One aspect of trying something new is also separating the thing itself from the culture who form around it.

Sometimes the people around it are not to you’re liking, and it’s easy for that feeling to spill over into your perception, and you miss out on enjoying something you would have liked otherwise. Some examples with strong cultures: wine snobs, country music, and sci-fi nerds. If you don’t see yourself as one of “those people”, you could miss out on something you might otherwise enjoy.

I have that situation with anime. Yeah, I know that there are loads of awesome anime, but most anime fans are a bit... intense.