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By: Vrai Kaiser March 6, 20180 Comments

I think it depends on the person I'm trying to recommend something to... Hayao Miyazaki movies are definitely some of my go-tos... but I've also successfully recommended films by Satoshi Kon and Mamoru Hosoda as well. (I usually start with movies because they're easier to find for people who don't want to commit to a subscription and take less initial investment than a show.) I grew up watching Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Digimon, etc. (I know it's not strictly anime... but does anyone remember Cybersix??) I stumbled on Studio Ghibli through Kiki and Castle in the Sky at an independent rental place near my house when I was about 10 but didn't really have a good sense that what I was watching was "anime" until high school. At that time my dad was bringing home random movies from coworkers that I would sift through when I had nothing else to do. One of the movies was Escaflowne and I had never seen anything like it. I watched it and rewatched it, but didn't know where to even start looking for anything similar. Then someone gave my brother Spirited Away as a gift and when I watched it I knew I would never go back. When I met my husband he lent me the Escaflowne series and when we went to university it was a lot easier to meet other anime-watchers and get recommendations/ borrow box sets. I personally don't recall any gatekeeping, but most of my discussions were casual and with other female students I was already close with. I felt more pressure from the rest of the school community who very openly looked down on watching anime. And of course... I did feel frustrated and often unwelcome given the content of a lot of popular shows... that's why I was so relieved to stumble on Josei Next Door and then eventually here! :D

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