Watching anime is a common hobby for many dorm students because of the constant exposure to Japanese culture. Anime, which is a style of Japanese film and television animation, appeared like a fantasy or an alternative means of recreation for many high school students because of its unique characters that add on to its interesting storyline.

Many anime-watching Residential Life students contend that watching anime has brought them a positive learning experience. Andrew Park ’22, for example, regularly enjoys watching anime during his free time.

“Not only is [watching anime] fun,” said Park “but it also provides a Japanese learning experience for many anime-lovers. I actually learned how to speak Japanese through years of watching anime.”

However, some argue that watching anime can be a waste of time, affecting personal and academic progress. Just like any other form of media, watching anime can be addictive, trapping students in an imaginary world full of fantasy characters. Hiroto Nawano ’22, a sophomore with many series of anime under his belt, attests to the fact that anime can be overly repetitive and a waste of time.

“Animes often contain similar plots or repeating themes. I feel that the repetition of these themes or plots makes it easy for the audience to guess the ending of the animes,” said Nawano.

While watching anime can have both positive and negative effects on teenagers, we should not neglect the huge learning experience that anime provides. The benefits of watching animes outweigh the negative aspects of it if the contents of anime are kept at an appropriate level. Although a recent study based on Japanese microdata suggests that even the “children aged less than 12 years who have not yet entered junior high school” tend to watch animes, we should not have stereotyped views against the many anime enthusiasts without any justifiable reasons. An increasing number of anime viewers is the outcome of the mass media, so it is inevitable that teenagers somehow experience the world of anime. Hence, the adults who are majorly concerned about their kids watching animes should focus on discussing “what” kinds of animes that their kids are exposed to, rather than arguing whether or not their kids should have the right to watch animes.