Hello, y’all! Before we kick off this article, I want to take a moment to finally introduce myself. My name is Ian/Nia, and I am one of the staff members for Magical Stage! It’s very nice to meet you. 💙
I’m a filmmaker, photographer, and writer with a deep passion for art: especially the likes of animation, movies, and games. As you can likely tell, it’s been quite a long while since we last had an article on here. In that time, I found myself wondering what I could possibly write for my very first article ever since my good friend, Build, was gracious enough to ask me to write for this wonderful blog that he started. I’ve never had an opportunity like this before, and I’ve decided I no longer want to let said opportunity go to waste.
Here, I want to speak honestly about the ways anime has impacted my life for the better, while also hopefully beginning my personal journey to become more confident in myself as a writer & creator.
How I Discovered Anime
If anyone knows me to any degree, you’re definitely well acquainted with the fact that I adore animation. I am of the belief that animation is the world’s greatest artform; a timeless testament to human creativity and artistic achievement. I’ve loved it for as long as I can remember; especially thanks to growing up with Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks’ films, along with watching all kinds of cartoons on Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, or Toon Disney. Many of the films & shows I experienced during my childhood and adolescence I still hold dear to my heart today, and did a lot to greatly influence my love for the medium.
Whenever my friends talk about getting into anime from a young age, I admittedly can’t help but feel a little bit jealous of them. My only real exposure to anime as a kid was thanks to well… 4Kids. Yeah. We are really going there, my friends. I had no concept of animation even existing outside of America at the time, and the incredibly Americanized & sanitized dubs 4Kids pumped out surely did nothing to challenge that perception. Due to all this, I simply registered shows such as Pokémon, Sonic X, Yu-Gi-Oh!, or Kirby: Right Back at Ya! as simply just being good ol’ cartoons in my noggin. I didn’t get the chance to watch something that was far more respectful of anime and its legacy such as Toonami growing up, a decision I’m sure altered the trajectory of my life. It was all because it was part of Adult Swim, a block that my mother adamantly refused to let me watch because of how young I was, and the fact it required me to stay up late at night. Damn you, Mom!
However, let’s take a moment to fast-forward to 2009. What’s significant about this year in particular, you may ask? Well, it’s the year that Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film at the time, Ponyo, was released here in the United States. Experiencing that in theaters was where I feel my journey with anime truly began. It was a film that didn’t look, move, or feel like anything I had seen up to that point. The moment I saw that film, I was taking my first step into a whole new world. Since then, I have seen every single one of Studio Ghibli’s films (aside from Earwig and the Witch, which I have no interest in lmao). Miyazaki still remains one of my favorite filmmakers to ever grace the medium, and as one of my biggest influences & inspirations. Ponyo is still a film I love dearly even to this day, and is one that fills me with such boundless childlike joy & wonder whenever I revisit it. None of this would’ve happened if my mother didn’t take me to see it in theaters. So as an apology from the previous paragraph: thank you, Mom!
In that following period of time, I surprisingly didn’t find myself watching too much anime besides Ghibli’s works, or the odd anime film here and there. However, all of that changed when in December 2016, I discovered a certain show I loved so much that I watched the whole damn thing in just a couple of days. That show was the one that put the (at the time) up-and-coming studio, Trigger, on the map. I’m talking about one of my favorite anime of all-time: Kill la Kill.
If Ponyo opened the door into a larger world, then Kill la Kill kicked that door right off the goddamn hinges with absolutely no apology. I fell head over heels for this show, and it completely redefined for me what I believed animation could be capable of. I had never seen a show so hot-blooded & shamelessly theatrical, yet so inventive, so full of heart, and filled with so many themes that resonate with me even to this day. It really is no wonder it left such an unshakable impact on me. Much like how Ponyo birthed my undying love for the works of Hayao Miyazaki & Studio Ghibli; Kill la Kill absolutely did the same for me with Hiroyuki Imaishi, and the trailblazing legacy left behind by him and countless other staff at Gainax & Trigger.
2017 was the year I finally took upon myself to delve deeper into anime as a medium, and it is a time of my life I still look upon with great fondness. I was able to experience several series that still remain as some of my absolute favorites to this day, including but not limited to: FLCL, Cowboy Bebop, Gurren Lagann, K-On!, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Madoka Magica, Serial Experiments Lain, Gunbuster, and many others. From that point on, the rest truly was history.
How Anime Helped Me Find Home
For most of my life, I was a pretty lonely kid. I never really felt like I fit in anywhere, and it was incredibly difficult for me to make friends or connect with others, whether it be online or off. Being black and autistic made me an easy target for bullying, harassment, racism, and ostracization, especially during my middle school years. During high school, I vividly remember many days when I’d eat lunch by myself in the empty corner of a table in the cafeteria. It was a depressing, isolating period of my life, one which I’m more than happy to leave in the past where it belongs.
When I say that anime helped me find my home, I really do mean it. Had I never discovered the medium, I wouldn’t have been able to meet some of my closest, most precious friends. On top of all of that, I also never would have gotten the chance to become a part of all kinds of different communities & spaces that welcomed me with open arms. One of those communities is certainly Definitive Anime Chat…thing, a Discord server also created by Build! Joining that server nearly six years ago changed my life. Being there particularly allowed me to gain a much deeper appreciation for anime production, discover a good deal of anime I otherwise likely wouldn’t have gone out of my way to experience, and form some of my longest-lasting bonds. And of course, had I never joined DAC, I wouldn’t be here writing on this blog right now!
Beyond that, I’ve been able to have so many wonderful memories in the near-decade since I truly dedicated myself to getting into anime; memories I know that I will hold close to my heart for a very long time. The feeling of making a new friend because of our shared love for our favorite series. All the dozens of shows & movies I’ve watched with friends, whether it’s in a group or individually. Getting the chance to see plenty of anime films in theaters, new and old. This doesn’t even come close to conveying the full breadth of the sense of joy and belonging anime has brought to my life, but just thinking about all of this makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I am deeply grateful I got to make these memories, especially with such amazing friends.
Gratitude, and Looking Towards the Future
As this article nears its conclusion, you’re probably wondering why I chose a shot from Tamako Market as the thumbnail for this article. Aside from it being an absolutely lovely series helmed by one of my favorite directors, I felt compelled to do so because I feel like it is a series that encapsulates a wonderful sense of community. All of Naoko Yamada’s works are so warm and lovingly crafted in a way only she is capable of bringing to life, and Tamako Market is certainly no exception.
I wanted to highlight these two small moments from Tamako Love Story, the film which serves as the conclusion to the series. Even if you’ve never seen the series before (if you haven’t, what are you doing? Go watch it right now!), you can clearly see how happy everyone in the market is to see Tamako. The Usagiyama Shopping District isn’t just a mere place for Tamako, or anyone else running a shop there. It’s where she was raised: a place with a rich history, and a deeply felt sense of belonging to all who are a part of it. I feel that way whenever I get the chance to talk to my newfound friends every day, remembering how they are always there for me to wish me a good morning no matter how bad my days may get. They are people whom I love dearly, look up to, and have molded me into the person I am today.
There is so much more art I want to experience, so many more people I want to meet, and so much of my life I have still yet to live. I want to become further rooted in & serve the community that has done so much for me over these past several years, and I see writing here on Magical Stage as a part of that. Art has truly special, irreplaceable power to save lives & bring people together, and I hope that if nothing else, what I wrote today gave you a glimpse as to why. Thanks to the love, kindness, and compassion so many within the anime community have shown me, I no longer feel alone. I feel like for the first time in my life, I have something I could call a family.
If you wanna ask me anything, please feel free to leave a comment too! I’ll be sure to respond as soon as possible. Thank you all so much for reading, and have yourselves a truly magical day! 💙
It’s great to gain confidence by publishing an article with pretty personal experiences and feelings. I first started watching anime through Dragon Ball but also Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Sonic X and Kirby too. Would’ve been cool if you had more details on if you’ve attended in-person events related to anime besides theatre viewings, and if yes, how those shaped your view of how anime builds community. Using examples from a specific anime is also nice. You could write even more about Tamako Market specifically later on.
Thank you so much for your reply! Your feedback means a lot, especially as a fellow staff member here. I actually haven’t gone to a single con in my life, but that is certainly something I want to fix sooner rather than later. Cons look awesome and I’d love to get the chance to see what experiencing one would be like, especially since several of my friends have attended them at least once. Central Florida has no shortage of weebs, but it could be cool if I could catch something out of state too.