All of my closest friends watch anime, and I just can't get into it. I don't hate anime, I just don't care to watch it. My friends love to watch anime, and sometimes they try to get me to watch it. There not bad people in any way, it's just that I feel weird watching anime. It's really hard to explain. I don't really like the art style, and I don't really find chibis cute. Once again, I don't hate anime. I feel really awkward writings this. Any help?

probably not

Well, I would say go with one of two things.

If you're willing to, maybe just try out a few different genres of anime, even if it's not necessarily what your friends are into. If you can find a genre you like (which shouldn't be too hard, there's almost as many anime genres as there are regular shows), then you can probably find some middle ground with your friends. Also, if you can actually enjoy watching any genre of it, it'll help ease you into the "culture" of anime much more smoothly and make watching other ones a little less of a burden.

If you can't find anything you like in anime at all, then just don't worry about it. A real friend will be understanding, and from what it seems, that's how your friends are about it anyway. I mean you might have to just deal with it every once in a while since it's something your friends are into, but just let them know if it's too much or starting to get on your nerves, and they will (or at least should) be understanding.

Hope this helps

I would suggest some of the more mainstream animes like Dragonball Z,that might help get you into it. As Mynamescox44 said,there are many,many different types ranging from girly and chibi to hyper-violent to pervy. If someone refuses to be your friend over you not watching anime,then you are better off without them. Just give it a chance.

You should just try and watch anime if you want to. Maybe you haven't given enough anime a chance, so maybe you will find something that you'll like.

Maybe instead of trying to watch anime when your friends want you to, just sort of ease yourself into it. Like maybe you'll randomly be watching shows and you find this one show that you oddly got into. It turns out to be anime, and you try and see if you can find more anime that you like. Sometimes people don't really want to watch/play something because of their friends bugging them about it more than anything else.

And if you never find anime that you like, just tell your friends that. If they hate you for it then they're not real friends anyways xp.

Anime can go from boring to uncomfortable to weird to what the heck are we actually watching here?

You have two serious options: Watch it with your friends or don't watch it with them.

WATCH ANIME WITH FRIENDS: Here's the thing, friendships are made by shared experiences. If your friends are all into anime and that's what they do a majority of the time, you're going to either have to get used to it, find something you like from it, or get new friends. If it is something they do every so often or they discuss it once every few days, watch enough to be in on the conversation. Try to suggest doing other things but accept you have to watch anime every so often to make them happy. It's a compromise.

DON'T WATCH: Well, if they don't do it that often, separate yourself and say you have other things to do or you'd rather do something else. Go do something else. It's not offensive if you don't like something they do and if it bothers them that much, they're not really good friends anyway. The other side is you can expect them to not want to hang out if they watch and talk about anime 90% of the time all the time. In that case, you can just go find other people who'll like the same things you do.

Good luck!

GuyTheGuy :   Ok, so it says you are 15.  What type of shows or movies do you like to watch?  Anime has many more options than actual real life, so many people tend to venture towards the fantasy of anime.  Cartoons can do anything, where as real life is limited to laws.  Let me know what you are into, and I can give you some things to consider watching if you truly want to interact with your friends in that way.  If they do not appreciate the fact that you are truly not interested in what they are watching, then perhaps find something else in common.  Do they watch in sub or dub?  I find myself actually learning a little bit of Japanese with every show I watch, so there is that as well.  An entire culture and how they view things.  Try suggesting a show in a different language and see what they think?

Only watch Anime if you want to. I kinda feel the same way you do. Some animes are insanely weird. My favorite one though is Sword Art Online. I highly recommend it. If you want to get into anime then start their. Trust me, you wont be disappointed. 

No. Trust me, from someone who loves anime, don't do it dude.
Run. Keep running. never turn back.

Anime is not for everyone. How I got into it was when I was young. Not everyone will always encounter by watching it this way. As the others have suggested try a genre type to your fitting which you would most likely to watch. If you like it that will be great if not then that's your decision. Not everybody in the world is going to get into anime as other people would. But, its better to try it out and have that experience first to see.

Anime can be hard to get into, especially with the bunches of garbage that's being made these days.  I like to watch anime sometimes, but I am extremely picky, so I barely watch any myself. Even though I do enjoy it sometimes, I can understand a little why you might not get into it.



If you want to keep giving it a chance, then go ahead. If you're lucky you might find you like! But don't force yourself, because the more you do force yourself, the more you'll just end up disliking it anyway. I think you should at least talk with your friends about this though. If you don't enjoy it, then you should tell them. The situation will probably get worse if you don't communicate.

It seems like they mean well, they just want to share with you something they all enjoy. However if you really feel like you really don't have an interest, you should be up front with them. I'm sure they'll understand.

Not entirely sure why this thread exists tbh

Pretty much, if you don't like it, then don't watch it. lol


I will admit most anime is cringey to me with a few exceptions.

I'm 16 and I never got into anime while most of my friends are die-hard otakus, so don't worry, dude, you're not the only one to go through this kind of stuff!

Nowadays, anime and western animation share so many tropes and techniques that some of the finest examples of both are almost indistiguinshable from each other - take Avatar: The Legend of Aang, or, better yet, its sequel series, The Legend of Korra, as an example -, while some series have that Western touch while having everything that made anime unique back then, such as Steven Universe and Gravity Falls (which I'm a HUGE fan of, so my opinions on this one might be a liiiiittle bit biased ).

I say "everything that made anime unique back then" because anime in general has faced a HUGE drop in quality those past few years, so most modern anime are quite meh (except for Kill la Kill and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - these two ROCK!).

Old-school anime, however, is quality stuff, even with the occasional bad animation and cheesyiness (which IMO just adds to the experience). Try watching AKIRA, Paprika, the original Dragon Ball, Gundam and Neon Genesis Evangelion series and all of Studio Ghibli's films - I bet that you're going to find something that suits your tastes in there

There are a lot of stereotypes that exist and are furthered by anime. There's not a lot of anime out there that I'll watch consistently from beginning to end. But there are some exceptions. Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit is one example. I watched this show about a year ago (I think?) and it was like watching something by Hiyao Miyazaki. It was that good. It's on Hulu and Netflix here (dunno about Canada).

Log Horizon is one I've often enjoyed as well. It's about a group of folks that are trapped in a video game (like Sword Art Online). Unlike SAO, though (from what I hear, I don't watch it); its focus is mostly on the characters and world rather than the action. There's a lot of great humor, great characters, and so much to enjoy.

Tanaka-kun is Always Listless is a great comedy about a guy whose goal in life is to be lazy. It has a fantastic sense of humor and is a great watch to relax to.

Another I've started but still haven't finished (I know I'll finish it one day!) is One Week Friends. It's about a girl who forgets a lot of of things, even things and people she loves every week. Her memories "reset" on Mondays. But a boy begins to be a friend to her, so she begins to branch out and be happier. So far, it's been pretty awesome and I highly recommend checking it out.

What anime series have your friends been watching? Could you try to ask them (or if you already know what they are, could you please list them here) so we can try to help you figure something out? All we can gather so far is that your friends have been watching something with "chibis" in it, and you don't like "chibis." That's perfectly fine, because there are plenty of other anime series without any hint of a "chibi" in it.

Your profile says you're 15, so there are some series I can't list here due to the amount of violence or blood, but here are a few that don't have any funny faces or chibified anything:

Final Fantasy VII Advent Children (This is a computer-animated film, so it has no "chibis" unless you think the kids in the film look like "chibis.")

Appleseed (The films for Appleseed are also computer-animated. There are no "chibis," just one large metal bunny that might look kind of cute, but it's still not a "chibi.")

Most of Studio Ghibli's animated films (I know some people that don't like Spirited Away but they like the other ones such as Princess Mononoke and Castle in the Sky or Howl's Moving Castle, so that's why I thought I'd add these to the list.)

Also, most of the anime series drawn by Bones tend to be pretty good about keeping their "chibis" in check, so you can probably test with a few of their anime series first before watching some of the other ones. Here are a few (from various studios) that probably don't have as many "chibis" and can still stand on their own without having one appear every other second:

Cowboy Bebop (This one has awesome music even if the story goes crazy at times. I know some people that actually hate anime, but they gave this one a chance and liked it... oO;; It's drawn by Bones.)

Scrapped Princess (This anime is very different from its manga, so don't try to make too many comparisons there. I just thought I'd mention this one because you're 15 and the main character girl is 15 as well... and it's also drawn by Bones. =P )

Kidou Tenshi Angelic Layer (This one looks like a kid's show... probably is more of a kid's show than most other shows... but is better than many of the other non-kids' shows, so enjoy~ Oh, and just so you know... I don't have much patience for normal kids' shows, but this one was actually interesting to me. And did I mention it was drawn by Bones?)

Steins;Gate (I don't recall any "chibi-like" scenes in this series, but since there were girls in maid uniforms, I can't swear to it. Even so, I really don't think there were any "chibis," just a mad scientist with a lot of time on his hands...)

Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo (Also known as The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, this animated film won many awards for its story and art. The title may seem like it's already told you the entire story, but if you give it a chance, you might find that... there are no "chibis." =P This is one film I don't want to spoil the plot for, so all I'll say is it's drawn by Madhouse, which is a studio with mad drawing skillz that has drawn many awesome series that unfortunately, I can't list because you're not old enough to watch them yet. -.- Don't worry, I've also done my best to filter out the ones that simply can't be mentioned on Vizzed, even if they are masterpieces in their own right.)

Full Metal Panic (I would only recommend season 1, because Fumoffu is in a school setting so that's usually bound to have more "chibis"in it, and The Second Raid has some questionable content. Oh yeah... For future reference, if you absolutely despise "chibis," you might want to stay away from 90% of all of the anime that are mainly set in school.)

Higashi no Eden (Also known as Eden of the East, this one is kind of hit or miss... some people like it a lot, and some people think its last episode/ending isn't as great as it should have been. The opening and ending themes are pretty cool though, so those might be worth watching, if anything.)

If it's that you don't like the drawing styles that aren't as realistic (overly large, shiny eyes or guys that look like girls) or plots that suddenly make no sense, then you could consider trying to avoid some of these =P :

Hetalia Axis Powers (Most of these characters turn into "chibis" at some point, so beware!)

Sailor Moon (These characters have some of the largest eyes imaginable. I even used to think some of their eyes were hollow when I first looked at them on black and white paper. XD It took me forever to get used to this one, but the story isn't too bad... when there is a story.)

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Much as I would love to recommend this one, your dislike of "chibis" is probably going to make you automatically write off this one, so I guess I'll just save you some trouble and suggest that you avoid it. However, if you do manage to get over your dislike of "chibis" one day, you could try season 1 for this one. I wouldn't necessarily recommend season 2 unless you did enjoy season 1.)

Inuyasha (Inuyasha, while being an action-packed series, is full of chibified faces, especially when the girls are in the scenes. Kagome often goes to school, and remember how the school settings work... *coughs* Anyways, my favorite character in this series is probably Rin, so I don't get that "chibified face" issue. No, Sesshoumaru is never going to make one of those faces.)

Fruits Basket (This one has a lot of "chibi-ness" all-around, so beware!)

School Rumble (Actually, if you can get past your fear of "chibis," both seasons for this one are pretty hilarious, if you'd like to try it at some point. Just note that their plots are pretty much borderline insanity.)

And last of all, if it's that you don't enjoy the action, art or humor from any anime series, then sorry to say, but you probably aren't going to like anime much if at all... ^^0 What I would recommend for you, in that case then, is to either turn to the original manga or light novel for the series (many anime series were actually created based on its existing manga or light novels) and see if you enjoy those more. With light novels, you won't tend to have many visuals (some still have them, but only on the covers or a few random pages inside) and you can try to avoid "chibis" that way. Besides, most manga or light novels tend to have a better plot and they tend to explain some things in more detail than the anime series (having it be vice-versa is not as common).

There is another way for some people that don't like anime to enjoy anime-like shows and it's through watching dramas. Some of the anime series that become extremely popular with the anime crowd are sometimes turned into live-action dramas or films. Examples of a few anime series/manga series/light novels that have already been turned into live-action films/dramas include Death Note, For You In Full Blossom (Hanazakari no Kimitachi E), The Wallflower (Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge), Case Closed (Meitantei Conan), Boys Over Flowers (Hana Yori Dango), Dororo, Rurouni Kenshin, 200 Pounds Beauty (this one is a Korean one), The Kindaichi Case Files (Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo), Great Teacher Onizuka and Nodame Cantabile.

I have watched all of the dramas I listed (the oldest versions, not all of the newest ones) and for the most part, I liked all of them. Since most Japanese TV shows tend to be fairly conservative (they often censor or rewrite the scripts to remove not-so-family-friendly things that were present in the original versions), it's entirely possible for someone to prefer watching dramas over anime, especially if you don't have as much interest in several of the drawing styles used in anime. Some of the older people around me actually don't like anime at all T_T (and they absolutely refuse to budge on that issue) but they sometimes don't realize they've been watching a drama/series that was originally a manga/light novel/anime until they're done with religiously watching the entire drama on their TVs. ^^0;; (And actually... some of them still don't know the truth to this day =P and I'm never going to tell them because they might end up changing their opinions of the shows to hate the shows by default once they find out. -.-0 Yeah... This is how I know they have something against anime in general. lol )

Anyways, I only wrote all this because it seemed that you were still open to suggestions, so I hope you will at least consider trying out some of the ideas that have been mentioned. Please let us know how it all works out for you, and if you do end up finding a genre or series that you enjoy, feel free to mention it here (we might be able to find/recommend other similar ones for you). ^^