The Anime Effect is a weekly podcast hosted by Crunchyroll featuring their in-house anime experts: Nicholas Friedman, LeAlec Murray, and Leah President. The show talks about how anime is everywhere in mainstream, and today, NFL star Jamaal Williams, the running back for the New Orleans Saints, joins the crew. He talks about the anime shows that have inspired him, his history as an anime fan, and staying nerdy even as a star athlete.
“I just love anime because it’s great for making people connect,” Williams tells The Anime Effect. “I love it just because of the adversities that’s happening in these shows.”
“Naruto,” Williams replied to what his gateway anime was. “I didn’t start by watching the first beginning one. My first fight that I’ve seen of Naruto was Zabuza. And then Orochimaru was the first one I didn’t like, but then he started to grow on me. He did. He started to grow on me just because I liked the way he just messed with emo boy Sasuke.”
As for the anime that Williams recommends for others to check out, it’s Solo Leveling and Demon Slayer, just to name a few.
“Solo Leveling, just because it gets straight to it quick, and it’s not long,” Williams said. “Sometimes for some people, that first episode doesn’t hit. ‘Do I still want to watch it or not?’ That’s how it was for me sometimes. I say Solo Leveling, or Demon Slayer, easy.”
You can check out the video version of the interview here later today.
Here’s an interview he did in a locker room about how he just wants to play football and Pokemon and telling a reporter not to disrespect Pokemon.
About The Anime Effect
Launched February 16, the inaugural episode of The Anime Effect podcast reached the #1 slot in Manga and Anime in the Apple iTunes Store in the U.S., Mexico, Ireland, and Belgium.
Crunchyroll Presents: The Anime Effect is available worldwide in English on all major podcast platforms. New audio episodes launch every Friday at 12:30 a.m. ET and full video episodes arrive on Crunchyroll and the official Crunchyroll YouTube channel starting at 7:00 p.m. ET.
