Does this make me sound weird or different if I say that I don't see anime as just awesome cartoons because a lot of my friends do . I see anime as an escape for when life gets you down , so when I love an anime it brings me up . Am I the only one who thinks this way or are there other people who do the same I don't want to feel alone on this .....

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
>;o)
Anime is an awesome way to escape. It makes a fantastic distraction from everything happening in the real world.

Dont worry, i also use anime to escape reality. i mean, sometimes, real life can be like an anime, and others say things like "life is an anime, you're just not the main charecter".

Point is, we all love anime for many reasons :) i know how you feel :)

Anime is unexplainable. It is our very body and soul. It is undeniable. It is the truth.

It's something to relate to when you feel no one else understands you.

Anime Is my escape from reality. But visual novels are much better than anime sometimes. And there are a lot of things out there that is a possible escape from reality. games books, drawings, and etc.

My friends feel the same too. They just take it as awesome cartoons. They only like to watch the popular anime saying that the rest is shit, but I tell them that the popularity doesn't matter that it's how it makes you feel. They've never taken it as anything else. Anime is a part of us, it always will be and the affect it puts on us is much to real.
But yes, like >>6 said there are a lot of things that are a possible escape from reality.

Technically anything that distracts you from reality can be used as an escape from reality. Anime is no exception.

It's important to use this in moderation, escaping reality for long periods of time is unhealthy and will actually depress you more!