I am one of those nerds that came out later in life. Growing up, I was not hip to nerd culture, but I thought the things I was into at the time were the norm. Being an anime fan growing up in the Bronx, I was somewhat of an outlier. This made me feel like I belonged to an exclusive group of individuals. I was the only one I knew at my school, and the only one on my block, that was into Japanese animation. However, that exclusivity didn’t last long. I had to share anime with all of my friends, and soon everyone else got hooked as well.

My first introduction to anime was Akira. But my reaction to it might not be what you’d expect.

Of course, Akira is a very well known, and quite popular anime, but for me, it didn’t have the impact I was expecting. It is violent, has a weird story line, and the drawing is scary. But overall, I kind of found Akira boring and was disinterested in seeing anything similar.

Although, this was not a hit for me, I was still willing to discover more about the genre. This is where I discovered just how vast anime was. No subject is off limits. The wide range of content provides a vast level of availability and choices. Drama, mystery, action, horror, and even porn, you can find it all in anime. This is when I truly fell in love with this form of animation.

I have a very active imagination, and anime feeds it on a regular basis. The interpretation and perspective that is added to each story is what makes animation so great. The stories are not afraid to explore real human emotion, add fantastical elements to it, and still create a story that is understandable, relatable, and enjoyable.

For what it’s worth, here are my Top 5 favorite Anime (in no particular order):

• Ghost in the Shell

• Perfect Blue

• Dominion Tank Police

• Project A-ko

• Princess Mononoke

• Honorable Mention: 3×3 Eyes

I tell people I am a comic book fan by way of Japanese animation. Back then, most people I knew read comic books, and since the anime population is even smaller than the comic book community, I figured I would hop on board and like both. Time has flown, and I have embraced all the nerdiness. This culture has brought me many good memories over the years, and I look forward to many more!