Raafey is one of the most successful anime influencers in the German online community, gaining nearly 650.000 subscribers on YouTube over the last few years. From entertaining his viewers with analysis of the latest series to reactions Raafey knows how to keep his audience attached and give them a smile on their face. We had a chance to briefly chat with him and get a bit more information about his career, the booming German anime and manga scenes, and the future of his channel!
Q: How did you first encounter anime and what made you delve so deeply into it?
Raafey: Through Pokito TV (a former show about anime on the German TV channel RTL 2), like pretty much everyone back then. The first contact was clearly Dragon Ball, but then series like Naruto or Digimon followed. The Pokemon hype also played a big role in my immersion in the anime theme.
The messages behind series like Naruto with the “never give up” attitude of the characters and the idea behind it that your opponent doesn’t always have to be your enemy because he only did what was right for his people was something I probably only picked up subconsciously.
Q: What inspired you to start a YouTube channel about anime?
Raafey: Back then, anime shows weren’t as popular as they are today, you were almost alone in your environment with this hobby, so to be able to share it somehow, the internet was the only way.
Q: What are your top three favorite anime at the moment?
Raafey: Currently probably Attack on Titan, Naruto, and One Piece.
Q: Which anime would you recommend to someone who has never seen one and why?
Raafey: My picks are always Death Note or Attack on Titan. Death Note, because I think it’s a good introduction to the anime medium for “ordinary“ real-Life series viewers. The question behind what you would do if you had a tool to kill other people with, I think arouses everyone’s interest.
Attack on Titan is easily one of the best adaptations of an anime in the last 10 years and even though this world is so full of fantasy things, the basic story is extremely close as the character drama works incredibly well.
Q: How do you choose the topics for your videos? Is there a process or method you follow?
Raafey: Sometimes, of course, you go by what’s going on in the community at the moment, like a new season for example. But often I just go after what I feel like doing. Anyway, my philosophy on YouTube is “Passion always prevails.” If you feel something then it always has a good effect on the video content.
Q: How much time do you typically spend creating a video, from concept to completion?
Raafey: It’s always different, I work with several people on a video all week and just shortly before Saturday we usually manage to finish the video.
Q: How do you think the anime community has evolved over the last few years?
Raafey: It has definitely become more open in many ways and not so toxic anymore. There are always black sheep, but in the more than 10 years that I’ve been in the community, I’ve really never experienced bad things.
Q: How does anime influence your everyday life?
Raafey: Well, it used to be just watching episodes, but now it takes up my whole everyday life. I deal with different series every day, but I have to say that I never get bored with the topic. Japanese always say that manga reflects the soul of the respective author. Manga and anime are so complex that I don’t think I’ll ever get bored.
Q: What do you think is the most controversial anime ever?
Raafey: Personally, I’m not a huge fan of the Goblin Slayer adaptation.
Q: What are your plans for the future of your channel?
Raafey: First and foremost, I want to give the community a cool place where they can live out their hobby differently and understand anime better or have more fun with it. Some things are planned for the channel, but of course, I’ll keep everything anime classic secret until then.
You can check out Raafey‘s YouTube and TikTok and find his latest anime content. On his main channel, which he started 8 years ago, a new full-length video gets released every Saturday. On his second channel he releases daily reactions on anime as well as gaming content.