Chapter 3

SUMMARY

  This paper attempts to determine the negative effects of watching anime, to understand if watching anime could affect the mental and social aspects of kids, and to decide if teenagers and children should watch anime.

   The research design used in this study is the descriptive research method wherein data and facts from articles online were used to answer the research question posed. The research findings are the following:

1. Anime is far different from cartoons. It is made by Japanese animators, unlike cartoons, anime has developed plots and realistic characters. Anime has been one of the most popular and well-received shows ever since, it is translated to a variety of languages all over the world, making it an international trend.

2. The effects of watching anime can either be positive or negative. The only negative effect of anime watching is addiction, other effects like escapism can be positive, it depends on the audience.

3. Watching anime can affect the mental and social aspects of kids, but mostly in the good way. Even anime addiction has its silver lining since it can be the cause of unity between the so called anime addicts.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions are drawn:

1. The main negative effect of watching anime is addiction, but it is only considered as minor effect because it doesn't really have the same effect an addicting substance or habit can cause. 

2. Watching anime has effects in the mental and social aspects of its viewers in a good way. It recommended for teenagers and children to watch anime because the many positive effects of anime easily beat the negative ones. If one watches anime, he will be inspired, be socially active, multicultural, and be more imaginative and creative.

RECOMMENDATIONS

After drawing conclusions of the study, the researcher hereby makes the following suggestions:

1. Watching anime is good for kids, but even anime has its age limits. Parent should have guidance to what their kids are watching to avoid the unnecessary influences to the young mind of the children. But they should also keep in mind that some of the anime shows have learning factors, they should not be too restrictive to their children also.

2. As for the non-anime fans or viewers, one should be open-minded when watching anime, he must keep in mind that what he is watching is not real, it is only created in order to inspire and entertain audiences.

3. Future researchers should design a research on possible future innovations in the study of the psychology of anime, and its influence factors on its viewers, especially children.


References:

A. Electronic Media

"Japanese Anime Influence on World." Retrieved March 16,2014 from http://www.anime-commit.com/japanese-anime-influence.html.

"Why are so Many Anime Characters are Teenagers." Retrieved March 16, 2014 from http://www.animenation.net/blog/2010/12/28/ask-john-why-are-so-many-anime-characters-teenagers/.

"Which Prefer Anime Over Cartoons?" Retrieved March 16, 2014 from http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/random/answers/show/510036/which-prefer-anime-cartoon.

"What is Anime?" Retrieved March 30, 2014 from http://anime.about.com/od/animeprimer/a/What-Is-Anime.html.

"Negative Mood and Its Effect on Watching Anime." Retrieved March 30, 2014 from http://deluscar.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/negative-mood-and-its-effect-on-watching-anime/.

"Escapism: The World of Anime & Film." Retrieved March 30, 2014 from http://pandemimeprime.wordpress.com/2013/08/14/escapism-the-world-of-anime-film/.

"Anime Addiction Problems." Retrieved March 30, 2014 from http://www.teenhelp.org/forums/f124-addictive-behaviours/t94427-anime-addiction-problems/.

"The Good Effects of Anime on Its Viewers." Retrieved March 30, 2014 from http://www.ehow.com/list_6818727_good-effects-anime-viewers.html.

"The Effects of Anime on Students." Retrieved March 30, 2014 from http://www.ehow.com/info_8177537_effects-anime-students.html.

Chapter 2

I. Definition of Anime

  Anime is a cartoon, that is made by Japanese animations. They are like cartoons but they have more developed stories and realistic characters. In the article What is Anime?, by Serdar Yegulalp, he defined anime as a specific cartoon made by Japanese animation studios, that has a unique style and story telling far from ordinary cartoons.

  Anime has also become an international source of entertainment over the last two scores. "For decades, anime was produced by and for Japan -- a local product, with a distinct look-and-feel to not just the artwork but the storytelling, the themes, and the concepts. Over the last forty years, though, it's become an international phenomenon, attracting millions of fans and being translated into many languages."(http://anime.about.com/od/animeprimer/a/What-Is-Anime.htm). 

 Anime has indeed been one of the most popular and well-received shows ever since, it is translated to a variety of languages all over the world, making it an international trend.

II. The Mental and Social Effects of Watching Anime

A. Escapism

Escapism is a mental diversion in which we avoid reality by being immersed to a variety of forms of entertainment, such as music, movies, and TV shows. In the article Negative Mood and Its Effect on Watching Anime, written by an anonymous author, there he said that watching anime offers two sides of escapism. Both sides have different perspectives, but it both has similar effects. The light side is that watching anime serves as an escape from the problems of the world, while the dim side is regarding the world of anime as the real one.

As he said, "Watching light and peaceful anime awarded me an obvious route of escape for all the problems of real life and when watching dark anime, it also counts as an escapism of sort in a way that I can regard the dark world in the anime as a reflection of my real life societal enemy, and seeing the characters fighting against such a world gave me strength." (http://deluscar.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/negative-mood-and-its-effect-on-watching-anime/).

One good example of the light side of escapism is when one is really tired about the problems he or she has in the world, and he "escapes" from his bitter reality into the fictional world of anime. In the article Escapism: The World of Anime & Film, written by samabardeen, there he discussed that escaping to anime can be a really relaxing and relieving way of forgetting our problems, but not to the extent that he forgets his real world, basically he gets immersed into the world of anime just to get inspired.

As he said "Escapism being the key word here. Sometimes, it’s nice to kick back, switch on a good show or movie, and simply bask in the presence of a new world with characters you can grow to love, or immerse yourself in situations that leave you clinging to the edge of your seat. The wonders of being a consistent fan is endless, and as the years go by, you continue to dive into new worlds and meet new characters that span universes, dimensions, and alternate realities beyond your wildest dreams" (http://pandemimeprime.wordpress.com/2013/08/14/escapism-the-world-of-anime-film/).

It is really rare to see one person regarding the world of anime as his own, so the dark side of escapism is pretty bland, one may even believe that is doesn't really exist. The main goal of anime is just to inspire and help its viewers. 

Escapism is an unavoidable condition when watching anime, but its effects are not really that severe. Seeking escapism is natural to human beings, since humans get tired of the conventional reality that is this world, some people revert to escapism habits such as watching anime.

B. Addiction

Addiction is a mental condition in which one is very attached in certain substance or activity, examples are drugs, alcohol, gambling, and of course, getting hooked up on a TV show. Anime is addicting, a lot of people, especially teenagers get hooked up on it. In the article Anime Addiction Problems, written by Kaya, she said that anime has basically become her life, she prefers watching anime instead of eating, or any other normal beings would do. She said to herself that she would stop, but she always ended up failing.

As she said "I do have a serious addiction to anime and I spend a considerable amount of time reading manga as well. Lately I feel like it is going overboard of a normal pastime. Instead of living my life I just watch the toons, every night and day I promise myself to stop and yet have been having relapses every time.(http://www.teenhelp.org/forums/f124-addictive-behaviours/t94427-anime-addiction-problems/).

Indeed addiction is very common to anime viewers especially teenagers, this causes them to be mentally and physically unhealthy. But this condition can easily avoided if one is capable of managing his time, and controlling himself. Also, kids who are easily addicted to these types of things like anime, are mostly the ones who are isolated and antisocial, if one is socially active, he would not be easily be addicted to anime. But thanks to the progress of the social community today, even anime addicts, otherwise known as "Otakus", even have their own organizations today. They unite not to become more addicted to anime, but to control their addiction.

Although there is still some slight negative effects in watching anime, it is still recommended for children to watch it, because watching brings out more good effects than bad, and here are the reasons why.


Reasons for Why  Teenagers  Should Watch Anime

Anime Is Socially Beneficial

It may sound ironic, because many people believe that anime causes isolation and behavioral problems , but because of the progressive community and technology in the world today, anime viewers around the world can share their experiences in social media websites, forums, conventions, and such. In the article The Good Effects of Anime on The Viewers, written by an anonymous author, he said that anime unites all its fans around the world. They connect through the internet, or by going to conventions and events. Many relationships also are founded because of the similar attachment of people to anime.

As he said, "Anime fans, like many media-specific fans, unite around their common love of a genre. Many gather online and at anime conventions around the world. Early anime fans pioneered the use of the Internet to share and discuss their favorite videos. At anime conventions, creative approaches are encouraged, such as making and wearing homemade costumes based on anime characters. Friendships, romances and even marriages have grown out of anime fandom" (http://www.ehow.com/list_6818727_good-effects-anime-viewers.html).

There many sites and groups on social media websites that unite in their growing fascination to Japanese animations. Examples of these websites are otaku.com, Anime Otaku Club, and many other countless organizations that welcome the so called addicts to anime today. This proves that anime is not only deserving to people around the world, but it is also needed.

It is rare to see the stereo typical anime addict in our world today, the kind that is always at home, never takes a bath, and only has fictional friends. Indeed technology and the progressive community of our world today are the reasons why even simple problems like anime addiction can easily be solved and controlled.

It Makes its Viewers Interested in Art

Anime could also inspire people in terms of their art.  Many who aspires to be an artist got their inspiration from anime characters. In the article The Effects of Anime on Students, written by Amy McNulty, she said that those who are inspired by anime or manga usually are driven by their desire to create a character and a story of their own someday. While some teachers of art may not agree with the so called art style of anime, they still believe that those who like to use the anime art style is also a way to introduce other children to other types of art.

As she stated, "Many students interested in anime pursue an interest in art. These students are often interested in designing their own anime characters and creating their own manga (Japanese-style comic books). While some art teachers may be frustrated with these students' desire to draw only in the large-eyed, cartoonish anime style, an increased interest in art is an opportunity to introduce these students to other types of art. Teachers can explain that even anime artists must be able to draw lifelike drawings to be able to convey movement and poses realistically." (http://www.ehow.com/info_8177537_effects-anime-students.html).

Anime has its own unique and creative art style, while some people might disregard this statement, it is a fact that Japanese animations developed its own style of creating characters. Every characters in an anime show is different, but they are also the same. Their similarities include the large eyes and exaggerated style of hair, but their differences are to how their eyes are drawn, and if their body parts are proportionate. This basic structure of anime characters can inspire many people around the world, especially children.

In art, there is really no restrictions. Anime offers the students a unique and new way to express their feelings and emotions into making anime characters, and constructing deep and immersive worlds where these characters live in.

It Encourages Multiculturism

Viewers could learn the basic culture of Japan when they watch anime. In the article The Good Effects of Anime on The Viewers, written by an anonymous author, there he stated that those who admire the diversity of anime, could also learn the history, culture, and life of the Japanese people as some anime's plots are centered around these points. But not only in Japan, the setting of anime shows are different, some are in medieval times, and present times in other countries such as Russia, Great Britain, etc. or in some fictional places that are based on real ones.

As he stated, "Audiences around the world have embraced anime, which includes views of Japanese history, religion, and tradition. This may lead viewers to seek out and understand the culture of other nations." (http://www.ehow.com/list_6818727_good-effects-anime-viewers.html).

One good example of anime that encourages multiculturism is the anime show called "Kingdom", in the article Kingdom, written by Lesley Aeschliman, there she gave the synopsis of Kingdom, it is basically an anime show about the history of China. Of course, since it is a show designed for teenagers, they added fiction and powers to the main characters in order to attract its teenage audiences. 

As she said "Kingdom is set in the Warring States period of China. The beginning of the story focuses on two war orphans, Xin and Piao, who are servants for the head of a village. In their free time, they like to battle each other with wooden swords; both boys also share a dream of becoming famous generals and escaping from their servant life. One day, a soldier sees them and talks with them about their dueling" (http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art176912.asp).

Kingdom is a show that aims to entertain and at the same time make the audiences knowledgeable about the ancient history of China. The plot of this anime adds up to the learning factor of anime shows today. Almost most of the anime out there encourages multiculturism, except the ones that has a fictional world as its setting of course.

When one is inspired and captivated by a plot from an anime show, he will be curious about the setting, and history of a certain place or event, then he will research about the culture about the setting he was inspired with. Anime could encourage multiculturism as most of its plots and settings are actually based on real countries and certain events. This will make the viewer diversified and knowledgeable about the other races and countries in the world, thus making him multicultural.

Chapter 1

A.  Background of the Study

    
Anime is one of the most popular source of entertainment in the world. In the article “Japanese Anime Inflluence on World” an anonymous author mentions how, anime, known from its other term, Japanese Animation, is very influential to our world today, especially in the Western countries. Many anime shows are being adapted into different movies or Television series in the United States. It is also influential to other products like in video games, books, and music. 

According to the author of the article, “Japanese anime influence can be seen all over the world, especially in the western countries. It is common to come across some commercial western adaptations of Japanese anime, like in comics, books, games, apparel, music and even in snacks. As the Westerners got exposed the other facets of Japanese culture plus their animations, it was to leave a significant impact on them” (http://www.anime-commit.com/japanese-anime-influence.html). 


Most of the population of our world today mainly gets influenced by the Western ones, so as the Western countries got fascinated by Japanese animated shows, the rest of the world followed.

The majority of anime viewers are kids and teenagers. According to the article “Why are So Many Anime Characters are Teenagers”, written by an anonymous writer , it is mainly kids and teenagers that give anime its income through the years. Most of the protagonists of anime shows are teenagers, so girls and boys who are going through adolescence can vastly relate to them. 

These protagonists also serve as inspirational role models for our young viewers to look up to when they grow up. “The majority of anime viewers are children and adolescents. Children characters provide imaginary friends and role-models for viewers to relate to and respect. While certain anime viewers appreciate story and character development and desire narratives that vary from the typical, the majority of anime viewers enjoy familiar, pleasant anime that doesn’t challenge convention or expectation too much”(http://www.animenation.net/blog/2010/12/28/ask-john-why-are-so-many-anime-characters-teenagers/).

 It is pretty seldom to see adults watching anime shows; it has always been children, especially in their adolescence who watches anime in order to be inspired be imaginative.

 Most teenagers prefer anime over Western cartoons. In the article “Which Prefer Anime Over Cartoons?”, written by an anonymous author, they asked a question whether teenagers prefer anime or Western cartoons. Most of the people voted for anime, mainly because of character development, the depth of the story, realistic outcomes of the plot, and anime’s focus on teenage relationships. Those who preferred anime over cartoons, said they also like cartoon shows like Spongebob or Fairly Odd Parents, but most of these cartoons only have humour, unlike the Japanese animated shows.

 “Anime, by far. While I do enjoy the silly and mock antics of cartoons, I still appreciate how anime series have more complex plots, more well-written characters, and the fact that most anime series are aimed at teenage to adult crowd, in general” (http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/random/answers/show/510036/which-prefer-anime-cartoon). The main reason why teenagers prefer anime more is mainly about the depth, adolescents want to experience the thrill of being immersed in a really realistic and yet fictional world that is in anime shows.

 However, in spite of the good effects anime has on its viewers, the researcher observes that anime shows may sometimes lead to negative attitudes such as escapism and addiction. Other anime shows may sometimes be too good, as some teenagers, especially the ones with the social problems may find themselves be very addicted to anime. Because of anime’s immersive stories, other kids may want to be in a fictional world, rather than in the real one, this may lead to isolation and antisocial behaviour.

 A problem that the researcher foresees is that some people might think that anime is bad for our society, specifically for kids and teenagers. Parents might discourage their kids to watch anime, because of its negative effects on them, not only addiction and isolation, but also getting into relationships at their young age. Therefore, having background knowledge in anime and the negative attitudes of children will further increase the knowledge about the connection between the two.

The purpose if this research is to determine the negative effects of watching anime, and if they can affect the mental and social aspects of kids, and to decide if whether teenagers and children should watch anime.

B.  Statement of the Problem

This study aims to answer this question:

1. What are the negative effects in watching anime?

2. Can watching anime affect the mental and social aspects of kids?

3. Should teenagers and children watch anime?

C.  Significance of the Study

Parents. This research paper would be able to help parents who have children that is about to their stage of adolescence. This would help them by making them decide if they will allow and encourage their kids in watching anime, or to ban and discourage them. This is significant to them as this research paper will discuss if anime shows could really give major mental and social effects on children.

Anime Viewers. People who watch anime will be helped if they read this study. They will consider the effects and choose whether they agree or not to the supposed answer of the statement of the problem. This research is significant to them as this paper would help them reflect on effects of anime has on them.

Non-anime Fans. Knowledge about this study should help people who haven’t anime since birth decide whether their decision to not watch anime is right or wrong. This study may not be that significant to them, but they could still use this information someday.

Future Researchers. This study could be significant to future researchers as this would help them make similar observations and statements about the said topic. There is no crucial need for the topic to be further researched on to, but their future studies might discover or uncover any information that can be related to anime watching.

D.  Scope and Delimitation

   The purpose if this research is to determine the negative effects of watching anime, and if they can affect the mental and social aspects of kids, and to decide if whether teenagers and children should watch anime.

  Due to some constraints, this study will no longer focus on other effects of anime such as homophobia, cosplay, and toonophilia. The researcher believes that addiction, and escapism as the main, and applicable effect to teenagers and children. It is also to give more emphasis and clarification on the said effects.

E.   Materials and Methods

 
Information and data that are relevant to the study were gathered from a variety of articles from different sites on the internet, such as http://www.animenation.net/, http://www.fanpop.com/, and www.anime-commit.com.

 
 The researcher will explain how anime could affect the social and mental aspects of kids, and its impact on their lives by the methods of reading articles related to the subject, and watching Japanese animated shows. The researcher will establish a connection between Japanese animation, and how it may lead to addiction.

F.   Definition of Terms

Anime. Japanese animated productions that feature hand-drawn and computer animations. It is one of most popular source of entertainment in the world.

Addiction. Continued repetition of behaviour that may cause minor or major negative effects to one’s self.

Manga. Japanese comics that has its own and unique style compared to the Western ones. Developed back in 19^th century.

Otaku. People who have obsessive interests to Japanese animations and comics.

Blogpost #8 Virtual Wife

Each and everyone of us has our own unique attractions in life. Some people may find other people's attractions weird and creepy, while others may not. In my previous blog,  I talked about a man who married a pillow with an anime character imprinted on it. Now I found this rather unique guy whose attractions may seem uncanny to others too, a guy who is in love and married a video game character.

I read this article entitled The One About the Guy Who Married a Video Game, written by Owen Good from kotaku.com. There he talked about a man who married a female character from a video game. The unnamed guy is Japanese, he married Nene Anegasaki, a virtual girlfriend from the game Love Plus. His wedding is held in  Guam, there is also a reception held in Japan. The wedding was just like a real wedding, with a priest, his relatives were, and the media was also present. 

As he quoted "The unnamed man took his DS and the game to Guam where he said vows with to Nene Anegasaki, one of three virtual girlfriends featured in Love Plus. " I think the guy is really in love with the video game character, but I didn't think a wedding was necessary. Maybe the guy wanted a little fame and recognition that's why he held this wedding. Some people also rode along with it because they find this event unique.

I researched on about the reason why someone would fall in love and marry a girl from an anime based video game. I found this article entitled Fetish of the Week: Schediaphilia (Toonophilia), written by Willow Monroe from zzinsider.com. There he discussed what Toonophilia is and what are the reasons someone would have this. Toonophiles are basically guys who love and are sexually aroused to cartoon, especially anime characters. Unfortunately, since this is a philia, there is really no legitimate reason why someone would have this, the easiest reason is because of lack of physical and emotional contacts with actual humans. Since humans and virtual characters can't have physical interactions, toonophiles would simply revert to masturbation, or for someone's case, marry a virtual character.

As he quoted "These fetishists get their juices flowing and hearts and fists pumping at the sight of their fave sexy cartoon characters. Sexy for the Toonophile need not be a blatantly erotic character like Jessica Rabbit, or Betty Boop, rather, the subject of affection and desire can be any animated or sketched figure from Bugs Bunny, to Ms Pacman. Due to the absence of physical contact between humans and cartoon characters, most schediaphiles practice masturbation." I sometimes too am attracted to anime characters, but I'm not that attracted to be called a toonophile. In fact, many people are also very attracted to cartoon or anime characters. But only some people are serious enough to marry a lifeless form of entertainment.

I can't say that the Japanese guy who married a virtual girl, and some other toonophiles are bad. Because that's just the way are in life, there's nothing we could do to change them. The only thing we could do is accept them for who they really are, and simply move on with life.

Blogpost #7 A Deeper Look In Anime Addiction

Addiction is very common among teenagers and adults. Some of us are addicted to material things like drugs, beer, and sex. While some of us are addicted to abstract things like gambling, playing video games, and watching our favorite shows. Of course, there is a thing called anime addiction.

Otakus, simply known as anime addicts, are people who devote most of their day into watching anime, talking about anime, writing about anime, etc. The question that remains is, why is anime addicting? Anime is different from addictions like drugs and gambling, but why do some people still devote themselves to anime. I'm here to find out.

As I was browsing, I found this article entitled Why is Anime Addicting?, by Henry Hsieh, on articlesphere.com. There he talked about three things that makes anime addicting. One being the characters, and the others being the plot and animation. Among those three, the most significant cause of anime addiction is the characters. Anime characters are far different from any other characters from T.V shows, they provide a realistic and human like behavior. That's why so many people can relate to anime characters because the way they act is similar to the way we act in the real world. Even the protagonists of anime shows are from being perfect, this symbolizes that anyone ordinary can be the hero of their own story some day.

As he quoted "The first, and probably the most compelling reason of all, is the sheer beauty by which the makers create their characters. Out of all cartoons in the world, it is only in Japanese anime that I have seen such well rounded and realistic characters that are so distinctly human. Anime does not delude the viewers into thinking that someone can be perfect. The heroes and heroines in anime, beautiful as they may be, have their own flaws and insecurities. They're not like the princesses in the cartoon fairy tales who are epitomes of grace and goodness, and are thereby incredibly flat and drab. Anime heroes and heroines are human, and their humanity makes them all the more interesting." Just like ordinary people, Goku from Dragon Ball Z, and Naruto from Naruto Shippuden has their own flaws just like a human does. Goku and Naruto are very strong when it comes to sheer will and determination, but they also have negative things like lack of intelligence, much like any other person can relate to.

I now conducted my research to the scientific reason why people become addicts in the first place. I read this article entitled What is Addiction? What Causes Addiction?, written by an anonymous author on medicalnewstoday.com. There he talked about that addiction is caused by psychoactive (capable of affecting mental ability) substances like drugs and alcohol. But in our world today, even activities like gambling, browsing the internet, and watching anime can be classified as addictions because they also cause psychoactive effects in our brain, much like what drugs can do. The cause of addiction can be depression, rejection and anxiety, these are the things we feel when we are addicted to activities said earlier. 

As he quoted " In the past addiction used to refer just to psychoactive substances that cross the blood-brain barrier, temporarily altering the chemical balance of the brain; this would include alcohol, tobacco and some drugs. A considerable number of psychologists, other health care professionals and lay people now insist that psychological dependency, as may be the case with gambling, sex, internet, work, exercise, etc. should also be counted as addictions, because they can also lead to feelings of guilt, shame, hopelessness, despair, failure, rejection, anxiety and/or humiliation." We could say that anime is quite psychoactive, because they sometimes cause negative feelings. I'm just a causal anime watcher, not an addict. I can control my action towards anime unlike the anime addicts who can't. But anime addiction is not really that serious when compared to alcohol and drug addiction. Drugs can mainly cause imbalance in the physical, mental and social aspects of a person, while in anime addiction, there is really no major effect to a human whatsoever.



I am not really an anime addict, but I think I'm close to being one. Despite of all the scientific jibber jabber, if there is a chance I could be an anime addict, I have no worries because anime addiction is not all that bad, of course it has it's downsides, but what thing in this world doesn't have a downside? In the end it all comes to ones self, if he chooses to be controlled by his addiction, or for him to control his addiction.

Blogpost #6 Anime as A Form Escapism

At some point in our lives, we all grew tired of all the problems and hardships of reality. Some of us escape by playing video games, listening to music, and by watching our favorite T.V shows. As for me, my form is escapism in this world is by watching my favorite anime shows. Anime like Dragon Ball Z, and Naruto are my means of escape into this world, because every time I watch these shows, I feel like I am a part of their world, not this one.

As I researched, I found this article entitled Anime and Escapism, by an anonymous author from gargarstegosaurus.com. There he talked about how anime is his best form of escapism in this world. American cartoons  like Spongebob, Futurama, and Hey Arnold! may be ones escape from this world, but they are not as good as the anime. He said that in anime, the stories are deeper and the characters are more developed compared to the ones in Western cartoons. We could also express are deep and hidden emotions when watching anime, these are just few of the things we could do when watching anime, not in the real world.



As he quoted "Anime also gave me a variety of escapism that I feel not many have it for. The society in which I grew up in is a society which does not value open emotion, unless its a show of anger. I’m not bitter about it or anything, I don’t blame my parents because it was a wider cultural phenomena, but as a result I’m not too good about expressing emotion, at least honestly." I for one can relate to what he is saying, because anime is also my escape. Every time I watch some emotional scenes in anime, I also end up emotional and fragile myself. It's not that I can't express feelings in the real world, I can just express my feelings better when I'm watching anime.


While researching on why we seek escapism in this world, I found this articles entitled The Reason Why We Seek Escapism, written by Michael Kwan from beyondtherhetoric.com. There he talked about how each and everyone of us seek escapism differently, but the reasons are all the same. And as we grow older, we may find ourselves experiencing boredom from our daily routines in life, it is in the human nature to seek to something different every now and then. That's why some us escape, we are simply tired of the patterns of our daily lives. We do not submit to escapism because we are miserable in reality, we just want to experience different things.

As he quoted "And that, at its crux, is why so many of us seek escapism. There’s nothing wrong with that whatsoever. It doesn’t mean that we don’t appreciate the lives that we currently enjoy. It doesn’t mean that we don’t appreciate our steady jobs, the roofs over our heads, and the delicious foods on our tables. It just means that sometimes, we want something different." After watching a variety of anime, I agree with this statement. Because every time I watch different shows, I become a part of different worlds by just using my imagination. And when the show is over, it's time to move on to reality.

We can't solve our problems and be happy by just watching our favorite shows, sure watching them could help us in a way, but it does not solve our problem entirely. We can be immersed into different worlds, and we can experience a variety of emotions when watching anime, but escaping from this harsh reality can not solve our problems, we need to face them in order to surpass them.

Blogpost#5 The Effects of Cosplay

As a child, we've all been fascinated about wearing a costume of our favorite fictional characters. But it is different for cosplayers, cause until know, they still dress up as their favorite characters, some of them even makes a living out of cosplaying. Cosplay short for "Costume Play", is a some kind of art where people dress up as characters from a fictional world, the most popular source of cosplay ideas is mainly from anime characters, in fact the Japanese even coined the term "Cosplay".

I myself have never experienced dressing up as someone from a TV show or anime series, because it's not really my interest. But that doesn't stop me from discussing about it's effects on our society.

As I was searching on about the effects of cosplay to our society, I encountered this article, A Cosplayed Life: Subcultural Influences on Racial and Heteronormative Structures in Everyday Life, from digitalcommons.uconn.edu, by James Joseph-Westcott Hogan. There he talked about the way cosplayers dress up to anyone they like, strengthens the resistance to gender and race restrictions. There is really no rules and regulations in cosplay. A male can dress up to anything or anyone he likes, may it be from a fire breathing dragon to a curvy and beautiful female icon, the same goes with females. 

As he quoted "By examining the interactions of cosplayer's social exchanges with other cosplayers where they display knowledge of their character or anime in general, I demonstrate how the appropriation of cultural symbols-anime or manga episodes and characters- and their subsequent transformation into cosplays can develop resistances to dominant notions of gender and race in both the participants engaged in cosplay and those that witness the phenomenon." This tells us that cosplay can be viewed as a good thing in our society. Some people think that cosplay is a way out, because in a convention where cosplay is needed, people can dress up to whatever or whoever they want to be, without being discriminated by society. 

But sometimes, cosplay can also bring out the problems it is trying to avoid, such as cosplay bullying. This is where cosplayers, particularly the homosexual ones, are getting cyber bullied and discriminated just because they are dressing up to someone in the opposite sex.  The root of the problems are homophobes.

I researched on why are there even homophobes in this world, and why do they hate on homosexuals, particularly the cosplayers. I read this article called Homophobes May be Hidden Homosexuals, by Jeanna Bryner on livescience.com. There she quoted another person who talked about that the homophobes in this world are basically homosexuals themselves. The main point of the study is to why are some people hating on gays? The answer is simple, they hate on homosexuals because they hate themselves. They sometimes feel jealous and envious of gays because they can express what they truly feel, and homophobes don't have the courage and admittance to do so. 

As she quoted "Sometimes people are threatened by gays and lesbians because they are fearing their own impulses, in a sense they 'doth protest too much,'" Ryan told LiveScience. "In addition, it appears that sometimes those who would oppress others have been oppressed themselves, and we can have some compassion for them too, they may be unaccepting of others because they cannot be accepting of themselves.".
I think most, not all of the homophobes are homosexuals themselves. Most of the cosplay bullies are probaly homophobes, they hate the homosexual cosplayers because deep inside, they know they want to dress up to someone they idolize in the opposite sex too, they just don't know it yet.



Even though I've never experienced Cosplay, I can understand it's effects in our world today. . For some, Cosplay is like their freedom, it's their way of becoming who they want to be in life, regardless of race and gender.

Blogpost#4 The Sociology of Attack on Titan

We all have our fair share of favorite T.V shows, ranging from reality shows to T.V series. But my favorite show from last year  is the actually the anime called, Attack on Titan, also known as Shingeki no Kyojin in Japanese. It is an anime set on medieval times in an alternate world, where as humans stay inside three layers of walls, in order to protect them from the giants whose main goal is to eat humans, these giants are called Titans. Our protagonist is Eren Jaeger, his mother eaten by a titan, and now his main goal is to annihilate all the titans.

I found the show very addicting, once you've watched the first episode, I can guarantee you that you will be very hooked up with it. You'll eventually find yourself impatiently waiting for the next episode to come out. But there's something unusual about this anime, it was able to attract many audiences, unlike the mediocre anime, where it could only attract Japanese and other die hard anime fans. This one is different, it was able to make all kinds of audience  be addicted to it, and I'm here to discuss how.

As I was going through some articles that discussed how Attack on Titan was able to attract audiences, I found the article What is Attack on Titan?, by Ryan Lambie from denofgeek.com. The article quickly got my attention because the author's statements were very accurate, it talks about how the main antagonists of the show, the titans, has pretty much no objective and reasoning at all, their main goal is just to eat humans, thus making them irrational. We are captivated by the show because we fear irrationality, and when people experience fear in a show, they will surely be allured by it.

 As he quoted  "What makes the Titans additionally threatening is their lack of reason. Seemingly driven by no other purpose than to hunt and eat, they appear to have no intellect or society at all; in the anime, they're occasionally shown shambling around the countryside, twitching involuntarily. Who are they? Where did they come from? Isayama is in no rush to tell us, and that's what makes the story so unsettling and engrossing."
Every show has a strong point, and Attack on Titan's strongest point is its ability to make audience be engulfed in curiosity and fear. The audience knows so little about the antagonists of show, and besides the Titans, there are still a lot mysteries that needs to be solved. 

I browsed other articles that explained why people want to experience fear when watching T.V shows like Attack on Titan. I found this article entitled Why We Love to be Scared, by Charles Q. Choi on livescience.com. In the article, he discussed that when people experience fear, and there is no really chance of getting harmed, we feel this adrenaline rushing all over our body, but we are not scared, we actually like having this sensation where we feel very pumped and excited. We experience this when watching shows like Attack on Titan, because we are watching this show from a television, we know that there is harm that will come to us, but we still experience little fear  because we are really into the show. 


As he stated "If the brain knows there is no risk of really being harmed, it experiences this adrenaline rush as enjoyable, Rudd explained. The key to enjoying such thrills lies in knowing how to properly gauge the risk of harm". When most of us experience fear in reality, we end up trembling and nervous. But when we experience fear from just watching shows and movies, the feeling of being scared is different. We actually want to be scared when we watch shows like these, because when the credits roll, nothing actually happened to us in real life, but we still get to experience fear by just sitting and staring at a screen.  



Every show has its way with the audiences. Attack on Titan was able to make audiences scared and curious, and be immersed in its fictional world. Only a few anime, heck, only a few T.V shows today can have to ability to do what Attack on Titan can with its audience. This makes Attack on Titan, not just one of the greatest anime of all time, but the one of the greatest creations of mankind.

Blogpost#3 Do You Take This Pillow as Your Wife?

They say love comes in different forms, it can either be to an inanimate object or to a fictional character, or both. I too have my fair share of attractions to fictional characters, especially the anime girls. My fictional crush in this world is a character from the Attack on Titan anime called Mikasa. I'm not really that obsessed with her, I just find it peaceful if she is my wallpaper icon, and sometimes I wish she was real and she became my girlfriend, but I know that I could never live that fantasy. The case however, is different for a random citizen in Japan, as he is a man who lives his fantasy.

According to the article Strange: 28-Year Old Japanese Man Marries Pillow, written by Daniel from informationng.com, " The 28-year old Otaku (a Japanese term that roughly translates to somewhere between ‘obsessive’ and ‘nerd’), took that love a step further  by getting married to his pillow in a special ceremony that was well publicized in the local media after fitting it out with a wedding dress for the service in front of a local priest. The pillow has an image of Fate Testarossa, from the ‘magical girl’ anime series Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha. "

The man is actually a Korean and his name is Lee Jin-gyu, and he fell for the anime character, Fate Testarossa, who is a strong willed person and a very loving and caring person for her friends and family.  Lee also takes the pillow to dinner and the theme park. This being said, the man is very obsessed with his pillow, and he treats it as a normal person. Majority of the population may find this weird, but I don't find this particularly weird, because I heard a case like this before, the difference between this case and the one I heard about is, Lee married a pillow, while the other one I heard about married a video game character. 

Another statement by FLufee from smosh.com, from his article Man Marries Pillow, said that "This man apparently decided to get married to his pillow shortly after another man in Japan got married to his virtual girlfriend. Well, at least if you talk to a virtual girlfriend she will reply -- there's not a lot of pillow talk to be had with a pillow, hah see what I did there?".

We speculate that Lee did this just to get famous, but it is not guaranteed, for all we know, he could just be a man with a brain disorder or something. In my opinion Lee did not do this just to get famous, I believe he has "Toonophilia", a phillia where a real person gets really attracted to a cartoon or anime character.

If you ask me if this is right or wrong, I could only say either. It is good that this man does what he really wants, despite of this world's laws and rules. But it is wrong to take things this far just because of your obsession to an anime character. If there is one thing that this phenomena tells us, it's that anime is very influential to us, our addiction to it could take us to unusual places, these places could either be good or bad, the important thing is that they help us shape our personality.