Your boyfriend is very wise. I like the manga look well enough, but when that's all a person can/will draw it is very limiting. I'm glad that I was already drawing and sort of had my own style before anime came along. (All it's really influenced is my cartoony cats. I liked how cats could be so simple, unlike when I draw in my more realistic style.)

Never underestimate anger as an influence, either. It can be the proper motivation for many things. (Usually it's things like turning fear to anger when a man tries to harm you, but it can be used in much more healthy situations as well, such as yours.) ^_^;