What is Anime?
Anime is all about stories, about bringing people's inner fantasies of heroism, tragedy, love and friendship, into their minds and imaginations
Anime is a story of a middle aged worker dying and being reborn in a world of fantasy. Anime is a young adult finding a book of the dead, and using it to bring 'justice' to criminals.
Anime is a middle schooler falling into a family well only to discover herself hundreds of years in the past, when the world was full of demons and monsters.
Anime is a young man and his friends going on pirate adventures in order to fulfil their dreams.
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Anime is all about stories, about bringing people's inner fantasies of heroism, tragedy, love and friendship, into their minds and imaginations.
It can give people a little bit of escapism from their more boring lives, it can open their minds to concepts and ideas. It can teach life lessons through the tragedies and triumphs of the characters.
Anime are cartoons that run the gamut of styles and stories, from a children's show aimed at teaching kids, to more adult shows that holds nothing back in its depictions of war, death and tragedy.
These days anime is consumed across the world, and is loved by and catered to a wide spectrum of age groups, from preschoolers to adults.
Why is it so popular?
Most western cartoons are created with children as their targeted audience, with bright colours and simplistic storylines that begin and end in a single episode. They are designed as episodic content that young children can watch and enjoy in any order.
Anime on the other hand can take things much more seriously, with complex characters, branching storylines and real emotional stakes. While shows for children obviously exist, the bulk of animated shows in Japan actually target young adults to adult audiences and cover a panorama of different topics, stories and genres.
While shows like Naruto, Attack on Titan and One Piece are known the world over, these shows mainly target the young male demographic and don't really show the sheer variety available. From sports, to action to romance and tragedy, there is truly something for everyone, in every mood.
Below are several well known movies and shows that can act as a gateway for first time watchers.
Grave of the Fireflies - Drama, War, Tragedy
A product of the legendary Studio Ghibli, Grave of the Fireflies follows two young children as they struggle to survive in the final months of World War 2 after the bombing of Kobe. Considered one of the greatest war films of all time, it is acclaimed in Japan as one of the defining works of their animation industry. While a powerful and moving story, this animation does not hold back on the horrors of war and its consequences, and should not be watched by young children or teens without parental supervision.
Due to licensing issues, Grave of the Fireflies is not available for streaming at this time.
Haikyuu!! - Sports, Comedy, Drama
A much beloved sports series about high school volleyball about two boys and their dreams to be professional volleyball players. Shoyo Hinata finds himself on his new high school volleyball team with his rival Tobio Kageyama, where they eventually become friends and partners in their shared path to playing as professionals.
Haikyuu is currently available for streaming on Netflix.
Horimiya - Romance, Coming-of-Age, Slice of Life
A romantic coming of age story, Horimiya follows the lives of two high school teens, one a bright and popular girl and the other a nerdy quiet boy who lives different lives outside of the classroom. Brought together after discovering each other's secret lives, this is a quiet and entertaining romance between two people discovering themselves.
Spy X Family - Action, Comedy, Mystery
Based on the conflict between a fantasy version of east and west Germany during the cold war, this show is both a heartwarming family comedy and an action and suspense packed spy thriller. Special Agent Twilight of Westalis is tasked with getting close to a political leader of Ostania in order to discover his secrets, and to do that he needs to enrol his child in a prestigious academy with the children of the rich and powerful. Sadly he is not married and doesn't have a child, and has only two weeks to resolve both situations. Full of heartwarming and laugh-out-loud moments, this show will have you debating whether you like the comedy or the action more.
Spy X Family is currently available for streaming on Netflix and Muse Asia's youtube channel.
Komi Can't Communicate - Coming-of-Age, Slice of Life, Romantic Comedy
Another high school slice of life show, with a twist. Komi, the title character is a beautiful young woman, known for aloof demeanour and dignified bearing, beloved and held as an example to all other students, that suffers from severe social anxiety. She can't speak, she can't emote, and she is terrified of social interaction. None of her classmates or teachers realise this, other than one young man named Tadano, whose quiet, unwavering support and understanding slowly helps her come out of her shell.
Komi Can't Communicate is currently available for streaming on Netflix.
Anime Tonic is the newest weekly column at the Business Standard, with reviews, top ten lists and updates on all things anime and manga!
