'I'm a dork with muscles, baby': How Mike Daniels' love of anime has changed his life

Kendra Meinert | Green Bay Press-Gazette

Even if you’re not into anime — or aren’t even sure exactly what it is — a new short documentary on defensive tackle Mike Daniels’ passion for it is a must-watch for Green Bay Packers fans.

“He Was Anime,” a 12-minute film from Crunchyroll, gives insight into how Japanese film and television animation has been Daniels' passion since he was a little boy growing up in New Jersey, how it powered him through being bullied as a child and how it continues to drive him on on the field as a 29-year-old professional athlete.

That the film also introduces viewers to his delightful parents, Carlean and Mike Sr., and works in a couple of No. 76’s big, infectious laughs is just a bonus.

He introduces himself in the film this way: “My name is Mike Daniels. I am a huge anime fan first, football player second. I love to compete. I love to slam people around. And I love to go out there and pretend I’m a Super Saiyan, because they can’t stop me.”

Daniels was in elementary school when he first got hooked on anime. His favorite character was Piccolo from “Dragon Ball Z,” and his mom remembers making him a costume with football shoulder pads, an old sheet for a turban and a purple cape to wear to school for Halloween as a fourth- or fifth-grader.

“And from then on, he was anime,” his dad said.

As a kid who didn’t fit in — “I was different, best way to put it,” he says — he dealt with significant bullying.

“For the longest time, I didn’t understand it. I really didn’t. I’m like why is everybody just treating me like crap? Why is everybody just mean to me? Why are people trying to take my lunch money? Why are people, like, hitting me upside my head for no reason? Why are people, like, trying to push me in the mud?”

Anime became his outlet. It was out of the mainstream, something he could take joy and pride in. It wasn’t until he came home from school one day in tears that sports became part of his world.

“All right, I’m going to toughen you up,” his dad told him, and he signed him up for wrestling, football and baseball.

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By high school, Daniels was extremely fit and just as passionate about anime as ever — “a nerd with muscles,” a friend called him. Daniels embraced the label.

“I’m, like, precisely. I’m a dork with muscles, baby, and there’s nothing you can do about it, because I’ll put you in the locker. I’ll never forget that, because I think it’s hilarious.”

Anime taught him it was OK to be himself, to like what he liked and to not try to conform to what was popular, he said. Anime characters increase power levels by working out and practicing martial arts skills, which helped instill an iron-clad work ethic in his son, Mike Daniels Sr. said.

There’s no question “Dragon Ball” has made him a better athlete, Mike Daniels said. “We’re preparing for a challenge and we’re going to push our bodies past its limits so we can meet and overcome said challenge.”

Daniels’ love of anime has rubbed off on his wife, Heaven, and their three children. He’s been known to give his oldest child a temporary pass on homework so they can watch “My Hero Academia” together. During the off season, he takes the kids to school, gets in a workout and then goes off the radar to do some serious anime binge-watching.

“Get out of my way. Don’t call me. Don’t text me. Leave me alone. I’m trying to enjoy my shows,” he said.

“He was Anime” was filmed in Green Bay and shows aerial shots of the city as well as such locations as Lambeau Field, the Packers fences along Lombardi Avenue and Flow Yoga Studio in De Pere.

The documentary is the first in a series from Crunchyroll, the world’s largest destination for anime with more than 1 million subscribers, showcasing prominent members of the anime community who have been inspired by the medium.