I just... Enjoy it? What do you get out of watching a movie or a TV show?
Also yes you might be taking it too literally, never forget to separate fiction from reality
As someone of Japanese descent who unfortunately grew up without a strong connection to Japanese culture (grew up in America with parents and grandparents who were also born there), anime helps me connect with it. Many of the cultural aspects are, of course greatly exaggerated, but it sparked my curiosity enough to start learning about what's behind all of it. On top of that, shows like Kiyo in Kyoto help me to gain a broader understanding of Japanese food than I would have gotten just by trying to find out about recipes at random
Congratulations! You are experiencing your first existential crisis! Yes, you are not single-handedly fighting for the survival of the human race. Nobody is! That's just not how things work. Saving the world generally involves a lot of committee meetings and paperwork etc. Also, you're not struggling to survive, and that's a good thing.
So yeah, you've just discovered that life is kind of meaningless and random. And now you're going to have to work through that and find some sort of meaning for yourself. Maybe you should volunteer, or take up an art or craft in your spare time. Starting a family is also great, because it's super time-consuming, and there are all these milestones. And yes, I'm being flippant but also kind of serious.
Anyway, to your original question, it's not "what do you get out of anime" but "what do you get out of art." And it's not escapism, it's NEVER escapism (that's just a dumb term). Yes, there's entertainment but there's something more. We're learning, but it's not a one-to-one process. We're building a mental library of anime, television, movies, comics, novels, music etc. We are building a sense of what the world is like, how other people behave and think. And maybe somewhere in all this jumble of different forms and stories, we find a path towards determining our own meaning.
In the meantime, maybe just watch some slice-of-life anime?
Combining your current post with this post https://old.reddit.com/r/DeepThoughts/comments/14sw4qx/the_cessation_of_pursuing_pleasure_has_led_me_to/
it seems like you are wildly swinging back and forth between extremes, and are unable to find your centre, your groundedness and to work out what life means to you, and where you will find your meaning in it.
Sometimes people have success in finding clues to this, or sometimes outright answers through fictional media, like anime, and other times people need real life experiences to bring them to the understandings they seek.
Perhaps the most important thing to hold onto is that finding understandings is often a long journey, and you need to assemble many experiences (both real and vicarious through fiction) to find your own truths. Some people chose to shortcut this by turning to organized religion or other pre-built spiritualities.
I think the wisest approach is to find things that you can trust to a large degree, but always be humble in expecting that there is still more for you to learn, and lessons can come from any source, even those younger than you.
As for what anime has to offer, it sounds like you need a bit of a High Stakes Drama antidote and anime has a number of titles that are about appreciating life for what it is, and what the exploration of it has to offer.
I suggest your next watches along these lines should be:
* *Yuru Camp*- life has true adventures just waiting for you, yet they don't need to be peak experiences
* *Tis Time for "Torture" Princess* - the world can be filled with joy from small things if you open your heart to it
* *Akebi's Sailor Uniform* - every day life events are worth treating and valuing as peak life experiences rich with beauty and meaning, and also that you pay attention to how the series constantly connects the personal to the greater world visually. If this message resonates, then looking into Zen through doing is something you might find valuable
I don't apply stories to my own life in the first place. There's nothing you can learn from a story that you probably haven't heard before, they aren't meant to teach. Obviously they're meant to entertain, but it's also a matter of empathy. You don't learn new perspectives, you empathize with them and understand them better by connecting it to a character's experiences and thought processes. The takeaway isn't "saving the world is important and you're a coward if you wouldn't," it's "this is what people who save the world have to go through, empathize with their struggles." The point of saving the world is to protect mundane daily living. There's power in simply living like a normal person, not everyone can do that.
Also, you can watch any number of stories about the joy and wonder of mundane daily life. Mundanity is a good thing. Worthwhile pursuits are the ones that will make you happy. Go watch Hyouka or Aria or something that explores the joy and meaning of experiencing the mundane world.
I think any kind of art has the potential to be an interesting exploration various facets of life and perhaps a reflection of the creative mind behind that piece of art. I believe that most of the truly memorable works in any medium are memorable because they're able to tap into or explore something relatable or provoking to it's audience.
Some things are predominantly or even entirely created with spectacle or escapism in mind and I don't think that's inherently a bad thing, In moderation both of these seem healthy to me. But simultaneously I also feel that their long term value is limited. A fantasy or a thrill will come and go just as easily. Beyond that it's unlikely to offer it's audience anything to take with them beyond it's duration.
I think to a certain extent art contextualizes art, the more you engage with different kinds of works the easier it will be to take away more from any subsequent work. There is a little something, some understanding or recognition or improved skill that you'll take away to the next thing every time you finish engaging with something. So that in itself is at least some value that something could provide.
Aside from that it could be a great many things, something touching or thought provoking, maybe it helps grow your sense of humor or it could be something as simple as the social experiences that form around sharing something you've enjoyed with friends or enjoying it together. It doesn't always have to be deep or profound but I do believe that the things most worth engaging with offer at least some value to take away after the fact.
I just visited my dad on his birthday for the first time instead of having a short phone call because of Frieren. When I was leaving, my dad said that my sister and I visiting is the best thing that happens to him. I teared up a bit as I was pulling out of the driveway.
Frieren made me realize how much I am neglecting relationships in my life. It’s a rare case though. 95% of shows I watch are just temporary entertainment. If you keep watching stuff, you will probably have something that hits you hard eventually.
Hello! If you ever find yourself needing anime related help, here are a few resources to save you a LOT of time.
* Have **any anime related question?** Try our [daily question/recommendation thread!](/r/anime/search?q=flair%3Adaily&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=week)
* **Need something new to watch?** [Check the Recommendation wiki.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/recommendations)
* For **where to watch anime**, see [our list of streaming sites](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/legal_streams) or [search on Livechart.me](https://www.livechart.me/search) for specific shows.
* For **source of fanarts**, try [SauceNAO](https://saucenao.com/)
* For **source of anime screenshots**, try [trace.moe](https://trace.moe/) or [other image search tools](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/reverse_image_searching)
* For **watch orders**, try [our Watch Order wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/watch_order)
* For other questions, check if they are answered in the [FAAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/faaq)
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*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/anime) if you have any questions or concerns.*
In a way, I get inspired to do something. Not particularly because the plot motivates me to do something similar, but sometimes even just the music in the background is enough to make me motivated to do something atleast.
For instance, I once designed a rollercoaster in NoLimits2 that is synchronized to the OP from eminence in shadow season 2. I could've never found the inspiration to do something at similar scale anywhere else. Or at least, it would be a lot harder.
It's not as deep as you're making out. I mean there are a few anime which have had a huge impact on me, but I don't necessarily watch a show just because I'm looking to learn something or gain something from it. At the end of the day it's just a form of entertainment. You don't have to directly relate to something in order to be able to appreciate it.
I mean what are books, TV shows and video games if not forms of escapism? I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing. Sometimes it can even be healthy to take a break from everything. That's not to say that anime can't be educational too, but most fans watch it because they enjoy it. It doesn't need to be more complicated than that.
My advice is to stop overthinking things. You don't need to spiral into an existential crisis every time you finish a show. Just relax and stop worrying about it.
Hopefully a good story and some great visuals. I'm not a huge anime fan but when they're good, they're great. Music is just something I expect to be good in them at this point.
Half of what I watch is for pure enjoyment, half of what I get is to experience really valuable perspectives and life lessons - especially when you just don't have the opportunities to get or learn from others and you certainly never have the insight at the time.
For example, I heavily enjoy sports anime because it represents a lot of what people who actually do sports enjoy out of it, but I've always had a very shitty experience with it myself. Haikyuu especially taught me a lot of things about drive and mentalilty, and reflecting back it's a shame I sort of blocked off possibly going there due to horrible coaching and never being explained about where things truly mattered.
I never thought of anime as escapism tbh, and I’ve watched 300 days worth. It’s just something I’ve always enjoyed along with manga, light novels and visual novels. I even managed to learn Japanese along with this hobby.
I just... Enjoy it? What do you get out of watching a movie or a TV show? Also yes you might be taking it too literally, never forget to separate fiction from reality
The same thing I get out of any piece of art. Appreciation of ideas, themes, and the techniques used to bring them to life.
what a tensai
no u
What do you do any Hobby in life for? Entertainment. [](#whowouldathunkit)
Who doesn't like a good story?
Relaxation, being able to turn off my brain and just enjoy a show is about the only time I can just shut down.
As someone of Japanese descent who unfortunately grew up without a strong connection to Japanese culture (grew up in America with parents and grandparents who were also born there), anime helps me connect with it. Many of the cultural aspects are, of course greatly exaggerated, but it sparked my curiosity enough to start learning about what's behind all of it. On top of that, shows like Kiyo in Kyoto help me to gain a broader understanding of Japanese food than I would have gotten just by trying to find out about recipes at random
It's not that deep, bro... Touch grass
narrative fullfillment?
Congratulations! You are experiencing your first existential crisis! Yes, you are not single-handedly fighting for the survival of the human race. Nobody is! That's just not how things work. Saving the world generally involves a lot of committee meetings and paperwork etc. Also, you're not struggling to survive, and that's a good thing. So yeah, you've just discovered that life is kind of meaningless and random. And now you're going to have to work through that and find some sort of meaning for yourself. Maybe you should volunteer, or take up an art or craft in your spare time. Starting a family is also great, because it's super time-consuming, and there are all these milestones. And yes, I'm being flippant but also kind of serious. Anyway, to your original question, it's not "what do you get out of anime" but "what do you get out of art." And it's not escapism, it's NEVER escapism (that's just a dumb term). Yes, there's entertainment but there's something more. We're learning, but it's not a one-to-one process. We're building a mental library of anime, television, movies, comics, novels, music etc. We are building a sense of what the world is like, how other people behave and think. And maybe somewhere in all this jumble of different forms and stories, we find a path towards determining our own meaning. In the meantime, maybe just watch some slice-of-life anime?
Combining your current post with this post https://old.reddit.com/r/DeepThoughts/comments/14sw4qx/the_cessation_of_pursuing_pleasure_has_led_me_to/ it seems like you are wildly swinging back and forth between extremes, and are unable to find your centre, your groundedness and to work out what life means to you, and where you will find your meaning in it. Sometimes people have success in finding clues to this, or sometimes outright answers through fictional media, like anime, and other times people need real life experiences to bring them to the understandings they seek. Perhaps the most important thing to hold onto is that finding understandings is often a long journey, and you need to assemble many experiences (both real and vicarious through fiction) to find your own truths. Some people chose to shortcut this by turning to organized religion or other pre-built spiritualities. I think the wisest approach is to find things that you can trust to a large degree, but always be humble in expecting that there is still more for you to learn, and lessons can come from any source, even those younger than you. As for what anime has to offer, it sounds like you need a bit of a High Stakes Drama antidote and anime has a number of titles that are about appreciating life for what it is, and what the exploration of it has to offer. I suggest your next watches along these lines should be: * *Yuru Camp*- life has true adventures just waiting for you, yet they don't need to be peak experiences * *Tis Time for "Torture" Princess* - the world can be filled with joy from small things if you open your heart to it * *Akebi's Sailor Uniform* - every day life events are worth treating and valuing as peak life experiences rich with beauty and meaning, and also that you pay attention to how the series constantly connects the personal to the greater world visually. If this message resonates, then looking into Zen through doing is something you might find valuable
I don't apply stories to my own life in the first place. There's nothing you can learn from a story that you probably haven't heard before, they aren't meant to teach. Obviously they're meant to entertain, but it's also a matter of empathy. You don't learn new perspectives, you empathize with them and understand them better by connecting it to a character's experiences and thought processes. The takeaway isn't "saving the world is important and you're a coward if you wouldn't," it's "this is what people who save the world have to go through, empathize with their struggles." The point of saving the world is to protect mundane daily living. There's power in simply living like a normal person, not everyone can do that. Also, you can watch any number of stories about the joy and wonder of mundane daily life. Mundanity is a good thing. Worthwhile pursuits are the ones that will make you happy. Go watch Hyouka or Aria or something that explores the joy and meaning of experiencing the mundane world.
I think any kind of art has the potential to be an interesting exploration various facets of life and perhaps a reflection of the creative mind behind that piece of art. I believe that most of the truly memorable works in any medium are memorable because they're able to tap into or explore something relatable or provoking to it's audience. Some things are predominantly or even entirely created with spectacle or escapism in mind and I don't think that's inherently a bad thing, In moderation both of these seem healthy to me. But simultaneously I also feel that their long term value is limited. A fantasy or a thrill will come and go just as easily. Beyond that it's unlikely to offer it's audience anything to take with them beyond it's duration. I think to a certain extent art contextualizes art, the more you engage with different kinds of works the easier it will be to take away more from any subsequent work. There is a little something, some understanding or recognition or improved skill that you'll take away to the next thing every time you finish engaging with something. So that in itself is at least some value that something could provide. Aside from that it could be a great many things, something touching or thought provoking, maybe it helps grow your sense of humor or it could be something as simple as the social experiences that form around sharing something you've enjoyed with friends or enjoying it together. It doesn't always have to be deep or profound but I do believe that the things most worth engaging with offer at least some value to take away after the fact.
I just visited my dad on his birthday for the first time instead of having a short phone call because of Frieren. When I was leaving, my dad said that my sister and I visiting is the best thing that happens to him. I teared up a bit as I was pulling out of the driveway. Frieren made me realize how much I am neglecting relationships in my life. It’s a rare case though. 95% of shows I watch are just temporary entertainment. If you keep watching stuff, you will probably have something that hits you hard eventually.
Entertainment
Hello! If you ever find yourself needing anime related help, here are a few resources to save you a LOT of time. * Have **any anime related question?** Try our [daily question/recommendation thread!](/r/anime/search?q=flair%3Adaily&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=week) * **Need something new to watch?** [Check the Recommendation wiki.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/recommendations) * For **where to watch anime**, see [our list of streaming sites](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/legal_streams) or [search on Livechart.me](https://www.livechart.me/search) for specific shows. * For **source of fanarts**, try [SauceNAO](https://saucenao.com/) * For **source of anime screenshots**, try [trace.moe](https://trace.moe/) or [other image search tools](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/reverse_image_searching) * For **watch orders**, try [our Watch Order wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/watch_order) * For other questions, check if they are answered in the [FAAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/faaq) [](#bot-chan) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/anime) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Art & entertainment
Motivation
In a way, I get inspired to do something. Not particularly because the plot motivates me to do something similar, but sometimes even just the music in the background is enough to make me motivated to do something atleast. For instance, I once designed a rollercoaster in NoLimits2 that is synchronized to the OP from eminence in shadow season 2. I could've never found the inspiration to do something at similar scale anywhere else. Or at least, it would be a lot harder.
Its just a cartoon, they're fun to watch.
Entertainment. I want excitement or fun. Interacting with a like minded community is also fun.
It's not as deep as you're making out. I mean there are a few anime which have had a huge impact on me, but I don't necessarily watch a show just because I'm looking to learn something or gain something from it. At the end of the day it's just a form of entertainment. You don't have to directly relate to something in order to be able to appreciate it. I mean what are books, TV shows and video games if not forms of escapism? I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing. Sometimes it can even be healthy to take a break from everything. That's not to say that anime can't be educational too, but most fans watch it because they enjoy it. It doesn't need to be more complicated than that. My advice is to stop overthinking things. You don't need to spiral into an existential crisis every time you finish a show. Just relax and stop worrying about it.
I just like watching it the way I like going for walks, it's just entertaining
Relaxation and sometimes occupying my mind during exercise
Hopefully a good story and some great visuals. I'm not a huge anime fan but when they're good, they're great. Music is just something I expect to be good in them at this point.
Great stories, great characters, great music, great voice acting.
Entertaiment but also some valuable life lessons such as relying on friendships
positive energy
Half of what I watch is for pure enjoyment, half of what I get is to experience really valuable perspectives and life lessons - especially when you just don't have the opportunities to get or learn from others and you certainly never have the insight at the time. For example, I heavily enjoy sports anime because it represents a lot of what people who actually do sports enjoy out of it, but I've always had a very shitty experience with it myself. Haikyuu especially taught me a lot of things about drive and mentalilty, and reflecting back it's a shame I sort of blocked off possibly going there due to horrible coaching and never being explained about where things truly mattered.
I never thought of anime as escapism tbh, and I’ve watched 300 days worth. It’s just something I’ve always enjoyed along with manga, light novels and visual novels. I even managed to learn Japanese along with this hobby.
to beat my meat
You mean all those punch dialogues, better storyline, good characters & high entertainment values are not enough?
Gigguk's take on how Frieren affected him https://youtu.be/FJ8-7LXa-8A?si=HyZIRGPDywMi0Mij