1. Unique narratives that don't exist in any other medium. For example long running shounen series like one piece or dragon ball, you can't find anything like that outside of anime and manga. The same can be said of moe cgdct shows, isekai, mecha, and many other genres.
2. There is a strong community dedicated to archiving, documenting, and sharing, so it's an open field that can be endlessly explored. There is always more to discover and learn.
3. It's a (sub)culture made for people like me, by people like me. In Japan, there is a strong path from fan to fan-artist to professional. For example the website shousetsuka ni narou, where anyone can publish fiction, has lead to many adaptations which were initially just written by random people. The people who make anime are likely people I could have a conversation with, we are immersed in the same culture, we have the same set of cultural referents. As opposed to something like the American TV and movie industry, which is an elitist group of celebrities and Californian socialites to whom I have no connection.
4. Anime has a unique, aesthetically compelling artstyle.
5. Anime is a low-oversight pulp medium. This means that there is a lot of garbage, but there's also room for experimentation, creativity, and exploring themes which are otherwise deemed not acceptable or depraved. In addition, the process of sifting through the noise to try and find a signal can be gratifying in itself.
2. There is a strong community dedicated to archiving, documenting, and sharing, so it's an open field that can be endlessly explored. There is always more to discover and learn.
3. It's a (sub)culture made for people like me, by people like me. In Japan, there is a strong path from fan to fan-artist to professional. For example the website shousetsuka ni narou, where anyone can publish fiction, has lead to many adaptations which were initially just written by random people. The people who make anime are likely people I could have a conversation with, we are immersed in the same culture, we have the same set of cultural referents. As opposed to something like the American TV and movie industry, which is an elitist group of celebrities and Californian socialites to whom I have no connection.
4. Anime has a unique, aesthetically compelling artstyle.
5. Anime is a low-oversight pulp medium. This means that there is a lot of garbage, but there's also room for experimentation, creativity, and exploring themes which are otherwise deemed not acceptable or depraved. In addition, the process of sifting through the noise to try and find a signal can be gratifying in itself.