Dear my fellow older fans,

I know the feeling. It sucks sometimes to grow up. From waking up early in the morning just to get to school on time, to waking up early to get to work on time. It sucks to spend every waking day slaving away at our jobs, just trying to make a living.

For me personally, one of the best ways to unwind or escape from the gloom of reality is by kicking back and healing my inner child again. Now, I know that may look different for everybody. For some, it’s buying the toys and video games that they couldn’t when they were younger. For others, it’s going on adventures without needing parental permission. While these are all well and good, I think one of the more universally healing experiences is going back to the shows that entertained us as kids.

Cartoons, action shows, animes, and everything in between. There are some shows that we grew up alongside, and some that we outgrew or even outlived. Recently, however, some shows were given a second breath and are—or are in the process of—being rebooted in either a new format or medium. In fact, three of those come to mind. One Piece is currently doing its fated live-action rendition over on Netflix. Percy Jackson and the Olympians, as well as Avatar: The Last Airbender, are also getting their live-action revivals.

With that, I have one message for everyone: Don’t. Gatekeep. The shows.

I’ve seen this thing happen time and time again: the older fans get this sense of superiority over the newer fans of any sort of medium. It happened with Pokèmon, it happened with Naruto, and it might happen again with the new shows.

One Piece fans, our show is now going through the dark time that all successful animes go through, and that’s being subjected to a live-action. Though it does seem like it’s going well for them, the reception is generally positive. So things are looking up for you all.

Still, please be gentle with those who are still trying to understand the concept of the Devil Fruit or with the newer fans who aren’t as excited to see Chopper as you are. For many, the Netflix show is their first introduction to your 26-year-old 1077 episode, Animè. Maybe the original was too much for them to start with, and this show is the driving factor that will get them there.

To the Percy Jackson fans, just like when the movies initially came out, we have no idea how they’re going to turn out. Unfortunately, it did not end well, and we were given subpar movies that continue to be a tainted memory to this day. However, similar to One Piece, the new show looks promising! It has the potential to invite newcomers to appreciate the world of gods and monsters that we grew up with.

Then again, chances are these people could be coming in blind (or worse, from the movies), so they might not appreciate the little details as some of us who grew up with the books do. Maybe their knowledge of the franchise just comes from the movies, but that shouldn’t stop them from enjoying the show as well.

Finally, a series that’s also near and dear to my heart is Avatar the Last Airbender. Fans of the show know we were given the Percy Jackson treatment, and our live-action movie was a disappointment as well.

Again, similar to Percy Jackson, the new show brings promise and, with it, new fans as well. Please listen to Uncle Iroh and choose happiness and love over power. I hope, rather than stopping new fans from engaging with the show, you welcome them in with open arms and show them the world that we all fell in love with too.

At the end of the day, there will be new people who will fall in love with the shows we already love. Don’t push them away. Don’t make them feel like they’re in the wrong for trying something new. Help them love our shows just as much as we do.