Warning: I caught myself calling Dragon Ball Z a 'gateway anime' in a Discord chat last night

I was talking with some newer fans in a community server when I realized I kept saying certain shows are just 'entry level' stuff. But then this one guy pointed out that it sounds dismissive like we are judging what people watch. Has anyone else noticed how these labels kind of put down people just getting into the hobby?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_oscar26d ago

Dude have you tried just ditching the label entirely when you're talking to someone? Instead of calling Dragon Ball Z a gateway anime just say "oh yeah that's a really fun show to start with" and let people discover it on their own terms. I've been doing that for a while and it makes conversations way less awkward. It's like when someone says a movie is a "guilty pleasure" you're basically telling them their taste is bad even if you don't mean to. Just call it what it is a classic shonen that hooks people because the fights are hype and the characters are memorable. No gatekeeping required.

the_john26d ago

One thing, @the_oscar, calling something a "guilty pleasure" doesn't always mean the person's taste is bad, it sometimes just means they know it's not high art but enjoy it anyway. Like, I love bad 80s horror movies and I'll call them guilty pleasures without putting down anyone else's taste.