Interview with an anime viewer: Early anime, the appeal, preconceived notions

I've put together another interview for you guys with one of my friends that I haven't seen in quite awhile.  Turns out she just so happens to appreciate anime, which I never knew!  The things you learn when interviewing!

What anime have you seen?

Answer: Do you know the Unico movies?  Like early anime from the 80s.  I've seen Ghost in the Shell and Spirited away.  My friend in high school was into Korean anime, but I can't remember the specific names.

What did you think of Ghost in the Shell?

Answer: I remember liking it.  I remember also remember having to rewatch it when I wasn't doing something else.  I was a little bit confused.  I don't know that I liked it as much as Spirited Away.  It was more like a...Brazil of anime.

What do you think of anime in general?

Answer:  I really like it...it's magical realism for movies.  You can kind of do and say anything and it's believable. I expect that anything can happen so I don't expect realism.

Did you have any preconceived notions about anime?

Answer: I expected a lot more blue hair.  I've heard that people are into explicit anime, so I guess I expected more body parts.  I guess that's not only the case.

What was the last anime you saw?

Answer: It's been awhile...probably Spirited Away.

What did you think of that?

Answer:  I liked it because there was always a lot going on.  They're kind of like Indian movies...they don't stick to genres.  There's battle scenes and love stories...it's pretty good.  I like the 2D animation...I'm old school like that.  Visually I'd rather watch traditional animation.  With Spirited Away, I felt that there was a lot of superstition in it, which I felt was pretty cool.

Why do you think so many people are willing to blow off anime without giving it a shot?

Answer: I think of Sailor Moon and...kind of junk anime.  I feel like the movies don't ever get big in America, so people don't know what to think of it.  My sister really likes to draw and that helped me appreciate anime. I feel those that like anime have an artistic talent and it seems to help their enjoyment of it.