Why do i keep hearing about anime on here?

I guess because it's popular. I've lurked this site for years and there's about as many anime fanatics on here as there are on Tumblr. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, I still like some of my old favorites. I have a friend who is in love with a few anime characters and writes a lot of fanfiction, and you know, any creativity is good. She says she's depressed sometimes because they're not real, and although I don't exactly get depressed for that reason, I don't really blame her because I have a few fictional loves myself. I have another friend who is in love with a character from a popular RPG and draws herself with him, sometimes sexually, and has spent possibly hundreds of dollars on stuff related to him, including wedding rings for her and him. I would hesitate to even call that "not normal", as long as she's happy. I sorta went off on one there, sorry bout that...ha.