In recent times more teens have been getting into anime-a form of entertainment in Japan-and with that there’s lots of different styles of anime and different genres of anime. We asked students from Buena Park High School to share their opinions on this topic and to see the variety of anime that they watch. 

Around the world, there are more than 6,000 animes. However, perhaps the most well-known ones consist of Dragon Ball Z, Attack of Titan, and Jujutsu Kaisen. Daniel Trigueros, a 16 year-old junior, said, “In my opinion, Dragon Ball Z is my favorite anime; it is an action anime. It’s a classic anime that I enjoy a lot for its story.”

Christian Romero, a 16-year-old junior, agreed with Trigueros saying, “Dragon Ball Z is my favorite anime because of its action. [The anime] shows you can overcome big obstacles.”

Mia Salgado, a 16 year-old junior, shared a different perspective saying, “My favorite anime is Mob Psycho 100, it’s an action comedy and supernatural anime. I find the story interesting because it’s about a young psychic named Shigeo Kageyama and how he tries his best to either hide or control his powers. But it gets out of control when he sees a loved one get hurt. I also find the people he hangs around with funny so the story is entertaining and not just serious psychic stuff.” 

Michelle Corral, a 15-year-old sophomore, “My favorite anime has been Ouran Highschool Host Club.” She stated that her reason as to why she likes it is because “I felt really connected to Haruhi Fujioka when she gets treated boyish because of her hair, and how she always felt the need to prove herself to others. I wanted to see her win and be the best because it felt like whatever happened to her happened to me.”

As everyone knows there’s a bunch of anime out there that are in different genres but when asked what anime started it off for them the students responded with this.

Trigeuros stated that “Yu-gi-oh is what got me into anime”.

Romero responded with “What got me into anime was Sonic X”.

Salgado stated that “There was an old anime called Shugo Chara which was about a magical school girl but I really liked the animation which led me to find anime(s) like Mirai Nikki and Tokyo Ghoul.”

Corral said that “I started off watching soul eater and got really interested with how it combined good graphics, storyline, and kept me interested.”

Some of these students had different opinions when it came to what anime they think was a masterpiece in their opinion. 

Trigeuros stated that “A silent voice because its story is both very cute but sad”.

Romero said that “I would say dragon ball z because it actually has a story and shows graphic scenes along with a bunch of cool fights”.

Salgado stated “Out of all the animes that I’ve watched I would say Hunter X Hunter is a masterpiece in my opinion because at first you think it’s just about a young boy on a journey to become a hunter and finds his dad and at first it’s boring, but if you actually stick around to watch the rest of the show it gets so much more interesting because it shows you the obstacles that the main character(s) have to face along the way”.

Corral stated that “The best anime I’ve ever seen was Code Geass or Rascal Does not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai. The stories are so complex and you have to pay attention the whole way through to understand the end.”

Questions of what the students preferred between manga or anime were asked, to which the students responded with,

 Trigueros stated that “I’d rather watch the anime.”

Romero went on to add to Trigeuros statement by saying “I prefer anime because I like the animation and the details.”

Corral stated that “I like to read manga better because the stories are better and it’s more quiet so I can listen to music or use it to pass time.”

Salgado added to Corral’s statement that “In my opinion I prefer manga because it shows you stuff that they don’t include in the anime because the scene might be too intense or they just didn’t animate it for no reason.”

 Students were also asked if they listen to openings(Openings are intros to the anime with stunning visuals that can sometimes foreshadow what happens later on and openings also have music from popular singers and groups from japan)since it usually hypes the watchers or gets them excited to see what the episode or season will bring.

Triguegos stated that “Some anime openings I like to hear but I’m not really a big fan of it”. Corral agrees with Triguegos saying that “I listen to the openings but not a lot.”

Romero states that “Yeah I like listening to openings because of the songs”

Salgado added on to Romeros statement with “Sometimes I do listen because openings are usually catchy and it’s hard to skip them, but there are also some openings that foreshadow what’s going to happen later in the anime.”

We also asked the students why they like anime over live shows. 

Triguegos stated that “I like seeing the intense scenes they have when there’s action scenes.”

 Romero stated that he likes anime more than shows because  “[There’s] A deep connection and relatability to the characters.”  

Salgado states that “It brings a liveliness that regular shows can’t bring and it gives me so much adrenaline when i know that a very good fight scene is coming up and it just more emotional than regular tv shows and animes make you feel sad when a character with a very good background dies.” 

Corral agrees with Salgado saying how “Anime let(s) me use my imagination and is more like a story than a reality tv show. I get to see how the MC (Main Character(s)) goes through surpassing everyone, how they become the best, or even how they go through their daily life in an alternate universe. It makes me want to experience the show myself in a way tv shows can’t.” 

As a final question we also asked students what anime(s) they would recommend to fellow students if they want to watch anime but aren’t too sure on what to watch.

Trigueros said that “I would personally recommend Dragon ball super.”

Romero stated that “I would say FullMetal Alchemist.”

Salgado said “An anime I would recommend to someone is an anime called, “Angels Of Death”, it’s a short with 16 episodes but the story is about a young girl trying to escape a basement she woke up in but there are many traps trying to kill her along the way.”

For Corral she stated that “An anime I would recommend to someone is Madoka Magica or No Game No Life. They are short, entertaining and have great quality graphics. If it was someone with more time I would recommend SAO (Sword Art Online) which is an online sword anime where the MC gets trapped and has to beat the game or die.”

So if you ever wanted to watch anime but don’t know what to choose, these are some recommendations from your fellow Coyotes, so be sure to check them out when you have the time. Who knows, maybe you’ll get hooked onto it as well and start enjoying it as well.