THE NAME’S AKIRA and boy do I have something to tell you. Well, it’s more like a realization to be honest. In terms of entertainment, I know for a fact it is difficult to catch up with the popular ones or even dive deep into the hidden gems of movies and television series. But in my case, after numerous viewings throughout my life, I have come to terms with who I really am and that being casual is the best way possible. 

Now what do I mean by casual, if you may ask? If you have been watching a lot of anime series like I do, you may encounter people who are not fond of the medium but can watch certain shows from time to time, especially the popular ones. However, these are the kinds of people who don’t put all their time and energy into the medium, have not that much knowledge about the lore of it all, or to simply put it, not a really die-hard fan of it. 

“…that came to a point where I found it better to just stick with what most people like, which are the popular ones.”

Guess what. It took me hundreds of movies and shows to realize – this includes going deep into the underrated and what people may call artsy or philosophical movies. I don’t know why but there was a part of me that felt like I could have just done something else with my life than that instead. Granted, I did not regret discovering films like The Empty Man and The Last Duel and even anime series like Midori Days and Mononoke.  

But that being said, I know the things that I like are not going to be for everyone. The shows that I hold dear like Fruits Basket, Serial Experiments Lain and Paranoia Agent, while amazing and recommended shows, in my opinion, they are not going to please everyone. Same goes with movies like mother!, Disobedience and The Terminal. 

And that came to a point where I found it better to just stick with what most people like, which are the popular ones. Of course, who has not even heard of tv shows like Stranger Things and Breaking Bad, cartoons like The Legend of Korra and The Dragon Prince, and even anime series like One Piece, Naruto and Bleach. Because if you haven’t, well you should give it a watch. 

I would also like to bring up a positive when being casual: you know nothing about it. I remembered asking my parents whether they wanted to know everything or not, and unsurprisingly, they chose the latter – which does make sense. Being knowledgeable about a particular movie or show can actually make you think critically about it and could also lead to not really enjoying them at all.  

Another thing would be being able to at least understand why people are fans of a particular show or movie. For instance, I am not really fond of watching Korean dramas at all because of how long it takes to finish an episode (Sorry k-drama fans). But after watching some of it like The World of a Married Couple and Crash Landing on You, while I am not that much of a dedicated watcher, I was glad that I could experience it. 

So yeah, if you are a normie as some people might label it or just a casual fan of movies, television, music or anything in general, don’t worry, you shouldn’t be ashamed of it. You still have an identity at least, which is waiting to try something new. As the saying of Miles Morales, there is always a first time for everything.

Email me at thebedan_newseditor@sanbeda.edu.ph