This is a weird title. I struggled a bit with it. I’m sure you’re wondering what I’m talking about. Or maybe you silently noded to yourself and moved on to the next post. I’ve been on one of those mind journeys again. And I want to take you with me.
It all started out a while ago when I yet again read a review I disagreed with from a blogger and friend I appreciate. I thought back once more on the fact that of the friends I do have that watch anime, I have very different tastes. Opposite at times. And how great it is that we can still talk about it and have fun.
Of course there are a lot of people I bite my tongue around as well because I know they won’t react well If I bash a show they love. But in general, I can get away with a “it wasn’t for me” and move on. No harm done.
It’s something I feel very lucky about because I live in a world of anime themed social media and I see people get into vicious fight over their views on a particular anime, all the time. So I tried to figure out what the variable was. How one could go about subtantly discussing anime without making their friends mad or sad. I was trying to explore my personal experiences on the subject to mine for revelation when it dawned on me.
Social media and online forums are almost entirely divorced from reality. The reason I can discuss my impressions of anime without upsetting anyone is because my opinions of anime don’t matter. And that’s a very good thing.
Sure sometimes I read a glowing review from a blogger I like about a show I couldn’t sit through and think “really?”. Sometimes a blogger I admire tears through a series I loved and it makes me just a little sad(?). Sad sounds like the wrong word. What’s the feeling when you hoped something that made you happy would make someone you like happy also but it didn’t? Disappointed? Unsettled? Hungry? I’m bad at feelings.
But whatever that feeling is, it has no impact on how I feel about the blogger. Their views on a specific anime don’t change who they are as a person. They also don’t change the anime. Whatever I enjoyed about it is still there regardless of what anyone says.
I figure the opposite is true. I’m a goofball who really enjoys slapstick and occasionally stupid comedies. That puts me in the minority in he Blogging space. I know most of the shows I really love tend to leave a lot of other bloggers indifferent or bored. But I still want to know what they think about it. As long as we don’t judge or insult fans I think criticising any anime is fair play. I read comments on my posts about how someone really didn’t see what I did in a show and it can make for really nice discussions.
My say has no impact on the anime industry. In all likelihood it’s not even going to influence my readers much. That’s not the type of relationship we have here. In the grand scheme of things my Anime opinions don’t matter in any way. Heck, they don’t matter in the tiny scheme of things either. Which means I have boundless freedom to express them!
***I cannot stress enough that this applies to my opinions of anime not of people. Whether they are fans or industry professionals. I personally believe our thoughts on people matter a lot and we should be responsible with them. This is not the general consensus over the internet mind you!***
Because my opinions don’t matter, I can explore ideas that are sometimes risque or in questionable taste. I can also risk being completely wrong because there are no real consequences. And being completely wrong is one of the best ways to learn and grow. Well at least for me.
I dislike being careless. I don’t want my words to have unforeseen consequences. Years of working in the legal field is going to do that to a person. In many ways, my thoughts are my product so they need to be bound by rigorous standards. It’s not at all a bad thing but it can be stifling. I cuts down on creative thinking and risk taking. It teaches you to box yourself in. And that can be dangerous as it can lead to some intellectual laziness and then you have nothing special to offer any more. Finding a venue where you can let your thoughts and opinions run freely is immensely valuable. Especially if you can get some feedback. Especially if you’re wrong! And most especially if you have interest in the topic. I’m not only bad at feelings, I also don’t understand rankings..
The fact that I have a venue where I can take an idea that’s incomplete and may even be incorrect and develop it in an interactive way without implications makes me happy. It’s an important tool at my disposal. And just because something doesn’t bring about great change and consequence doesn’t make it useless. To the contrary.
I have always been a fan of frivolity. And a frivolous place like this blog has all sorts of advantages and opportunities I couldn’t find elsewhere. I have written posts I no longer agree with, or posts with ideas I stand by but expressed in such an unfit manner that readers got a completely different takeaway. .I have and still write posts that even I can’t quite figure out what I wanted to say. And these are the posts that tend to teach me the most about writing allow me to practice critical thinking and help me develop communication skills.
Without those posts I wouldn’t have been able to get everything I want out of my blog. But those posts can only exist because my opinions on anime make no difference.
I’m not sure I explained it well. I guess I was just excited about finding a comfortable mindset and wanted to share.
