What Is Anime?
This article is made mainly in address to those that aren’t sure what anime is, or is generally confused about it, or just thinks it’s something it isn’t. I should start off by answering the big question. “What is anime?” So what is it? Naturally speaking it is animation from Japan, however I think that depending on the anime, there is a big difference between Japan’s Animation and our Western Animation style. I will be delving into some Anime, though first I would like to speak more about ‘anime.’
Though anime is more of a thing people don’t want to watch simply for being animated. Though really don’t knock it ‘till you try it.
Really all anime on this list are there to dwell any conceived notions about ‘anime.’ Anime is a simply an art form with many genres. I mean many, any story and more you could probably find at some point in time depicted in anime or it’s book form counterpart ‘manga.’ I personally am not interested in ‘cutesy’ anime. In fact I mainly avoid that side of anime. It’s far more popular in Japan than in America however. Anime also comes in three different ratings, children, teens and adults. Though the teen and adults focus solely on the PG-13+ rating anime as that is the majority.
One notion about anime is that it is completely for ‘children’ though I’d say with the anime I have seen few titles are made for children. Mainly they are mainly targeted towards teens. Many teens in today’s society are interested in anime, though not all. I think the biggest difference of all between anime and any western tv show is, anime deals with real world problems, they don’t shy away from mentioning current problems in Japan, that can also relate to universal problems. It’s what makes is so stunningly different. When I watch an anime I wonder what I will learn from it. I don’t think I have yet to not learn something. Anime is diverse and beautiful in its own way, it teaches you that anything is possible. It also teaches you to not take anything at face value.
Anime is not in the slightest bit ‘weird,’ okay maybe just a bit. Anime can come across as strange but I can ensure that anime keeps its PG-13 rating, though generally speaking anime is actually pretty tame most of the time. The only time it isn’t are in the general slightly goreyesque plots.
Death Note (Desu Nōto):
This was my true first taste of anime as I am not including my childhood TV shows Pokémon and Yugioh. Death Note is a Psychological Thriller something everyone should see a glimpse of, whether they like it or not is up to their tastes.
Death Note is about a highschool student that finds a supernatural notebook dropped by a Shinigami–or God of Death, he finds out that this supernatural notebook can kill people if he simply thinks of their face and writes their name down in his ‘Death Note’ he or she will die within 40 seconds from a heart attack if left unspecified, however he has 60 seconds to write down their cause of death though you will find he often doesn’t.
After his first two ‘tests’ of using the notebook he eventually figures out that it wasn’t a coincidence. Within the first episode it is already mentioned that Light Yagami — the protagonist of the series is a genius. In the second episode he seems to lose his marbles though not completely. He claims that he will become the ‘God of the New World’ after he rids the world of criminals. Though he quickly finds that the Police are after him and eventually L.
L is considered the ‘World’s Greatest Detective’ having been able to solve every case he was placed on. He challenges Kira’s intellect and within a matter of a few minutes is able to trace Light’s position to the Kanto Region of Japan. It quickly becomes a battle of wits and whoever reveals their face or name first is dead.
This series teaches you that not all protagonists are the ‘good guys.’ Which is a fresh and a new perspective on things, it also shows how much too much power can corrupt someone.
It’s also a very good show to watch even if you aren’t interested in anime, if psychological puzzles and the summary I gave you alone is enough to interest you, I’d suggest to give it a watch.
Death Parade (Desu Parēdo):
Death Parade, another anime that is a type of thriller, though the opening song seems pretty exciting this is the perfect example of a ‘not-what-it-seems-at-first’ kind of show. This story really isn’t for everyone because most of the game pieces are connected to the actual body parts of those that play them. Though some stories are heart-warming and worth the watch, the ending had also left me in tears.
Death Parade is about a woman named Chiyuki, who finds herself in the ‘afterlife’ though this isn’t the afterlife and it’s more like a bridge between. It is a space of judgement where the souls of those who died find themselves without memories of how they died, though they have memories of their lives. Some people know each other and some people don’t.
They are judged by non-humans called arbiters that don’t feel human emotion. Though they either send them to ‘heaven’ or ‘hell’ as so carefully supplied but it is quickly revealed that, that is not really where they go. They either go to a place called the ‘void’ or get ‘reincarnated.’
The main arbiter in focus is a man named Decim, he is the only arbiter later revealed to have human emotions. The woman Chiyuki comes to work with him as she had no memories of her life, so she ended up becoming his assistant until she could be properly judged.
Decim and Chiyuki work together to judge humans, and eventually that leads to her eventual judgement. Judgement is determined through games where they play with usually their own organs. In some cases they are directly linked and cause pain, and in others they are mere images.
This shows how humans truly react under pressure, it shows what we feel and also that not everyone is what they appear to be.
It’s worth a watch if you’re into the summary I had carefully supplied. Also fun fact Death Note and Death Parade were both made by the same company.
Haikyuu!!:
Haikyuu!! is to put it lightly the first anime I watched in a while, in fact I mainly like to circle around show’s I am already familiar with but Fall and Winter seems to be the time when I gravitate to new shows. Anime and TV alike. Some less memorable and some memorable enough to make me sing along to the opening (for the anime shows.)
Haikyuu I had seen on Netflix in Fall of 2019, it was the first anime I have seen in a long time that held me captive from start to finish. This anime does have quite a bit of swearing despite the PG-13 rating, though it’s honestly accurate cause teenagers do swear quite a bit these days. Though this anime has the same swear repeated almost the entire time to the main protagonist, Shoyo Hinata. Which in case you’re wondering is ‘dumb***’ (your mind can fill in the blank I know it already has.)
Haikyuu is a story about as I had mentioned Shoyo Hinata, a small ball of adorable if I do say so myself fire. I may be calling him adorable but his personality is truly that. Anyway back to m-the story, excuse my slip up. Shoyo Hinata is a small (5’4) ball of fire that was inspired to play volleyball by a tournament on TV in he saw in middle school.
In the beginning it shows him facing off against a team called ‘Kitagawa First’ his own team was comprised of relatively new players, though Hinata was pretty green himself. It also introduces another main character named ‘Tobio Kageyama.’ He swears a lot and seems really mean all the time but eventually he warms up to others and he should be grateful to have a friend like Hinata (and eventually the rest of Karasuno High Volleyball team), cause anyone else would have left him in the dust.
Eventually both of them graduate and end up joining Karasuno High, Hinata because he wanted to be like the Tiny Giant (or ‘Small Giant’) and Kageyama because he was just too stupid to make the entrance exams. They don’t get along in the beginning but after knocking the Vice Principals topi off. It started because they didn’t really get along much so…
Well, more importantly this story is very heartwarming one about a group of ‘crows’ (because karasu means crow, get it? Just me? Ok.) that work their way to the top. They go from ‘Wingless Crows’ to a murder of crows in a matter of three seasons.
Honestly what do I say besides, you can accomplish anything as a group.
Anyway, even if you’re not into sports this is probably the one that takes the cake, or ahh, trophy? It’s worth the watch and a nice recommendation, it’s currently on Netflix though only the first two seasons.
My Hero Academia (Boku No Hero Academia):
This was the series I watched right after Haikyuu!! You see good anime makes you bold and it will carry you on to your next adventure. So I was emboldened and so I discovered something beautiful and magical and I wanted to slap myself for not watching it sooner.
My Hero Academia is a story set in a world where people had mysteriously gained powers which people call ‘Quirks’ each quirk is unique and is surprisingly well thought out. After which both heroes and villains became a daily part of society, also resulting in a ‘Hero School.’ This is a pretty fun anime overall though some characters are strange to the eyes, though as someone that has seen quite a few anime it wasn’t really that much for me to handle. I have to admit though there was one moment not gruesome so much as a bit disturbing that I almost looked away (which I have never felt that way before from something.) I will explain in a moment, though it is like I said not gorish nor in any way shape or form over it’s PG-13 rating.
This story follows ‘Izuku Midoriya’ a teenager that was born without a quirk, or ‘quirkless.’ He grows up being bullied for being ‘quirkless’ and was given the name ‘Deku’ which in Japan means ‘useless person.’ He is saved from a slime (some person with a slime quirk) by one of his favorite heroes ‘All Might.’ He ends up clinging onto him and eventually learns his secret that his body can’t stay in a transformed state.
He asks All Might, “Do you think someone quirkless could become a hero.” All Might responds about how dangerous it is and says a few harsh words to discontinue him from trying to become a hero.
Afterwards Izuku gets a tad depressed over it and he nearly gives up. Though when Katsuki Bakugo his childhood friend, more like bully sort of. Was in danger he tries to save him from the same slime that had tried to harm him. His legs had moved on their own and inspired by his act of foolish bravery All Might had pushed his own limits to save the both of them.
Afterwards he tells him that he too can be a hero and tells him the secret behind his own quirk. ‘One-For-All,’ this quirk had the ability to be passed down from person to person and the more it was passed the more it grew. The next few months Izuku trained to receive the quirk or else it would have been too much for him to handle.
He ends up being accepted into ‘U.A High’ though not after he had taken both the exam and the physical. The physical the students had to fight against robots in order to achieve points, thus it also showcased Izuku’s power and lets just say wherever he happened to use said power, so if he used an arm persay, he broke every bone in that same arm he used. So it was a bit disturbing to see his arm flapping in the wind behind him.
First time I was actually bothered by something too. I think I was more so thinking about the fact that would really hurt.
Anyone can be a hero. PLUS ULTRA!
I could have gone on about that one for hours, now onto the next one shall we?
Your Lie In April (Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso):
The first episode is a bit slow, but touching nonetheless. It is a story about a fourteen year old boy who had been emotionally and at times physically abused by his own mother. Thus despite being put in a ‘pg’ category I would say it is more appropriate for those that are 12 and over. Any younger and they would just not understand it.
It is a touching story about how the protagonist Kousei Arima learns his joy for the piano again. As a certain girl changes how he sees life and thus gives more meaning to what he sees. I don’t think any summary I give would give this series justice, though the story itself isn’t for everyone as this is a romance series and not everyone is as interested in romance as other people. This particular story is a tear-jerker as well so unless you’re looking to have your heart ripped into pieces I’d look somewhere else.
Though from this point onward, not to be a bit depressing but all the anime I’ll mention will probably bring you close to tears, or make you cry.
“Life is like a piano; the white keys represent happiness and the black show sadness. But as you go through life’s journey, remember that the black keys also create music.” -Tom Lehrer
I inserted a quote that just fit this series so much. Remember that in order to play the piano of life you must also play those black keys.
A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi):
This movie made me cry, on three occasions throughout the entire movie. It is a heartwarming breathtaking story about a deaf girl and the boy that had bullied her in grade school who was trying to make amends. I don’t think even trying my hardest I could ever come up with a story quite so beautifully crafted. Not only does it delve into bullying, but also suicide and mental health.
No matter the community mental health is always a harder topic. People like to dance around the subject about if someone is doing okay or not. We all have our own worth, in fact every person on this planet is important in some way shape or form even the worst of people.
This is a very touching story, as Shoya Ishida and Shouko Nishimiya find their own wills to live in each other. Shoya the male protagonist tries to make amends with Shouko, you see slight references to suicide and it is mentioned that he was going to jump off a bridge. He attempts to make amends and asks her if they ‘can be friends?’ a question she had once asked him.
It’s indescribable how beautiful the story is. I had cried so much the first time I had watched it and I am sure that if you take this story up you will find that the story will be enough to make you be brought to tears.
This shows how life can be both painful and beautiful and that anyone can be redeemed.
Your Name (Kimi no Na wa):
“The day the star fell, it was like seeing something out of a dream. Nothing more or less than a breathtaking view.”
The opening sentence of Your Name describes the anime perfectly. The entire scene of the movie is surreal. In a way that takes your breath away and at times it’s almost as if time has stopped.
The story is about a boy named Taki Tachibana, and a girl Mitsuha Miyamizu. It’s a story about how they switch bodies for a day and then they are once more back to themselves and then they switch again. Mitsuha is a shrine maiden who appears to be reaching her last year in highschool when the story takes place.
This film shows parts of more ancient Japanese culture that few could appreciate. Along with a connection to what nature is. Each scene is truly wallpaper worthy as each piece of this anime is a masterpiece. The ending is enough to leave anyone in tears.
It does have characters that drink and smoke and one mild swear word, it is rated PG though I will mention that PG is for (Parental Guidance.) So there is no reason a kid couldn’t watch this though I’d say it is best for 12+ simply to understand it’s message of love and nature and caring for another.
I’ll conclude this all off by saying that anime is a wonderful and empowering art form. I’ve learned from everything I’ve watched and I have cried so many times over the happy scenes and sad scenes. Anime portrays emotion and I think that anyone that watches anime could say confidently that no matter the age (though don’t show PG-13+ content to kids.) Anime can be enjoyed by anyone. You will find characters that you will hate with a burning passion and all of a sudden one small sentence will be like a bucket of water was splashed over that flame.
You learn to love characters you used to hate and the only thing I’ve ever seen be able to do that is anime. It makes you feel emotions, emotions that you think you could never feel. Like somehow you can feel happy and sad and it’s so overwhelming you cry? Yeah sometimes that happens in real life but dang anime does that more often than not.
Characters are so well made that it’s almost unbelievable. You have characters with flaws and characters that feel and make you feel in return. Even a short movie can have you in tears, and not only that only the music anime provides could manage to make you cry from just hearing it. (Which was my experience with ‘Dream Lantern’ from Your Name.) It also transcends language barriers to make the listener feel and seem to understand the music even if they don’t outright.
You also get a taste for worlds you never thought could ever have come out of someone’s imagination. Breathtaking views, heartwarming stories. I’ve managed to cry from an anime’s movie trailer and all I can say is. How? How can you cry when you don’t even know the characters? That’s something I don’t have an answer too, something I hope I can get an answer to.
This is where I say sayonara, and I hope that all my picks will be interesting enough to take up.
