Life Lessons from Anime
If you had told me even two years ago that I would be so into anime that I would be gleaning life lessons from it, it would have been awhile before I stopped laughing in your face.
My sister can attest to the fact that I used to ridicule anime as well as pretty much anyone who watched it regularly (pokemon was exempt for whatever reason), since they normally bore the brunt of my teasing, and I never pictured it as a valuable addition to anyone's life.
Fast forward many years, and I finally sat down and watched Death Note. I loved it but was too intimidated by the sheer amount of anime to choose from on Netflix that I gave up on trying to watch anything else for awhile.
Then, November 2018 hit, and a couple of my good friends introduced me to Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, and gave me a list of good animes to start with - and I’ve been hooked ever since. Since then I’ve finished or am currently watching the following -
Death Note, FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, HunterxHunter, Made In Abyss, Sailor Moon, Code Geass, One Punch Man, Kenichi: The Strongest Disciple, Haikyu, and My Hero Acadamia.
That may not seem like a lot to some of you veteran watchers, but I’m pretty pleased with how much I’ve covered in such a short time span (no, I will not be watching Naruto anytime soon...)
For those of you that are not as familiar with anime, most of these fall under the category of Shounen anime.This type is typically aimed at the target audience of teenage boys and is characterized by high action, often humorous plots, featuring young, male protagonists. But they carry far more similarities than that - and those are some of the lessons I want to talk about today.
Focus -
Most of the protagonists in these anime’s have a singular goal that they are working towards. In FMAB, Ed and Al want their bodies back; In HxH, Gon wants to find his dad; in Haikyu, the Karasuno volleyball team wants to win Nationals.
Some of these goals are big (having a body is kind of a big deal), and some are smaller - volleyball nationals aren’t saving any lives here. But ALL of the protagonists have a singular focus on this goal. They want to pursue it in lieu of pretty much anything else in their lives. They don’t get distracted by other ventures, or what other people are doing. They decided on this goal and they are intent on it.
I’m jealous of this kind of focus. I get distracted all the time by pursuits that are seemingly better than what I’m currently doing. But by narrowing your view - you allow yourself to truly put in the effort it takes to get great at something before changing or adjusting to something new.
Discipline -
I love training montages, and the protagonists in these shows get put through some ridiculous exercises. But even though you’ll see some complaining to their coaches or mentors, you’ll never see a protagonist try and barter or negotiate or get out of training altogether.
In fact, many of them are portrayed as looking forward to it. They keep their focus on their goal in the front of their mind, and they don’t care how long it takes or how hard it is - they get up every single day and keep going. That’s something that can be applied to any goal, physical or otherwise.
Teamwork - often times in western media, protagonists are portrayed as going at it alone. Whether they’re a superhero or on a quest for revenge, they can come off as loners. They probably pick up a spunky side-kick along the way, but it’s not really an equal relationship. Such is not the case with anime protagonists. They would absolutely not get anywhere at all if it were not for the side characters.
There is a hugely emphasized teamwork theme. The side characters are often just as fully fleshed as the main ones and you grow equally, sometimes more attached to them in their journey to help the protagonist than the actual protagonist’s journey to their goal.
This is important for us in the real world to remember because none of us are on an island. Anyone who claims they just pulled themselves up by their bootstraps to achieve success is a liar. We’ve all had help, a lot of help, and it’s important to recognize our limitations and where we should lean on others to improve.
Purpose -
As I mentioned above - all the protagonists have some sort of goal they are working towards, but all of those goals have a strong sense of purpose. Rarely is a protagonist out to gain wealth or knowledge solely for the sake of it. There is always something at stake for them whether it’s personal improvement, honor, or helping someone else. It serves something much higher and more fulfilling than material gains, or accomplishment simply for revenge, mischief, or power.
Even though these lessons are prevalent throughout most media, they’re not quite as obvious anywhere else as they are in shounen anime. Nowhere else do I find myself getting jealous of the protagonists’ focus and discipline quite like I do in this medium. So even though anime can be silly, and it does take some getting used to - it’s not quite as simple minded as I used to think it was and turns out - there’s actually a lot to admire.