How long will you like anime?

So how long do you think you will like anime?
Is it something that you will always enjoy, or will your interest in it fade over time?
Is it something you see yourself enjoying the rest of your life?
Obviously there will be different answers from casual vs. hardcore fans, but I am still curious.

I know some people say they lose interest, but I am curious as to why. Anyone know any friends that were anime fans, but they lost interest?

Personally, I don't see myself losing interest anytime soon. The closest scenario I can see myself in is that in the distant future (talking years from now), family and job responsibilities would limit the time I have to devote to it. I suppose it would be possible for my genre preferences to change as well, but even that is hard to predict.

 

I feel like it is something that I'm going to enjoy forever. I already have a huge collection. I have some on DVD's and others on my flash drives. I have been watching anime since I was five years old. I know some people do lose interest it. I don't think I have a friend that has ever lost interest in it. A lot of them that I know are big on cosplaying and going to conventions. This is really a great question!

 

I started with DragonBall Z back in my early 20s (circa '99 or '00). Shortly after, I had the pleasure of watching Ninja Scroll & Biohunter which blew me away. I got married 5 years later & my ex wife would ridicule me about watching cartoons as an adult, so I stopped watching. Here we are 10 years later & wife #2 likes to watch Psycho-Pass with me! Methinks anime is just like anything else. Your tastes might evolve (I'm definitely more into mature anime now), but as long as it's interesting to you, you'll continue to watch & enjoy it.

 

I started back in the 90's with Toonami (DBZ, Yu Yu Hakusho, Rurouni Kenshin, Inuyasha, etc.). I kinda gave it up by the time I got to middle school, as I was embarrassed for liking it. By the time I got to high school, I realized that was silly and I picked it back up again with Code Geass, Bleach, Death Note, FMA, etc. Now I'm an adult and I still like and watch anime. Heck, I'm a staff member on an anime fan site. I even collect figures and figmas now.

I think that I will always enjoy anime, in the same way that I think that I will always enjoy video games. My tastes may change as time goes on, but I think that I will always enjoy the medium. But, maybe not. It's hard to say. On one hand, I've enjoyed it my whole life and now that I'm an adult (in my 20's) I have a more down-to-earth and well grounded perception of who I am, what my interests are, etc. So, in that way, it stands to reason that I will always like it. There's also the fact that, unlike a lot of children's cartoons that I've grown out of, a lot of anime explores meaningful subjects, employs intelligent humor, and is decently well written/acted.

On the other hand, it is impossible for me to say for sure what kind of person I will be when I'm 30 or 40. So, I guess I'll just have to get back to you when that time comes.

 

I see myself always liking anime for as long as I can imagine. I've liked anime as a child, and I don't see it stopping any time soon. I see anime very much like TV. Shows come and go, but people still keep watching.

 

I think I'll always like it, though my interest in it is starting to go down a bit. Mostly has to do with a lot of the crap that they show nowadays TBH.

 

@Heizengard after my 10 year break, most of it is all new to me once again. I wouldn't suggest anyone go quite that drastic on taking a break, but I'm just devouring anime like I used to & loving every minute of it.

 

We definitely have some good responses here, along with some interesting backstories. I failed to mention my own, so I'll throw mine in as well-
I've seen pokemon, yugioh, digimon, etc growing up, but I wouldn't really consider that as the starting point of my interest in it. I would really say the point where I started to watch anime overall was early 2012. I find it awesome that some of you have been watching for much longer times than that. Some of my first shows were Blood+, Elfen Lied, High School of the Dead, and Angel Beats.

@Supernatural-Knight
Now that I think about it, picturing myself enjoying slice of life/Moe genre anime years from now does seem like it could change over time. A shift towards more "mature" shows does seem possible, but for now i'll continue loving lucky star and other similar shows

@BlackHeartedRose
Since five years old, that is a long time. If we include pokemon, I could say I started around 7-8 years old, haha XD. I have a lot of respect for people who keep interest in the same things over long periods of time, whether it be anime or anything else.

@dedseed1 @BaconMan8910
I found it interesting both of you happened to "drop" anime at some point in your lives due to external influences. I totally understand the pressure that others put on any anime fan, particularly the "cartoon is for kids" part. This is especially hard for younger people. I find it even more awesome you guys came back to it later on.
I sort of had a similar experience, where I was not as open with my interest in it. After realizing that it really is stupid to let others determine what is "acceptable" in terms of personal interests, I became a little more accepting of myself and now openly display the few posters, figurines, and dvds I have of the medium I enjoy so much.

 

Could always just re-watch Toradora! over and over again. =P

Glad to hear it. ^-^ I think it's easy to cave to social pressure or to perceive some threat to your social standing by the way of personal interests that may not be widely popular. Especially when you're younger. But, honestly, I find that you'll make more friends and fit in better if you're just yourself.

I think a lot of us undergo something similar at some point in our life, whether with anime or something else.

 

Who says I'm not already doing that xD

 

After anyone sees my shrine to star wars & Deadpool, I very much doubt they'll give me grief over watching anime

 

Very interesting question that has been put forth to the community of the site,
Personally I started watching anime as a kid in the early 90's like most of us did I would have to guess, before and after school shows like Pokemon, Zoids, Dragon ball z and so on. up to middle school, then i started to stop watching tv so anime be came a past memory for me till I meet one of my old friends for my childhood at high school and he started my on Burst angel, since then I have been watching anime for the better part of 10 years, as for the future me in 10 years is still watching it, all I can say is I hope so.
Hope I am still around here helping others as well.

 

I predict until I'm at least early 30's.

 

While you might prefer other shows, I sure hope you enjoy some good moe vibes every now and then!
Or maybe moe violence anime... is that a thing?
Its good to get some diversity in there. I'll watch pretty much any genre of anime now. Well, minus some yaoi and yuri type things.

 

This sounds like something by 14-year old emo self would say

 

I loved higurashi, it is one of my favorites.
Good point about moe being subjective, very true.

 

Well, if every season produced the same kind of anime that 'fall' usually does, then I would probably give up all hope. Until then, I'm going to try and get round to watching 'Your Lie in April' and try to finish Death Parade.