Whenever my best friend, Kevwe, mentioned he was watching anime I would smirk and murmur “Cartoons” under my breath just to piss him off. If he heard, it would be a bonus because he would begin a spirited defense of anime and how serious it was. I never took him seriously since I had better things to do than watch cartoons. It’s funny how ideas change.

Before anime, there was manga. I called them comic books even if they were a bit different. By the time I was introduced to manga, I had already passed the stage of comic books. I had devoured the Archie comics, multiple graphic novels and the famous Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Actual novels came next and I wasn’t ready to fall back to comics after discovering the beauty of books without pictures. So, I stubbornly refused manga.

That was the same way I felt about anime. I didn’t want to spend the time I could use on actual movies to watch cartoons. I was really stubborn about it. But I would always listen to Kevwe tell his stories. He would mention characters I did not know like they were his family, talking about their lives and adventures with so much enthusiasm that I didn’t have the heart to tell him I didn’t understand anything.

Some part of what he had been saying must have stuck because one day at 2:00 a.m., I was up and looking for what to watch. After trying to watch a crappy movie, my mind went to one story he had told me which had been intriguing even if I couldn’t really picture it. It had been about Titans that ate humans. Being the kind of person that finds that stuff cool, I decided to give Attack on Titans a chance.

At first, I thought it would be difficult to pay attention to the subtitles, the voices, and the graphics on the screen at the same time.

Turns out the brain is more capable than we give it credit for.

What started as a teasing dip into the world of Japanese television animation became a full-blown dive that resulted in pulling two all-nighters to finish Season 1 and 2. To call it an obsession is too mild. I was living and breathing Attack on Titans.

Whenever I wasn’t watching it, I was thinking about watching it. I wondered about everything from the possible upcoming plot twists to how their ODM (Omni-directional maneuver) gear functioned so seamlessly. I didn’t care that I wasn’t sleeping… what was sleep when I could squeeze in one more episode before class?

Needless to say, when I realized Season 3 was yet to come, I was beyond devastated. I felt so empty. What would I do now? I went back to my normal routine of movies and series but still the hole left by Attack on Titans remained.

With finals over and a void to fill, I went back to Kevwe and begged him to suggest more anime for me to watch. I trusted his opinion on what I would like and he did not disappoint. I started and finished Death Note now and it has saturated into my soul, creating a new love for what I once scorned. I am now content that I have discovered a new past time.

Moral of the story? Don’t knock it till you try it. Give anime a chance!