There was a time when I really dived into Japanese media and content and fell in love with their culture. It was respectful, exotic, weird and perverted. I loved it. The over the top quirkiness, the language, the style everything was so different. Immerse yourself in that for as long as I did and watch how quickly that well dries up. I mean, Japan is still cool but I'm not infatuated with their culture like I was when I was maybe 14. I understand their society a lot better and their history. The quirkiness can get kinda old. Not to mention Japan has a tendency to build a great story and have it completely go left field in the third act. I mean a bunch of nonsense and things you didn't see coming will just transform a great story into a bad one.
Among my family, friends and acquaintances, I'll always be that "anime" guy. I doubt that'll ever change. Despite the fact I have become less and less interested with manga and anime since around January. Ever since I learned that anime was scheduled seasonally, I've probably been watching about 10 anime per season and I was reading over 90 ongoing manga series. Currently I watch two anime for this season, but they are continuations of series I was already watching. Even then, I only watch the episodes when I have nothing to do. I don't keep up or pick up any new manga nowadays and I barely keep up with my favorite manga of all time: One Piece.
From a guy whose spent his whole life watching anime and 10 years reading manga, this might come as a surprise. Why the sudden change? Well there are a few reasons. One of them are me feeling like the medium just has nothing more to offer for now. I've read over 500 manga and watched over 300 different anime. And a lot of them are just regurgitated content. Nothing feels new, very little is refreshing. I used to swim through 8 mediocre or bad manga just for one gem. I no longer possess such patience. As SOON as something trope-y or overdone happens, I immediately opt out. Anime and manga are formulaic and it has a system that works...well a system that makes them money. But it's boring. Everything is derivative and the anime seasons just pump out the same ecchi, slice of life, high school type nonsense each season because it sells. I can't stand it right now.
I guess the last thing that's changed recently is how much I play video games now. I've always played games, a lot even but I never considered myself a gamer, still don't. But I'm starting to feel like one. I've gotten drawn into watching and playing competitively and I've been picking up more games. Also clocking in some unhealthily long hours.
Another reason is my reintegration into North American content. Novels, movies, live action TV and especially cartoons and games. I've spent too much time obsessing over Japan and their stuff and stopped paying attention to the things being produced in my own backyard (well kinda I'm Canadian). Sure I always kept up with DC Comics but let's be real. Superhero stuff gets as old and stale as they come. Recently I've been pretty excited about DC stuff ,but for the most part, those type of comics are also getting kind of boring. IMAGE COMICS however has been publishing gold. I've fallen in love with so many series from Image Comics and I find their work to be quality stuff. I can't put them down. Newer cartoons like Steven Universe, Bravest Warriors, Bee and Puppycat, Star Wars Rebels, Gravity Falls and Star vs the Forces of Evil are some of the few cartoons I've picked up in the last 4 months. And truth be told I've been having a blast with them and I feel the need to ride this wave while I still love it. Something about these cartoons that is a breath of fresh air.
All in all, it's not to say I hate or dislike the medium. I really don't. And chances are in a year or so I'll be back, hype on some new series I found and piss everyone off with my fanboyism. But I mean, for the time being, I'm not interested and I'll keep my distance for now. Side note, anime movies have still been great, I recently watched one called Redline and it was awesome. Currently waiting for the Beast and the Boy. Lastly, I forgot to mention anime fans are also terrible fandoms but we'll save that discussion for another day.