Have you ever wondered why people across the globe love anim so much? We dive into recent poll results to uncover how anime’s authentic storytelling mirrors the genuine connections and vulnerability we all desire in our real lives.

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Here at Geek Devotions, all month long it has been Anime April. We’ve talked about anime and done devotions based on it, something we’ve done every year for a while now. Over the years, we’ve put out articles responding to people who have thoughts or ideas about anime, trying to bring some correction. But I don’t think we’ve ever really asked the core question: Why do people actually like anime? I even had to examine myself and ask, “Why do I enjoy this medium of story telling?”

To figure this out, I put together a simple poll. I asked people what their favorite genre was and gave them a list of options for why they like anime, whether it was the storytelling, the visuals, the community, and so on. Then I asked them to do something specific: explain their answers. It is easy to just do a quick check mark, but when you begin to explain why you believe what you believe, a bigger picture takes shape. I posted this in a few different forums, and I want to give a huge shout out to my friends at Geeks Under Grace, Reformed Anime Hub, Devoted Geek Life, and the Geek Devotions Discord channel for taking the time to answer.

When the answers came in, the top two reasons were very simple. The second biggest draw is the visuals. There is something visually beautiful about anime. Even within simple art styles, there is amazing storytelling and art taking place on screen. Even if some people don’t appreciate it (looking at you high school art teacher…)

But the biggest reason across the board is storytelling. When you read through people’s responses, you see that the storytelling in anime is important to them because there is a definitive beginning and an end. Here in America, our storytelling often feels like it’s just about making money and creating reasons to keep a series going with continual reboots. But with anime, artists and writers pour everything they have into a show because they know they only have a set amount of time.

This creates a high level of sincerity and authenticity. You find yourself genuinely caring about these characters. Even in action-heavy anime where the main point seems to be fighting and blowing things up, there are moments where characters pull back and reflect on their own weaknesses and emotional inaptitudes. They process their flaws, yet still they push forward. For a lot of people in my generation, that taught us it was okay to have flaws, but we can’t let them hold us back. Sometimes the stories are dark and gritty, but they aren’t gritty just for the sake of it; there is a deeper reality and undertone taking place.

At the end of the day, it feels like people like anime because they are looking for sincere, authentic storytelling. They want to interact with those things in a real way, and you see that spill out into the communities as well. While online anime communities definitely get a lot of flack, when you get in person with fans, you realize they are just looking for authentic relationships where people share genuine feelings.

We live in a society where we close ourselves off on a regular basis. Even when people act emotional, it is sometimes just a show to get something or manipulate a situation. A lot of people who love anime are simply starving for real, sincere moments with others. They want people to care about them and share life on a two-way street. The problem is that many have kept their shields up to protect themselves, which starves people of connection.

What can we do with this information? As a Christian looking across the church as a whole, I see a problem with authentic life sharing. A lot of hurting people out there who don’t know Jesus have walled themselves up to protect themselves. When they interact with you, they need to know you are a real individual. So many people in the modern day church are scared to show their flaws because they are afraid someone might look down upon them.

But if we look at the Bible, hiding our flaws is actually a bad idea. God doesn’t want to hide things from us. We look at the history of God’s followers and we see their great highlights, but we also see their failures. God is being authentic with us, showing that His people aren’t perfect, but showing how He sincerely cared about them, brought healing, and brought correction so they could become what they were supposed to be.

Look at the book of Mark. Mark was not an original disciple; he got his story from Peter. But when you read Mark, you find that Peter does a lot of dumb things and falls flat on his face on more than a few occasions. If Peter just wanted to look good, he wouldn’t have shared his flaws. But Peter was authentic and sincere in what he taught Mark. Without saying the exact words, he essentially admitted, “This is the facts of things. We are flawed individuals trying our best to follow Jesus.”

So my encouragement for those of you who are believers is to be sincere and authentic. You are flawed. It happens. But in a biblical community, we should be able to share those things and help each other move forward with grace and mercy. And when dealing with people outside the church specifically, if we are more authentic about our relationship with Jesus, our doubts, and our struggles, people will be much more intrigued by the Jesus we serve.

There are a lot of people I love dearly that I have met through anime communities. They are struggling, just like me. But because I was able to be authentic and real, it opened doors to point them to hope.

My encouragement for all of you: be real and be authentic.