The Magic of Anime in My Life

If there’s one thing in my life that has taught me the most about who I am, it has to be anime. I know that this may seem odd to those of you who aren’t big anime fans, but to those of you who are, you get where I’m coming from. 

Anime is a term that refers to Japanese animation. This form of animation is often considered very “cutesy,” but at the same time, it relates more to older audiences, and oftentimes the main age group who watches these shows are teenagers and adults. Anime has recently spread far outside the country of Japan however, and you can currently find devoted anime fans in almost every corner of the world.

Now that we’ve got the specifics out of the way, let’s get into my favorite part of anime: The diversity. Anime has something for everyone, whether you enjoy crime thriller, romance, comedy, mystery, action, or a mix of all! Yes, live action also has the same amount of variety, but I’ve always loved the art of animation, so if given the choice I will almost always choose an animated show over a live action one.

Now on to how this relates to me. Anime has always encouraged me to be a better person, because although the stories portrayed in the animations are not always true, they’re not always untrue either. I may not live in a realm with mythical creatures or curses, but the stories of hard work and passion have always pushed me to be a better version of myself. This is especially true with the animes that portray high school life. As a high schooler myself, whenever I would see characters studying or working hard to pass their exams, it always encouraged me to put forth that much effort for my tests, too. In all honesty, I think watching anime has made me a better student, and caused me to perform a lot better on some of the more difficult exams I have had to take. 

It’s not just about studies though. There’s a part of me that connects to anime characters at the personality level, too. I remember when I used to be obsessed with zodiac signs and personality types, I would spend a lot of my time seeing which characters shared these traits with me. Somehow, knowing that a character who seemingly had it all figured out shared an aspect of themselves with me made me feel more positive about myself and who I was. When I would see characters make similar mistakes or react to situations similar to myself,  it would always make me feel like I wasn’t doing something wrong, that I was doing okay since there were others like me, even if they weren’t “real people”.

All of this being said, I truly do believe that anime has something for everyone, and that if someone hasn’t watched one yet, they should go do it right now! It can teach you a lot about yourself, your interests and passions, or the type of person you wish to be. There are so many aspects of anime that we can learn from, and just like any good story, they each have a moral that they wish to convey. 

Picture credits: Dandadan by Yukinobu Tatsu, animated by studio Science SARU