Welcome, weebs and authors alike, to The Aniwriter

For today I have another OWLS post, this time focused on a show that I just recently finished and have had a great experience with: The Great Passage.

This months topic is “Self-Care,” described below:

In favor of positivity and good mental health, we will be exploring the importance of self-care. Sometimes, we are lost in our thoughts and emotions that it can cause a negative impact on our lifestyle and our relationships. For this month’s topic, the OWLS bloggers will be exploring the mental health of pop culture characters and how their mental health affects their environments. We will explore the dangers of mental health illnesses and how it might lead to self-destruction and/or how one has the power to overcome their demons. In addition, we will share our personal stories and struggles about mental health and discuss positive ways in handling mental health issues.

Also, make sure to check out Dale from That Baka Blog for his post yesterday, and Scott from Mechanical Anime Reviews for his tomorrow.

Now, with all that out of the way, here is the post.

Sleeping is something that I often have trouble doing. I’ll get ready for bed, start to lie down, and then suddenly a million thoughts will come rushing into my head. Some good, like thinking about the pizza that I probably ate that day, but most bad, like crippling insecurities and lack of confidence. It isn’t that I want to think about these things, but a certain combination of chemicals keeps them looping in the back of my mind like a bad movie that my friend forces me to watch every time I come over.

I say all this to let you that this post isn’t going to be anything special. I can promise you that know the unknown universal truth will be revealed about why we’re all here, or about the meaning of life. I am writing this post only to tell you one thing: you matter, and that includes people like Majime.

The Great Passage is a show that, until recently, I had not gotten a chance to watch. I had read the description of the story and thought about it until one day I finally sat down to watch it. It focuses on Majime Mitsuya, a sales guy who only works the job he has because it allows him to keep to himself, not having to talk to anyone. One day, though, he gets transferred to the Dictionary Department of Genbu Publishing.

In the opening episode of the show, Majime appears to be at a crossroad. His life seems to have been mostly constant and unchanging, largely because of his lack of confidence and his feeling that nothing will get better. But, the dictionary department changes all of that.

When Majime starts his work at the dictionary department, he realizes that much of what he thought about his life before is wrong. He understands that life does not have to be a constant, unchanging phenomenon. It is possible to get friends like Nishioka, or fall in love and get married to the person you most care about.

The dictionary department also taught Majime that words matter, and that what you say to someone can have a huge impact on their lives. I think that in a world in which people can more and more easily isolate themselves from others, that impact of words becomes much more felt and the sensation much more genuine.

As he studies new words and continues to work on the Daitokai, “The Great Passage,” Majime learns more and more about the world around him and all of the experiences he has never had. Words are the only form of expression he has to alleviate those feelings of dread, and he finds comfort in making a dictionary.

This may just sound like a bunch of rambling nonsense from some dude on the internet, but this rambling does have a purpose. If there were ever two words that Majime and I could both agree on that are important, they would be: you matter.

What do you guys think the definition of Slice of Life is? Let me know in the comments below. Also, if you want to support the Aniwriter through donations or are just feeling generous, consider buying me a coffee on Ko-Fi. Otherwise, thanks for reading and bye for now, Friendos!

Welcome, weebs and authors alike, to The Aniwriter.

I think its safe to say that most anime fans who are really involved in the medium have a list of shows they’ve been wanting to watch for so long but just can’t because of their lack of time. As for me, well, I’m not really any different. So, here is a list of the top 5 shows I can’t wait to watch.

5. The Great Passage

Okay, so here me out. I know when it comes to certain Slice of Life shows it can often seem like they’re going to be super boring, and when I first heard about the series that was my initial reaction too. But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is actually a fantastic story set-up. Just based off of the trailers I’ve seen, it seems like a story about relaying the power of words, and as a writer myself, I think that message is very important.

Being completely honest, though, I’ve kind of seen mixed reviews on this one, which is why its only number five, but still, I’m optimistic.

4. Honey and Clover

I think I can say with a large degree of confidence that March Comes in Like a Lion is not only one of my favorite anime, but has also affected me on a personal level that not many other shows have, which is why I am so excited to watch the other anime inspired by Chika Umino: Honey and Clover. Even just at first glance, the show seems like something I would love. A Slice of Life show about three guys in college and meeting new friends. I definitely want to watch this as soon as possible.

3. Re:Creators

Despite not having actually seen it, I’ve talked about this show a few times just because of how much its piqued my interest. The idea of characters from different fictional media coming to life and fighting it out already sounds like a fun set-up for a story. What has most recently revived my interest in the show is its soundtrack, which has a lot of standout pieces, including one I’ll put in below called Layers

The show’s music just has this hype factor that makes me more and more interested the more I listen to it. Shout-out to Hiroyuki Sawano for making such awesome music.

2. Neon Genesis Evangelion

There is a lot of older series that I’ve yet to seriously dig my heel into, including shows like Trigun and most of Bebop, but one that I’ve been extremely curious about is Neon Genesis Evangelion. The show is over 20 years old at this point and has always been seen as one of the popularizers of the mech genre. I have seen portions of the reboot movies, and those are definitely well made, but it seems like it would be a lot cooler to see the original.

1. Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Rakugo is a show that leaves me with a lot of questions the more I try to explore it without actually watching it. Rakugo, for those who don’t know, is a form of Japanese storytelling that involves a lone performer on stage playing multiple characters. The story in most cases ends with a comedic punchline, so much of the success of the performance is dependent on body language and how certain lines are delivered.

When I first read about it, I was like “of all the obscure things you could make an anime about, this definitely seems like the most obscure.” But still, considering the amount of praise I have heard from fans of the show, I am excited to watch it nonetheless.

What series have you guys been waiting to watch? Let me know in the comments below. Also, if you want to support The Aniwriter through donations or are just feeling generous, consider buying me a coffee on Ko-Fi. Otherwise, thanks for reading and bye for now, Friendos!