sorry for the late reply and thanks for the question!

there are lots of personal reasons that i'll try list later but the most important one is, i guess, similar to kojima's love for cinematography. he often talks about how movies and cinema was his retreat in younger years, how it filled him with inspiration and energy to create, and how he is 'at home' in cinemas even now, years later.

my attitude toward anime - something i discovered for myself in my early/mid-teens - is very similar. it's one of the few constants in my life that has been giving me strength, inspiration, and joy. it's also something that prompted me to start writing, brought me my most life-changing and meaningful bonds, and was there as a distraction, emotional support, and entertainment in the most challenging and stressful moments.

i did try to branch out during my 2nd-3rd years of uni in the attempt to become a more 'multifaceted' and/or apt conversation partner. those years were when i barely watched anime - ongoings or otherwise - and instead focused on movies and tv series. (i still think i watched everything there was for me to watch, haha, although i know that anyone keeping up with the industry would disagree.) it's not that i didn't enjoy what i watched and even had a few faves among actors/actresses. still, somehow, when i stopped being hung up on pleasing others with my knowledge/interests in conversations, i ended going back to anime/anime-aesthetics things, even despite a lengthy pause. so you could say i just subconsciously gravitated to it after a conscious effort to try something else.

now, i feel like i'm even more accepting of anime as a medium than before - not sure if it's because of the significant title counter or my age. i used to be very picky about what to watch, but now i see some charm and beauty even in old/kids' shows or something that isn't rated >7 on MAL. likewise, i don't perceive watching some mainstream 'meh'-stuff as a waste of time - sometimes just seeing a thing first-hand and making your own judgment feels worthwhile.

the personal, subjective, and mildly controversial 'advantages' of anime for me are:
- inherently japanese ideas/outlooks/cliches that i find more relatable and endearing than the popular western ones.
- aethetics removed from reality (+lack of real people as a pro for a misanthrope).
- extremely low risks of encountering a sudden het sex scene, lol.
- high risks of encountering lgbt agenda in any form.
- creativity-friendliness (bc personally, i'm not too comfortable with writing rpf or even something about characters portayed by actors).
- VA scene which i've known longer and am more well-versed in compared to any hollywood cast.
- many great instrumental OSTs and not just 'mix tapes' with 'Various Artists' as the background music. not too many movies/series had much to offer in the OST department for me; even herr Zimmer sadly got repetitive to me with time.
- the very fact that 90% anime are adaptations of light novels/manga/games makes it an opposite to "streaming companies' churning of content for consumption" for me and more of a "marketing campaign for an OG material" promotion. while it doesn't always positively affect quality (as doesn't content-churning, to be fair) but the goal itself is something i can easier get behind.

i guess, that's it? i don't believe that anime is 'better' than any other medium but it's certainly better personally for me. i admit that this preference makes me a conversation partner of a questionable and limited interest, hah, but it's something i've long accepted as a downside. besides, this definitely doesn't make unaccepting or unsupportive of others' interests and i'm always open to recs and exchange of mutual nature.