The older I have grown, the more I have come to appreciate my family, especially in regards to my anime "habit." In my forum wanderings I have come across many threads in which authors bemoaned the fact that their families, usually parents, couldn't/wouldn't understand or approve their anime-related purchases. Thankfully this has never been an issue for me. Perhaps it is because everyone in my family is a collector of some sort. My father buys electronics, my mother movies, my brother video games, and myself, well, I am probably the most extreme collector of my family, considering that I spend the most money--on normal books as well manga, and not to mention anime artbooks, action figures, CDs, DVDs, posters and other miscellaneous paraphernalia--while earning the least.
At any rate, although my parents have advised/scolded/warned me on occasion to try to curb my outrageous spending habits, for the most part my family has been extremely supportive. My dad puts up hooks on my walls so that I can display my various figures, my mom purchases shelves and other storage devices to store my books, manga, CDs, DVDs, etc., and my brother periodically contributes to my collection by paying for my DVDs/boxsets. They all seem to understand that anime is more than a passing interest--like marbles in grade four or trolls in grade five--for me; it is a deep love and appreciation for Japanese (popular) culture. Moreover, they have come to appreciate anime as well, although they're not as obsessive as I am. =Þ I like to think that this is, in part, due to my influence. Anime can divide families for some, like the people from the forums that I mentioned before, but in my case it hasn't, and I guess it's because I've blessed with such a loving and supportive family.
