MGRR: Are Anime Fans more likely to suffer depression?

Every cloud has a silver lining…

Not always right but I think 60-70% are good odds.

MGRR, GO!

Following the re-creation of the Secret Business Men’s Round Robin, and its prompt death (R.I.P 25th May – 2nd July), a new, greater, gender-non-specific Round Robin has been created (which leads me to wonder why it can’t just be called a Round Robin…). As I was neither writer nor blogger at the time, I wasn’t able to take part in too active away in the discussion of the subject matter; now my blog’s up and running however, I can express my opinions on the topic from a personal perspective. On to the subject!

I myself do get depressed at times (heck, its a sign that I’m  human being; if you’re happy all the time then there may be something wrong with you. Think about it…) and I do escape into the realm of televised media (not just anime) in order to feel better. However, Its less that  I am able to identify with the characters I watch interacting on screen and more that I can forget about that whicvh made me depressed in reality. I wouldn’t want to watch anything that reminded me of troubles in my life; for me, at least, anime exists for the exact opposite purpose.

The subject title for the MGRR suggests that those who watch anime are more inclined to become depressed but I in no way agree with this. Anime is, essentially, a form of entertainment, something to be enjoyed; the reason I first got into anime was because of the simple fact what I saw (in this case, Yakitate!! Japan) made me feel good. I wasn’t actually depressed, just interested in the new type of television I had stumbled upon outside that of American cartoon.

Everyone will have, at least at a single point in their lives, have experienced a feeling of loneliness, be it as extreme as one of their parents leaving (unfortunately, in my case) or having a best friend move away. The way of the otaku (in no way related to the way of the sword) is less something walked by the outsiders or dejected of society, and more something of those who have an open and willing mind to a different type of culture; you don’t have to be exclusive to one type of, for lack of a better word, clique to be able to immerse yourself in another. Basically, anime is a hobby akin to anything else, be it photography, playing football, poetry or the arts. People escape into their hobbies to most likely ease of stress or depression; a friend of mine recently told me he exercise almost constantly so he can stay calm and focused on his school work.

The danger is, as many people I think will agree, becoming too engrossed in that hobby. Too much of anything is bad for you; if you feel like you are becoming completely withdrawn from society, you should attempt to do something else to make you feel better; instead of watching anime, (people are most likely going to think this defeats the point but…) play WoW. At the very least, you’re doing something you enjoy and still interacting with other people on some level rather than bottling it up inside and trying to share it with characters who, though you may be identifying with, cannot respond.

When you’re sad or lonely, the best thing to do is laugh. Don’t dwell on the thing that makes you sad and attempt to find a similarly depressing situation, be it in anime or real life, in order to feel better; I can’t believe that shared sadness can in some way beget happiness. Pick something that can demonstrate a different state of mind or life to you, something hopeful rather than dark and looming. This might start sounding like a positivity seminar, but you should always look on the bright side of life ( refer to Monty Python for something to cheer you up right now ^_^).

As I may have digressed slightly, let me summarize by saying that there is no-one who is perfectly happy with their life, and for the percentage that are anime fans, its less about depression and escapism than it is about enjoyment and being a third party observer to the events within that world; by all means symapthize with the characters and their struggles, but don’t let the line between their reality and yours become blurry. Let anime influence you; you can always learn something new from it (unless its ToLoveRu) but don’t let it take away from who you are.

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Those are just my thoughts written down in an unplanned manner; they may be contradictory (they probably are) but hopefully I was able to articulate that I’m a guy who tries to be positive despite what may happen in my life.

EDIT: Apologies to Pontifus over at Super Fanicom; thought you were spam :p