Try Something New! You never know what you may discover!

For my first post, I wanted to write about something I don't really see enough of in the world of blogging - and that is anime. I've adored anime for about 2 years now and, as cheesy as it may sound, it really has changed my life. Anime has introduced me to a brand new world and has bought some incredible people into my life as a result.

Admittedly, growing up, I never understood anime; a naive thought I know when I'd never actually watched any in my life before, but I feel like anime came into my life at the perfect time. I was first introduced to anime by one of my best friends during sixth form who kept going on and on at me to watch a particular dubbed show (I'll let you know what one later). So eventually I gave in, and I immediately fell in love. The stunning visual animation and incredible voice actors involved in the dubs blew me away! I couldn't believe that actually anime was a world that wasn't silly or lacked plot substance or deep storylines; the more I watched anime, the more I fell in love, and found a medium that connected with me and helped me to contemplate my own emotions in a different way.

Within this post I'm going to talk about a few of my favourite anime; the shows that made me fall in love with this medium and changed my opinion on it. The anime that I think are some of the best, some of the most visually beautiful, and some that just mean a lot to me. And before I go into that, I just have to give a shout out to the person who inspired this post and helped in giving me the push I needed to start this blog. I took the inspiration for this blog post from my all-time favourite YouTuber - Connor, otherwise known as 'CDawgVA' - who posted an amazing video on his channel speaking about the 5 Anime that changed his life. Watching that video was the first time I really sat and thought about just what I owe to anime, so I wanted to use this first post to take you through my 'journey' with anime I guess - because anime is also the reason I'm luckily enough to know Connor.

Myself and Connor (c) Glowing_Wild

(I'm sorry, but this picture was too cute not to include)

Which brings me onto the first anime I want to talk about;
1) Black Butler;

Black Butler (series 1 poster) - (c) IMDb

- Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) revolves around the world of young Ciel Phantomhive. When Ciel's family manor is burned down - taking his parents with it - Ciel enters into a contract with the dark, mysterious demon Sebastian Michaelis, who swears to remain the young lord's loyal servant until they discover who killed Ciel's parents. In return, Sebastian gets to consume Phantomhive's soul. With the help of their rather reckless servants, the occupants of the Phantomhive manor encounter various obstacles in order to discover the truth of Ciel's past.

- Black Butler was the first anime I ever watched, and it was the anime my best friend persuaded me to watch. Admittedly, as I've watched more and more anime, I have to say this is not the best anime - but it certainly has some brilliant episodes and characters and as a first anime, I think it's a fantastic one to begin with. Beyond anything, not only did Black Butler make me see anime in a different light and lead me onto watching shows I've become utterly obsessed with, but it meant I discovered Connor's channel. 

CDawgVA's channel 

- From watching Black Butler, I was then introduced to a YouTuber who I'd been told could do an on-point impression of Sebastian - I can tell you now it really is on point and it still blows me away! So I watched CDawgVA's 'Black Butler characters Impression Video' and was blown away by Connor's incredible impersonations, and couldn't stop laughing at his hilarious interpretations of the various characters. I straight away subscribed and for 18 months now I've followed his channel. Through Connor I discovered the anime I will be telling you about in a bit; I found a deep respect and admiration for voice acting, and I found a space where I could escape for ten minutes every week and just smile. Connor has never failed to fix my smile with his videos. I'm continually blown away by his talent for voice acting and how creative his videos are. I'm now ridiculously lucky enough to know Connor and I can truly say he is the kindest, most talented, creative, funny, wonderful person I've ever met - this post is for him.

2) Ouran High School Host Club;

I feel like I should just sum up this anime as fans of the show will understand..."did you just assume my gender?!" 

Ouran High School is for the elite - only incredibly smart children from extremely rich families attend the school. However, when honours student Haruhi Fujioka stumbles into the school's prestigious 'host club' and breaks a pricey vase, she finds herself roped into becoming a member of the host club - where she must pose as a boy and keep beautiful young ladies company - in order to pay off her debt. 

- The reason I started watching this anime is also because of Connor's channel. After watching his voice impressions video, I immediately searched for OHSHC and binge-watched the series in two days!
- What I love about this anime the most is how easy-watching it is. You can watch this at any time, regardless of what mood you're in. It's just a really fun show full of extremely loveable characters and I just recommend this show to everybody because of how fantastic it is!

3) Tokyo Ghoul;

Tokyo Ghoul artwork (c) IMDb

Ghouls are creatures who feed on human flesh. When college student Ken Kaneki barely survive a brutal attack, he turns into a half-human, half-ghoul hybrid. With the emotions of a human but the eating habits of a ghoul, Kaneki must learn how to live in the worlds of both humans and ghouls in order to survive.

- This is an anime I came across online after watching Black Butler. It was probably one of the darkest anime I have watched, and was the first time I saw some mature themes emerge like justice and grief.
- I just fell in love with the concept of the show, and it was the first anime to bring me to tears. I won't give away any spoilers, but there is one particular episode in the first season involving a young ghoul girl and her mother that broke my heart. The focus on justice and the way in which each character views the world they live in differently made me think about justice in our own world.

- It's a truly thought-provoking and emotional show, and it's certainly one I think will increase your appreciation for anime and its ability to portray serious topics with maturity and sensitivity. 

4) Gurren Lagann;

Gurren Lagann artwork (c) IMDb

Set in the future where Earth is ruled by the Spiral King - who forces mankind to live in subterranean villages - Gurren Lagann tells the story of young digger and villager, Simon (who is conscripted to expand his village's home deeper underground) and his best friend/older brother figure, Kamina. The pair are determined to reach the surface. When Simon discovers a drill-shaped key, we soon see the pair reach the surface and become Team Gurren, using 'gunmen' to battle against enemies and desperately try to keep their people safe. 

- I was recommended this anime by Connor in one of his videos, so I immediately decided I would give it a go. From the first episode, I was addicted. 

- Gurren Lagann to me is a show that can really help explain various emotions that we all go through, especially when we're growing up. Throughout this show I've laughed a lot, and often cried my eyes out. 

- The character development of Simon is one that I think everyone can connect to. In order to combine with his best friend's gunman and form 'Gurren Lagann', Simon must be able to put his heart into it and believe in what he is doing; there's a fantastic quote from Kamina that goes "don't believe in the you that believes in me and don't believe in the me that believes in you. Believe in the you that believes in yourself", and that quote has stuck with me ever since. 

- Gurren Lagann highlighted to me the importance of self-belief and having self-worth. You can't rely on other people's validation or belief in you, because if you don't believe in yourself you'll never truly succeed, or achieve what you want to. 

- This is a show that truly portrays extremely relatable themes and topics, and I believe everyone can find a piece of themselves within Gurren Lagann. It is without a doubt, my favourite anime.

Okay, I'm sorry for the super long post guys, but I wanted to start this blog off with a post about something that I love and something that has played a big part in making me who I am. I know that sounds corny, but anime has changed me. It's given me some of my best friends and favourite people and it's certainly something that's pushed me creatively. These first posts will all be about introducing you to my favourite things, and I hope you enjoyed reading this. 

Let me know if you'll be watching any of these anime; or, if you've already seen them, what you think of them. And recommend me some new anime too! 

Till the next time,

Sophie x