole concept is really neat.

I'm rather lucky.

[Fever's Break]

Only my 6 year old nephew. He is the only one who understands me . And for anyone who thinks that kids don't know much just because they are...well...kids, let me just say that that is totally wrong. My nephew is one of the smartest and most intuitive people I know.

[sensei]

My daughter is very interested, though more interested with action series with hot guys (like Gundam Wing or her current favorite Wolf's Rain. I'm more intrigued with magic-oriented series, mainly a factor of my personal and professional interest in legends and fairy tales. So it's a point of mutual amusement that we are both staunch Otakon attenders, but with radically different tastes so that we always end up going to different screenings.

My wife makes a major point of saying that anime is worthless ... but she's now making more of a point of watching it with us. I recall screening the CCS Movie 1, which has a powerfully emotional ending, with both of them. At the close, with the haunting ending song playing over stark white credits scrolling over a black screen, I was moved as always, and I glanced over at my daughter, who was fighting back tears.

And at this point my wife commented, "And they show things like this to little children in Japan?!"

Which I took as a reluctant tribute to the genre.

[Startyde]

Nope, not even close...

It's a task enough to find people who plain just don't hate it...

[joseishijin]

My brother and JP like anime, so I am lucky in that respect. With the exception of some of my lovely friends who live far away, none of my nearby buddies even know what anime is!

[Moop]

My daughter LOVES anime, but only the fight oriented stuff like Inuyasha and YYH. Unfortunately, my conscience compels me to act as a responsible parent and opt for Blue's Clues over the whole Conflict Resolution Through Violence thing.

[vampyreshoujo]

My family loves anime. My mom and brother moreso than my dad (who doesn't have a negative opinion about it, but doesn't really watch it either). In fact, my parents were the ones who introduced me to anime. They took me to O-kon (a local sci-fi convention) when I was about ten, and I remember watching Bubblegum Crisis with them. My mom also tells me we used to watch Robotech together, but I don't remember that. (Of course, she says I was about five at the time...) My cousin is also an anime fan.

[Remi]

My brother loves anime. We haven't lived together in many years, but I remember visiting him back when he was in high school, back when anime was _only_ on VHS and he had some Tenchi and Ranma tapes lying around. We often suggest series to each other over the phone or discuess weird endings or make premontions about current shows. I sometimes send him the discs of stuff I've seen or think he'll like, but I have never once gotten a disc from him or even one of mine back (despite asking) so that pretty much stopped. Now we both just update each other on new stuff we've seen.

Last time we spoke he prodded me to watch Samurai Champloo, saying I'd really like it, and he likes Naruto so much I wanted to steer him towards a 'better' fight oriented program and told him to check out HxH, which he has.

My little half-brother and half-sister also love anime, but differently, obviously. My baby bro is only 6, but every boy, and I do mean every boy, at his school is obsessed with Yu-Gi-Oh. They all collect the cards like crazy and sit around talking about the show and cards for hours on end. I'm not sure any of them have any idea how to play the game or what to do with the cards, but they love looking at the pictures and determine which card is the best simply by the power points it has.

When I was there I watched some of the show on TV with them, and of course that means it was dub. The voice of 'Joey' was so horrible I had to leave the room. Perhaps that is why I cannot understand at all adults who enjoy this show. Then again, I once saw a couple episodes of dub Inuyasha on tv, and if that was how I had been introduced to the series, I never would have watched that either.

My little sister love Sailormoon, largely I think that was my influence though initially. She also adores Pokemon and collects the cards although I think that obsession is dying down a little.

My fiance never used to understand it all. He still makes fun of me when he walks past my computer and sees me watching, by imitating the characters or something. However he went and saw Spirited Away with me in the theater and really enjoyed it, and shortly after surprised me by bringing home Mononoke Hime on DVD rental. He is very tolerant of it though, because he is a huge fan of LoTR and fantasy stuff in general and I don't get it at all. He saw Berserk over my shoulder once and asked me a bunch of questions and looked seriously interested, so I may try and get him into that someday. Oh, and it's not anime, but he's crazy about Simpsons, Family Guy and Futurama, so the 'cartoon thing' doesn't bother him at all.

[Court]

None of my family is into it, nor any of my friends. Which reminds me of my resolution this year to join some interest groups to make friends with people who actually like the same stuff I do! (Doesn't that sound goofy)
My Mom however, because she loves me, has made the loving gesture of attending Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away with me when they came out in theatres. For that I'll always say she is the coolest mom.
My younger brother enjoys making fun of anime and calling it " Jap Crap" when he feels the need to get a rise out of me.

[ryoendymion]

wel.. my brother is sort of into it but hardly as much as i am (he thinks the entire cel thing is silly but is willing to look the other way)... and the rest of my family doesn't get it at all ;___; (and would freak if they knew just how many and how much the cels i have are...)

sometimes i feel like a bad person for hiding it from my parents but... it's a harmless addiction... and i'm certainly old enough not to have to get permission anymore ... at least that's what i tell myself and then go snuggle with my lovelies ^^;

[Hikaruchan]

My older sister is into anime as much as I am. My older brother likes some of the old stuff like Captain Harlock, but he was more into liveaction UltraMan & Godzilla when we were growing up. My anime addiction started 25 years ago, partially influenced by what my older siblings were watching.

[MDKiller1]

Well My sister likes Ranma, But the best thing is my Dad hes 53 years old, and he LOVES Hellsing. I see him watch it all the time. Not only hellsing he likes Berserk, and alot of other animes. Its great because when I go visit him I get to watch anime with him. Last time we watched Fatal Fury.

[Belldandy]

My husband loves anime (when we first met he was happy to find someone who even knew what Sailor Moon was) and I've managed to convert my younger sister by letting her borrow a lot of my DVDs, bwhahahaha! Now she's borrowing my manga, I'm so proud! :sniff:

[KT]

My older brother and little brother love anime just as much as me ^^

My dad, oh, I don't wanna even try showing him anime. He thinks anything that looks/is a cartoon and childish is not worth his time.

My mom likes anime though She likes Inu Yasha, Trigun and I think CowBoy BeBop. She has seen DBZ, but didn't like it since they always scream Oh! And she kinda likes Yugioh (if the dub wasn't so corny and badly dubbed I bet she would like it) her favorites characters are Mako (only because he has a great body ) and Yami Bakura (because I showed her a trading card of him that had him with his shirt unbuttoned)

Yep, my mom likes good looking anime guys

[syan]

My oldest brother is into it just as much as me. So when I get around to visiting home, we'll swap series. Otherwise, we'll just discuss it over the phone/email. My mom doesn't watch, but she can tolerate it. I was home sick for a couple weeks once, and watched Fushigi Yuugi (again). Now my mom knows Miaka and refers to her as the "obnoxious" girl.

It's nice my brother watches though, so when I get new cels he recognizes them. My mom looks at them for the art, and I explain any significance.