actually i'm gonna be a japanese teacher <.< >.> in japan! lolol so that comment about artists and teachers isn't quite true <.< even though my part time job is gonna be a manga artist >.< (i still draw atm just haven't gotten much inspiration)
my parents (when i was little) just thought we were watching cartoons lawl (which is true lol) but what we watched back then was pokemon, dijimon, hamtaro, and sailor moon (classics i must say XD) and then i slowly started to dive into in around 6th grade, cuz of the asian influence around me XD woot cerritos!
but yea. i'm in love with miyasaki's work! <33333 my favorite so far is howl's moving castle my first was kiki's delivery service, but my first "anime" (that i knew was anime) was mononoke
now my dad thinks i'm crazy (me and my sister both lol) for the cosplay part of the otaku part of us. my sister is a yaoi freak (lol) i'm in love with yaoi (paring) not the books (occasionally XD).
my mom thinks that it's great that i have a hobby, but not one that takes up most of my study/school time >.< and that i should study and not worry about dressing up and AN-E-MEH lolol (she actually says it right lol) BUT she did like watching with me sometimes (like she would out of the blue come into the living room and watch what i'm watching outta curiousity and then she'd ask what's going on)
my parents are curious, but at the same time don't care (my dad was born in the 50's and my mom in the 60's) so they don't really care much about video games, or animated cartoons (unless it's like scooby doo, flintstones, jetsons, etc love them <3) but yea. my parents are old school but they just wonder why i watch such violent and odd things.