My first ever Anime crush was Misty when I was 8. There were some off and on ones as I got older, but at some point I no longer had an interest like that with fictional characters. As others have stated in this thread, it's now more of an appreciation of the art and character's style rather than a real romantic attraction. An example of this is Perona from One Piece. I like her outfit, I like her attitude, and I like her powers. But, I wouldn't say I'm actually attracted to the character beyond appreciating those details.
Just to clarify, though, I don't believe it's wrong in the slightest for anyone to have those interests for a fictional character. If that's how you are, you should just ignore anyone trying to make you feel shame over it. As others have said, it's not hurting anyone, and you enjoy it, so there should be no shame involved.
