Nerd Talks
“I don’t have to like One Piece and there’s nothing you can do about it” I lie to my friend as he gives the famous, dramatic and judgmental pause that most nerds give you when they’re about to dismiss your love for anime and call you a fake nerd just because you haven’t gone far in a supposed popular anime… or you probably haven’t even watched it yet…
Like, listen up! I gotta be real with ya’ll, I totally fibbed before. The truth is, I’m head over heels for One Piece! I mean, there’s just so much to love about it! From Sanji always fixated on feeding everyone, not just his buddies but even his foes, to Zoro with his chill vibes that make me adore him, all the way to Luffy and his crazy hero complex, dreaming of becoming the Pirate King and basically bringing this epic anime to a close. And get this, we’re talking about a whopping 1063 episodes and still going strong! Can you believe it?
I’m so frustrated right now and just need to vent about how I’ve been losing the mojo to chat and debate about anime, which used to be my absolute favorite thing to do.
Each time I try to dish out my opinions and someone decides that my opinions don’t matter cause I don’t watch the same genres as he does or because I haven’t watched “the GOATed animes” in his opinion, or when someone gives you the stupid dramatic pause and doesn’t allow you breathe and mentally pressures you to leave that non popular anime that makes you giddy, like “the time I got reincarnated as a slime” to watch some boring hours of “the tower of God”, which apparently you can’t enjoy if you haven’t read the manga.
We all individually watch anime for various and different reasons. for fun, for the same reason anyone watches movies and series, for the emotions packed in a way where these animations clash with reality and reality feels so much less cumbersome and hurtful, for the sake of love, some because it makes us feel like someone out there thinks just the same way we do.
But I will never understand why as much our reasons are as numerous as the various plots and genres Anime has to offer, you! Nerds think that I have to like what you like or I have to have the same fave characters as you do.
I’ve been watching anime for the past 13 years but took binging and following it up seriously 4 years ago. Started with bleach where in as much as I love Ichigo’s hard headedness, for a newbie it was a tad bit too complex for me, then I took an Anime superfan’s idea to watch “the fate series”. which frankly has a crazy boring beginning plot because you have to have an attention span of 15 seconds, whereas the average human’s attention span is just 7 seconds, to watch it.
Finally I found my first binge worthy anime “Nanatsu no Taizai” don’t fret, it simply means Seven deadly sins”, I thought my first anime crush was Shane from Bakugan, though most nerds would argue that it is not an anime, but seeing as it is a Japanese-Canadian anime I would argue that it is, but back to Shane, well the gist is he had nothing on Ban, my Lord! but this was only the beginning of my fangirl love for the amazing characters in the anime world, presently I’ll just stick to loving Eren and yes, yes, Eren is innocent (I said what I said).
Being an anime nerd in Africa isn’t easy, but being one in Nigeria is tougher, not just for the lack of huge and open communities but also because there’s a sect or clique already existing in the Naija-based anime community, from those that think if you’re not a gamer you have no business being a nerd, to the myopic fans of one piece that apparently watch nothing else(please I am not generalizing), to the community that don’t watch any other anime but the ones that make it onto twitter spaces(popular only viewers), to the manga readers who loveeeeee to spoil it for the rest of us because they always let curiosity get the best of them and finally to the ones like me that’ll watch anything as long as it has a good plot( though they’re many more cliques existing but you get the gist).
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The problem with these communities is the fact that being a part of a community is supposed to be about finding a safe space where you can express your thoughts, opinions and more, where one can ask questions about things you don’t understand, when you can ask for suggestions, ask for help, have reasonable and productive argument and all of that.
But how can one do these things, when at every turn even through digital means, you hear the mocking and judgmental tones of those who came before you or those who seem to have more time on their hands to binge stuffs that you haven’t.
This is the reason why by mere coincidence in my four years of watching anime, I only recently discovered the 5 main categories used to classify all animes, they include:
- Shonen: which refers to young boys under age 15, most times used to categorize action packed plots like One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen(this is actually the most popular viewer’s choice).
- Shojo: which is primarily aimed at a young female audience, most times used to categorize a focus on personal and romantic relationships usually in relations to magic like Fruit Basket, Nana, Kimi Ni Todoke(Usually garners lesser attention from foreign anime viewers).
- Seinen: which literally means youth and are usually targeted towards young adult men most times having a young adult male as the protagonist, some include Battle Royale, One Punch man, Berserk, Vinland Saga, Bungou Stray Dogs (most who watch these love to see themselves as some high-level nerds or Legends).
- Josei: in a strict sense refer to manga or anime marketed to an audience of adult women. though some target older women and teenagers some of them include, Pet shop of horror, Gokusen, Paradise Kiss, Nana and Yuri on Ice.
Though most of those in this category only end up as Mangas and hardly get adapted as animes though with the way I love reading them as opposed to watching them I doubt the audience in this category mind the bias.
- And finally last but never the least we have, Kodomomuke: Which literally means advertisement directed at children, examples are Doraemon, Astro Boy, and funny enough Tokyo ghoul (I was also shocked, though I want to believe this is a misplaced category but it is what it is).
Now these categories are the same as when we categorize certain movies and cartoons like for -kids, FAM, PG, PG13, and more, they are just basically a means of categorizing Japanese manga and anime by age and viewer’s choice per gender (though not limited to age or gender)
My guess is that most people prefer to categorize their favorites using these particular classifications because most animes come packed with so many emotions and plot twists and comedic reliefs that some find it hard to just categorize them as action, romance or fantasy, some of them come bi-genre or multi-genre.
There are countless reasons to dive into the world of anime and more, my fellow enthusiasts! Being a nerd entails much more than just being a fan of anime. It involves playing exhilarating games like Jump Force, indulging in the captivating world of manga, manhwa and manhua, immersing yourself in reading, cosplaying as your favorite characters, building an impressive collection, unleashing your creativity through comics and art, and so much more! The nerd-world is a realm for everyone and beyond! So, here’s my lighthearted reminder to indulge in what you love, regardless of anyone’s opinion. Remember, the only opinion that truly counts is your own and, of course, God’s. Keep embracing your nerdy passions!
