Anime growing in popularity among students
Anime has become very popular among South African students.
Anime is a form of animation that has a wide target audience, from small children to adults. Some of the most popular anime shows that South Africans have been watching include Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Pokémon and more.
Anime has become so popular in the country that large movie houses such as Ster-Kinekor have been showing more anime films in their cinemas. Jujutsu Kaisen and Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Ressha-Hen (Demon Slayer the Movie: Infinite Train) are two examples.
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, a popular anime show among students will get a second season, which was officially announced during a preview screening of an un-aired episode. Season two will continue to explore the life of Rudeus Greyrat, the main protagonist and those around him.
The story is about a middle-aged Japanese man who is a NEET (not in education, employment, or training). After being hit by a truck, the protagonist is reincarnated as a new-born named Rudeas Greyrat. Rudeas uses the lessons from his previous life as a guide to make himself happy and avoiding regrets in his new life.
Franco Westraat (20), a freelance video editor based in George, South Africa said, “the announcement of a second season just after the first season had ended is amazing, especially because it has such stunning visuals”.
Jacques Bouwer (25), a third-year BA psychology student at NWU Vaal campus said, “I really enjoy watching anime because there is so much depth in the stories and there are so many genres that you can never really get bored of it.”
Liné Daneel (21) a fourth-year BEd student at NWU Vaal campus, said, “I didn’t use to watch anime until a friend of mine somewhat forced me to, and ever since I’ve been watching it, as the different stories and characters come to life in very creative ways”. Daneel said that her top three favourite anime are Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan), Fairy Tail and Fruits Basket.
There are different websites that students use to watch anime because not all streaming services available in South Africa have the latest seasons.
Netflix is one of South Africa’s biggest streaming services with a growing library of different anime content. Crunchyroll is another legal online streaming website used to watch anime.