Welcome to my section called The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in anime. For the previous GBU, click here. Please keep in mind that these are my opinions and you may not necessarily agree with them. That being said, here's this update's GBU:

the good:
Anime's growing popularity -
Well, as probably most of you have noticed, the anime market is growing quite a bit. Quite a few people have heard about it and have formed an opinion about it (whether "good", "bad" or "don't care") so it really isn't a "strange" concept anymore. More and more anime gets licensed for distribution in the U.S., allowing us fans to enjoy excellent anime series in a language we can understand (for those of us who don't speak Japanese very well) with superb audio and video, something that could never really be achieved via fansubs.

The growing popularity of anime is a "good" thing ...

the bad:
Anime's growing popularity -
Some of us long time fans feel that with the growing popularity of anime, it is no longer something dear to only us. It is no longer underground, no longer accessible only to those who REALLY made an effort to find it. Just about any kid nowadays calls him/herself an anime fan just because he/she watches hacked Sailormoon/Dragonball on Cartoon Network. Anime has become just another fad in the eyes of many.

The growing popularity of anime is a "bad" thing ...

the ugly:
Anime's growing popularity -
Anime being just a fad has yet to be proved right or wrong but, in the meantime, "the suits" will commercialize anime and exploit it to the max (Pokemon, anyone?). Love Hina being licensed by Bandai is a scary thought. Bandai will milk the Gundam franchise until it's dry but, what will happen next? Will Love Hina be the next target for exploitation? The thing that scares me is what happened to Escaflowne and Gundam Wing: "sanitized and processed" so they could be shown on American TV. The thought of the girls of Hinata-sou speaking "valley speak" (wicked cool!) gives me shudders. Hopefully Love Hina will never be broadcast on U.S. airwaves because, to be honest, the pain would be too much to bear ...

The growing popularity of anime is an "ugly" thing ...