SamuraiSam
09-01-2007, 06:54 PM
Hello to everyone! This is my first post here, and I'm hoping everyone will find it a worthwhile one. Now I'm sure there's been more than one "you're never too old for Anime" topic on this forum, but I'd like to share my personal experience.
A few years ago, I was engaged to be married. It's one of those things that makes you reflect on a lot of aspects of your life, your hobbies included. At the time, I had an Anime collection that spanned nearly 300 titles. It all started when I was in grade school, and my local video store put up a small sign on a single shelf that read "Japanimation". I saw that these videos were animated, just more "cartoons" to me at the time; but they looked different. And they had strange titles like, "M.D. Geist" and "Fist of the North Star" and "Vampire Hunter D". Didn't sound like any cartoon I'd ever heard of! So with my cash and rental card in hand, I grabbed a few titles and was off to my best friends house for a Friday night of soda, NES and "Japanimation". I wasn't prepared for the content on those tapes. I found them bizarre, violent, even sexual. I thought, "this isn't what cartoons are supposed to be like!". And they weren't. They were something much more. They were fascinating. And I wanted to see more. I know that those titles may be considered sub-standard to some now, but at the time they were the greatest thing I'd even seen on tape.
Fast forward twenty years. With a wedding looming ahead, and my job, independence and responsibilities overwhelming me, it seemed the right thing to do scrape up a little extra money for the upcoming honeymoon and soon-to-be-even-higher-than-before living expenses. I figured, among other things I'd collected over the years, that my Anime collection was bound to be worth something to somebody. After all, what does a married twenty-something young professional need with a closed full of Anime? So I did something I've regretted ever since. I sold them. All of them. In one big lot. For less than most of us would pay for a couple of premium boxed sets.
And here I am. Starting all over. I'm back up to almost 50 of my favorite titles, and don't plan on stopping. The moral of the story? You're never too old for something that makes you smile. So the next time you're about to make a potentially costly decision, please pause. Looking back, when I assured my new bride that I didn't need all of those DVD and VHS tapes, the only person I was trying to convince was myself.
I think I'd like to watch Akira now...
Take Care!
A few years ago, I was engaged to be married. It's one of those things that makes you reflect on a lot of aspects of your life, your hobbies included. At the time, I had an Anime collection that spanned nearly 300 titles. It all started when I was in grade school, and my local video store put up a small sign on a single shelf that read "Japanimation". I saw that these videos were animated, just more "cartoons" to me at the time; but they looked different. And they had strange titles like, "M.D. Geist" and "Fist of the North Star" and "Vampire Hunter D". Didn't sound like any cartoon I'd ever heard of! So with my cash and rental card in hand, I grabbed a few titles and was off to my best friends house for a Friday night of soda, NES and "Japanimation". I wasn't prepared for the content on those tapes. I found them bizarre, violent, even sexual. I thought, "this isn't what cartoons are supposed to be like!". And they weren't. They were something much more. They were fascinating. And I wanted to see more. I know that those titles may be considered sub-standard to some now, but at the time they were the greatest thing I'd even seen on tape.
Fast forward twenty years. With a wedding looming ahead, and my job, independence and responsibilities overwhelming me, it seemed the right thing to do scrape up a little extra money for the upcoming honeymoon and soon-to-be-even-higher-than-before living expenses. I figured, among other things I'd collected over the years, that my Anime collection was bound to be worth something to somebody. After all, what does a married twenty-something young professional need with a closed full of Anime? So I did something I've regretted ever since. I sold them. All of them. In one big lot. For less than most of us would pay for a couple of premium boxed sets.
And here I am. Starting all over. I'm back up to almost 50 of my favorite titles, and don't plan on stopping. The moral of the story? You're never too old for something that makes you smile. So the next time you're about to make a potentially costly decision, please pause. Looking back, when I assured my new bride that I didn't need all of those DVD and VHS tapes, the only person I was trying to convince was myself.
I think I'd like to watch Akira now...
Take Care!