Although lockdown is now nothing more than a fleeting memory, let’s not waste this opportunity and try
something new for a change. It’d be a shame not to spend your time doing something new indoors anyway, since there’s still a pandemic going on.
What’s that? You don’t watch anime because it’s for kids and/or geeks?
Let me tell you something, bub. The anime industry took off in the late 50s, and there have
been two to three generations since that have grown up and gotten jobs in that industry. They
want to watch anime that fits their tastes, and that means there’s a demand. Every season at least twenty new shows air. I’d say it’s harder to not find one to start off with.
Luckily, anime streaming sites have been popping up left and right these past few
years so choose the one that suits you. Just be sure to check the size of their collection and
be extra careful if you’re watching with kids (I’m looking at you, Crunchyroll).
Baccano
When you’re watching Nurses, you’re probably not watching it to study medical terms (although there’s nothing wrong with that). No, you’re probably watching it for the drama. This anime has no shortage of drama, and it takes place in Prohibition Era New York; all to the beat of swing dance music and fast-paced orchestra.
When something more valuable than gold and booze (remember, prohibition) shows up in
the Big Apple, everybody in town gets caught up in the conflict. Everybody from a couple
of really funny thieves to the reigning Mafiosi and Camorristi; even some supernatural
forces take notice. Relationships are put to the test, pasts are brought up, and the fights are
crazy. There’s really no good way to explain what it’s like. Let’s say it’s kind of like Run Lola Run, in a good way.
The source material for this is a novel series that was started before the author graduated
college, and he decided he wanted to write a story of this period after being inspired by the
movie The Untouchables. At first, he wanted to write a story of an ancient wizard who was revived in New York
clashing with the mafia, and many now human characters were originally monsters of all
sorts. But he referenced many books and kept changing the plot until it reached this state.
There really are no characters in this show can call themselves the main character because
nobody can take the spotlight long enough, but the director (and the original author)
manages it well so it’s only confusing in the beginning.
Heroman
Little known fact, Stan Lee cooperated with Japanese creators a few years ago to make this
anime/manga (and several more).
That’s right, in between appearing in Marvel movies as funny civilians he flew to Japan to
write the stories of some seriously underrated anime. It’s honestly odd that no mainstream
sources picked up on it; even the anime community here slept on it. This anime fits right in with all the other Saturday morning cartoons, from its setting to its characterization.
Mild-mannered Joseph Carter “Joey” Jones is a hard-working middle-schooler who
supports his family by working at a neighbourhood café. He’s so poor he has to mow the
lawn with a pair of gardening shears, which means no money for toys.
When he saw the RC robot he wanted in the trash, he repurposed it into an action figure and
played with it until late at night. That night, lightning strikes the broken robot (very Fantastic
Four) becoming a sentient white giant that accepts Joey’s commands; and not a moment too
soon because America is invaded by yet another alien threat.
It’s pretty obvious from the name that Heroman is Stan Lee bringing what he does best to a
new audience. Joey is essentially Peter Parker with his alliterating name (possible Rick Jones reference?), status at school, and blonde love interest. Will, his bully, is Flash Thompson.
There’s even some Back To The Future references with Professor Denton and the “to be
continued” at the end of every episode.
Once you’re done with the anime, try reading the manga. As with most anime, the leap
from the source material leaves out a few things. Not to mention, you can see the difference
between Stan’s style and the director’s.
A Silent Voice
You’ve at least heard of Your Name, right? That award-winning anime movie that made
loads of money back in 2017? If you’re not really into anime, you probably didn’t notice
this movie that was released around the same time. This one is totally better, though.
Your Name isn’t a bad love story, but that’s about it. This is an anime that can make just
about anyone cry.
Shoya Ishida is a social reject who blocks out peoples’ faces due to some painful memories
from elementary school. As a kid, he was one of the cool guys. He had a group of friends that he always did stupid things with, and the girls liked him. One day, a girl transferred to
his class. Shoko has difficulties hearing without an aid, and it’s very difficult for her to
speak. Shoya, being a naughty ignorant boy began picking on her with his gang.
It started out cute like throwing her notebooks into the trash, but it soon escalated. Her mom didn’t stay
quiet, and the school was notified. When the principal asked who was responsible,
everybody in class pointed him out; even his so-called friends. Then everybody began
bullying him, and his world fell apart.
Now a high-schooler, Shoya takes lessons in Japanese sign language. He wants to make up
for what he’s done, and he suddenly has the opportunity to do so when he finds her in
another classroom.
This movie really delves into the difficulty the characters face thanks to mental and
physical communication barriers, and how each affects family life. The two of them face not
only the consequences of the past but new challenges in making friends and learning how
to forgive themselves.
Director Naoko Yamada and writer Reiko Yoshida felt it was necessary to emphasize the
themes so they did take some liberties adapting it from its source material, but you
could’ve fooled me because nobody was thinking that in the theatre.
There are so many more to talk about, but these are a few that should resonate well with a Western audience. 2020 was a bad year thanks to COVID-19; many titles were delayed. If you were lucky it’d be into the next season, if you weren’t it’d be into the next year. But things are looking up. Kyoto Animation has overcome their arson incident and released a new season of Dragon Maid, and we’re seeing more and more delayed series coming back. There’s a reason why Keanu Reeves likes anime too, why don’t you find out?
Comments are closed