My first Conversion

It was about two weeks before Christmas 98, when I went to a Christmas party. I knew the family loved Anime, so I brought my Pokemon tapes and Kiki's Delivery Service for viewing. I hadn't expected [censored] to be there. He had long critisized Anime for its lack of facial design quality and basically all the things that make Anime great. I ignored his comments and stuck the tapes in. He enjoyed Kiki's Delivery Service, but the thing that made him sit up and notice the TV was when I put Pokemon on. In no time he was on the floor laughing like a maniac! He found the antics of Team Rocket to be hilarious and he loved the implied continuity of the series. I was in near shock. Here was a teenage boy, who hated everything about Anime, laughing his head off and enjoying the show. But the real shock came New Years Eve. When we went to a New Years party, he had a surprise for everyone. He had recorded Pokemon! He had gotten a lot of the episodes I missed, and he loved it and even turned his younger sister into an Pokemon fan. "I created a monster." I said. And I was right! About two months later, he phoned me and told me he was working on a project in Comparative Civilizations, or whatever he called it. His project was the difference between American Animation and Japanese Animation and the influences they have on their respective societies and vice-versa. Basically he wanted to watch Anime. For the next two months, we rented some Anime videos and watched them. His favorite was the Wings of Honneamise. In fact, it was the first Anime movie he bought. He's now finished with his project but we still get together every once in a while to watch any new Anime that we may find. But there are few good Anime rental shops around and the good ones require too much information for either of our tastes. It is difficult, but we will find more Anime to watch. And when I find out that he converts someone to Anime, I'll know that my mission was a success.