How Anime Fandom Changed My Life For The Better

Thu, October 8, 2026 at 12:17 AM UTC

Fangirls (and fandoms in general) are changing the entertainment industry as we know it. They’re powering the stories, dictating the marketing and changing the trajectory of franchises by riding bloody hard for the things they love most.

See: The entire shift in live-action Sonic’s animation style after being roasted by fans online.

But growing up, being seen as one felt too vulnerable. To the point where I can’t remember being a vocal, diehard fan of anything from the ages of 14 to 24 — ‘peak’ fangirl age BTW.

14-year-old me was so adamant in her pursuit of a ‘cool girl’ image that she never realised the belonging, friendship and community she was so desperate for was tucked between all the interests she never admitted to having.

She didn’t understand that THE ‘cool girl’ doesn’t have defining parameters. She simply makes her own.

In the past two years, my admiration has only grown for people who say that they love something (fan-mantically) with their entire chest. Now, I’m in the same boat and I wouldn’t change a thing.

All it took was a trial by fire to overcome my fear of being a fangirl.

It all started in 2025, when I was invited to Tokyo to cover the Crunchyroll Anime Awards. In the middle of the excitement of my future first press trip as a baby journo, I couldn’t help but feel like a MASSIVE fraud.

“Will people be able to tell that I haven’t watched anime properly in over 10 years?” was all I could think to myself. “Will they see right through me?”

Up until that point, I had always said that I was a “manga over anime” person because of my concentration issues and I had a bad habit of starting a series and never finishing it when I did.

Being “up-to-date” was not in my vocabulary despite knowing how much I loved the fictional worlds I had already explored.

So, I rode that thought almost all the way into a full-blown-stage-9000 imposter syndrome freeze state.

When I arrived at stage 8999, I decided to dig my heels in and watch as much anime as I could in five months. 

Spoiler alert: I spent a lot of time on Crunchyroll, going back to 13-year-old me’s roots — Dragon Ball and Yu-Gi-Oh! — and exploring new worlds like Spy X Family, Frieren, Jujustu Kaisen,Demon Slayer and Solo Leveling.

Every single theory, family tree misunderstanding, onscreen relationship I shipped and questions about upcoming seasons resulted in a deep dive on the internet, or late night messages to friends that had been telling me to watch certain series for yeeeeeears.

I found myself quickly making a home in these colourful universes with more things to talk about with my own village (and new friends too)!

It felt like a big stretch after a long nap. Like telling my classmates I read the entire Dragon Ball manga in three days in year seven — true story, LOL. Like I have more to bond with my friends over than relationships, the dire state of the world around us and how fast we’re growing up.

Fast forward almost two years later and my love for anime has taken me to so many places that I never thought I could go. From interviewing the cast of One Piece wearing a Tony Tony Chopper hat in Japan to being on the judging panel of the 2026 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, I am indebted to the fans that have always been proud to show their passion and love for their favourite shows, mangas and worlds.

Now, I wear my fandoms like badges of honour — no longer afraid to be a fangirl, just more excited than ever to become a bigger fan.

TL;DR being an anime fan is fucking cool!

Let me know what show I should watch next in the comments below. Please see attached, my already-watched list and ‘currently watching’ list.

Your daily brain workout:Can You Actually Complete These Word Chains, Or Will Your Brain Give Up Halfway Through?

Also in TVAndMovies:“Can You Identify These ’90s Movies By A Screenshot In 90 Seconds (Or Less)?”

Also in TVAndMovies:“It’s Probably Going To Surprise You Which Disney Princess You Are”