Breaking Bad. One of the best, if not, THE best show of all time according to many. A live-action show about a high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with terminal lung cancer who turns to cooking and dealing methamphetamine to make money for his family before his three years on Earth are up. Sounds good, right? But what about a show following the last human civilization battling huge, humanoid monsters in a hundred year war in an attempt to determine their origins while simultaneously exploring the mysteries of these beings and the truth about their world. Sounds crazy, right? Yep, that’s anime.

From Satan being reincarnated as a fast-food worker to a nuclear octopus-looking teacher, anime captures the essence of absurdity in such a creative manner, it often bridges the gap between fiction and reality. However, this absurdity is what doesn’t appeal to many as many people stereotype anime as kids’ cartoons filled with childish, over-the-top battle scenes and cringy voice lines. A lot of my friends who watch classic live action shows like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Sopranos, Ozark, Friends, etc. choose to distance themselves from anime.

I don’t understand this opposition personally. I like to call myself a convert. I used to hate anime for the same reason many people do: the fights are dumb and the characters are dumber. And I thought I’d never watch it. How could I? It went against my principles (which, as you’d expect, were quite weak and shallow). But somehow I found myself, during the summer of 2020, binging Avatar: The Last Airbender, a Nickelodean, animated cartoon show. And soon I was watching anime.

I started watching anime for the same reason I didn’t. The fights are dumb and the characters are dumber. Death Note: an anime about a high schooler who finds a notebook and anyone’s name he writes in it will die; he decides to use the notebook to kill off the world’s criminals, crediting himself as the god-like figure behind these “holy” deeds. The show follows him and his interaction with a detective named L who is tasked with stopping his lunacy. Now, disregarding the peculiar plot, what’s fascinating is the main character: a high schooler who is a mass murdered but also a god… somehow? Dumb, I know, but it appeals, initially, to young adults and teens like me. That’s why I started watching, not because of great story, not because of beautiful production, but because anime offered something so surreal, something that I couldn’t find in live action shows; it was as if I was watching someone’s imagination.

On a side note, Death Note is a very good show. I know I did not describe it as such, but that is just the surface level. It tackles much darker themes of suicide, corruption, manipulation, and greed. It creates characters so real, they seem more alive than actors. And it narrates the main character’s path to insanity, fueled by rage and a flawed moral code. I give anime four and a half stars.