“I think so, yeah. I think that there are still some generations within our industry that view anime as p*rnography, or something weird, you know. Which is really unfortunate. Or, there are people who just associate anime with shonen anime and whatever’s coming out of Shonen Jump and nothing else, which is really unfortunate, because, obviously, there’s every medium under the sun that anime offers. Yeah, I think that those are the biggest misconceptions — Or that anything that pertains to what women want to watch or consume has to involve magical girls in some way.”
Balkus also shared how an influx of talent entered the animation space during the pandemic when filming shut down, while animation production continued. “Yeah, the yeses [greenlights] were definitely there, and it was also because there was a lot of talent that normally wouldn’t play in that space who suddenly realized they could make a paycheck in animation and wanted to come into this space — which is not a bad thing. I actually think animation is a medium that anybody should play in, even if they come from live-action.” She went on to describe the high-profile (“fancy schmancy“) who didn’t have work and changed their initial projects to animated epics, later falling in love with the limitlessness of animation.
As for why Japanese anime resonates with people and its recent boom, Balkus credited the “degree of sincerity in the emotions and journeys expressed by the characters,” contrasting this with trends in Western — and particularly superhero — stories that became too “grimdark” or “undercut genuine emotions with a quip.” The pandemic was also said to factor in, with people connecting online, and Balkus praised long-running series and anime with ensemble casts where fans could see themselves as friends with characters.
hrischan stress sigh: why does the guy in the video sound like me when trying to do a mock accent. Southern accent lost again 
