What Anime Means to Me

By: Aronel Brennen

Where can I even begin...

I've absorbed a lot of media in my time. Animation has and will always be my preference, but it's fair to say I've still seen far more non-Japanese media in a span of twenty-four years. It's because of this that I know there's a differenceーit isn't to say that western media can't accomplish the feat I'll describe; there are thousands of profoundly moving stories out there from our country as well as others. But I gotta say, I have never encountered another form of story-telling that is designed to touch the soul as consistently as anime can.

The first "blue-blooded" anime I ever saw (sorry, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, and Yugioh do not count) was an adaptation of the long-running "Tales of" video game series. I still debate myself on when my "awakening" took place (around 14 or 15yrs old.) I stumbled upon a full episode on YouTube of Tales of Symphonia. Notably disappointed was I that it was subtitles only, but this feeling would soon change as I found myself heavily invested in the story and characters. I cried over an animated character for the first time.

After that my course was charted, I needed more, MORE! To my delight the Tales series had at least four more adaptations, which I enjoyed respectively, and from there it was on to the big ones: Naruto, One Piece, Fairy TailーI'd add Dragon Ball and Bleach but I have not gotten around to them. Those are generally considered the “big five” in the anime community. Think of them as Tier 1 on a scale of mainstream to obscure. I delved into Tier 2 and beyond over the years: Death Note, Demon Slayer, Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia, Hunter X Hunter, these we could consider Tier 2. A third Tier might look something like: Tokyo Ghoul, Re:Zero, Doctor Stone, Noragami, Soul Eater.. Tier 4 is where we start getting those long titles: Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, Akatsuki no Yona, March Comes in Like a Lion, Akagame no Shirayuki Hime, should I go on? I wish I could but then this article would be long and boring and you'd probably stop reading to go watch anime.

Is there any anime I hate? Glad you didn't ask, there is one in particular I find myself loving to hate, which makes for a strange relationship with it indeed. Diabolik Lovers is a dating sims adaptation (yikes), with vampires (oh dear), and basically non-stop glorification of the abuse of the female protagonist (911 what's your emergency?) though apparently it’s primarily female demographic eats it up, from what I’ve seen... From an analytical perspective, it's rushed, the episodes are formulaic; you only end up watching it desperately hoping something good will happen, and somebody anybody will be nice to heroine-kun...spoiler, this does not happen. Yet the rage I self-induce from this dumpster fire has oddly enough become a memorable experience, and the theme song had the audacity to grow on me...Diabolik Lovers, watch it at your own peril.

On a more serious note, I need to talk about why exactly anime is so important to me. Remember that mention earlier about stories that touch the soul? Once you experience this phenomenon you can't go back. Maybe this sort of thing speaks to artists and empaths like myself louder than others, but the joys and pains of many of the characters we see in discernably "good" animes are so real to me they begin to effect reality itself. My reality becomes me choosing to work harder, endure, get up, cry, push throughーbecause they did it. I can relate inwardly to said character, and if they can get through it, I can too. I'm sad for my own culture, because I think we've moved away from this idea; we build characters off of externals nowadays more and say, I can relate to them because they look like me, speak like me, dress, have similar interests, and maybe come from the same background as me. But true relatability comes from the state of the soul.

I can't recommend enough my favorite anime of all time, Demon Slayer. Due to it’s overhype, my praises may fall on deaf ears among many anime purists, and mainstream opposers; if it's popular it must be trash! But Demon Slayer or Kimetsu no Yaiba is one of the few series that matches high quality with its massive hype. Its main character Tanjiro has become definitively my favorite character of all time. In anything. While his tragic backstory does share parallels with several other shows' protagonists, it's how he goes through the story responding to his hardships that set him apart. Kindness is the running theme of Demon Slayer, and Tanjiro has solidified himself as a uniquely incorruptible character. Unlike many male protagonists in anime, he is not swayed by lust, he does not give in to anger, he does not care about being the best in the world, and he does not make decisions off of personal pride. He fights to kill but only because it must be done to protect others, yet he has deep empathy for his enemies. The show goes through lengths to express that Tanjiro has a "pure soul" (yes more soul talk) so pure in fact that after experiencing it, one character who was prepared to end Tanjiro's life, came to a point of falling on his knees and confessing that the love in Tanjiro's soul touched him, causing him to turn and be a better person. Powerful stuff. As a Christian myself, I would call this a rare and shining example of the Holy Spirit, but that would be another long and passionate discussion.

Anyone has the power to tell a story that's profound, there are near an infinite number to be enjoyed, but it cannot be denied that Japanese story-telling has perfected this art on a consistently masterful level. There truly is something for everyone no matter who you are, how old you are, or where you come from. Give it a try. I guarantee, the world from here on will look so much more colorful.

"The glimmering fairies inside your heart brought light into mine." ~Mugen Train