Why you should start watching animes

Among a lot of other things, I have been a fellow anime lover for almost a decade now and I still am. Animes commonly refer to Japanese cartoons and animated movies. Their codes and gimmicks really differentiate them from American or European content. Besides, the culture from which they originate and where they take place conveys various values that we don’t always put in light in our western societies. This being said, I will try to share with you a glimpse of the Japanese Animation greatness and hopefully convince you to give it a shot. If you already are familiar with it, I think you still can find a few lesser known recommendations that are great alternatives to the most popular animes.

First of all, I’d like to start by dismissing the “Well I just don’t like Animes, they probably aren’t made for me anyway” answer. I can understand that you think that after watching a random episode of Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon or Naruto that happened to be on TV at this moment. But this, is as much representative of the overall Anime world that one radio channel is representative of the general concept of “Music”. More precisely, the famous Animes on TV specifically target young boys, and rely a lot on fighting scenes, magical skills and “the power of friendship” ; they are called Shonen. And for sure, good Shonen exists, some even are on TV, but as part of an often very long and complex story, it is hard to enjoy this without any knowledge of its universe or whatsoever.

So I would like with a few examples, to show you how rich and varied the universe of Japanese animation really is and how much potential it contains. I humbly hope that it can show you a door to unexpectedly great content that you will enjoy. For information, an anime episode lasts around 20 minutes.

As a starter, let’s see how much different and atypical subjects Animes can cover.

Ballroom e youkoso (24 episodes) is a great anime about a teenager discovering the world of Ballroom ; we can follow him around his evolution and discover with him the graces of Waltz, Foxtrot and many other dances. If it can convince you, that the Anime won many awards.

You are more into music? No problem, Your Lie in April (22 episodes) tells the deeply sad and inspiring story of a young pianist and his violinist friend, trying to find their place on stage as much as in the world. It is probably the closest I have been to crying since I saw The Green Mile.

On a completely different tone and for cooking and food lovers, I can’t recommend enough Shokugeki no Soma (5 seasons). Even though being a bit provocative, this anime wonderfully mocks, and plays with the common cliches in outrageously well managed duels where students fight by cooking the best dish they can. You are laughing and don’t think it is possible to feel tension and suspense with such a ridiculous concept right? Well I did aswell before to be honest. I am watching season 5 now.

For your main dish, I will briefly expose some of the greatest masterpieces ever made by mangakas (it is how manga writers are called). They are the classical and cult works that created, shaped and still influence the art of Manga ; they truly deserve a bit of your time and are definitely worth watching, as much as any cult movie or book.

• Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood (64 episodes)

• Hunter X Hunter (150 episodes)

• One Piece (900+ episodes)

These are four paragons of the anime world, complete “must watch” and maybe the best stories I ever witnessed. What they have in common is that not only they are exemplary in their storytelling, graphic design, or everything you could expect from an animated movie, but they take place in a world fully built by their respective authors. As well in the world of Harry Potter, The Middle Earth, Narnia and so on, you are completely immersed in a new universe, with its own rules, colors and possibilities. And even a long time after you finished to watch the series, you find yourself wandering in this world, live dreaming in it, and wishing you could spend a few holidays or a few lives there. I can’t obviously describe all their stories, but for each of them, I will highlight what amazed me the most.

In Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, the two heroes fight against artificially created humans, that supposedly have no soul, and philosophical questions emerge all along the story: what is it to be human? What is a soul? How far can we go for science? And also, they have magical powers.

Hunter X Hunter probably is the most classical Shonen of them all. Fighting, great enemies, great friends, great adventures, great worlds. And also, they have magical powers.

Finally, One Piece. I should warn you, it’s long (900+ episodes). But don’t let it repel you, it is one of the most onirical, mysterious and magnificent world I know. Comparable to the Lord of the Rings, World of Warcraft, Star Wars, it is guaranteed to immerse you in a colorful, immensely vast universe, full of secrets and amazing characters. The journey of the hero is a journey into the unknown, as exciting and breathtaking as if we were young children discovering the world for the first time again. Maybe it is it, childhood again, with its indescribable joy and amazement for every new object in sight. It’s about pirates, dreams and freedom. And also, they have magical powers.

Finally, here comes the dessert. It contains some of my favorite short animes that could surprise and entertain anyone.

Parasite also called Kiseijuu : Sei no Kakuritsu (24 episodes) is about a human receiving a superior alien life in it’s body. They start knowing each other and interacting, as the alien doesn’t have emotions although he’s intellectually much more advanced. Of course, they will have to save the world and mankind from extinction. The philosophical implications of this anime are truly captivating and leave you thoughtful for a long time. Bonus : the musics are exceptional and you might have already heard them without even knowing the anime.

Psycho-pass, Season 1 (22 episodes), every episode is a delightful well designed treat for the thoughtful spectator. A futuristic society, where the cops have guns that determine the criminality potential of an individual ; if it goes too high, the gun kills him even if he didn’t commit any crime yet. I thing you already understood the underlying questions. And so did the author. Every single episode is a mind-blowing reflection on this, often coupled with other subjects such as art, law, psychology, madness… I can’t recommend it enough.

Last but not least, The Promised Neverland. Anything that I can say about the story would be a spoiler, so I will only leave you with this : It is how the Peter Pan tale would have turned out if the kids had to outsmart their surroundings at every moment only so they could survive a few more days.

Well, this isn’t at all an exhaustive or complete description of all the eclectic possibilities that Japanese Animation conceals. Of course, I couldn’t talk about every great Manga so I had to make very hard concessions. Feel free to share your personal favorites and give your opinion on the ones I quoted ! I eager to see if I could interest any of you in one of these great content.

またね ! (Means “See you soon”)

Wok Legend