Anime

I have recently come to the realization (which you probably already knew, but, hey, I'm slow sometimes) that anime is just cartoons that are socially acceptable for adults (or at least young adults). You won't usually find twenty-somethings proudly declaring their love of TMNT or the Powerpuff Girls, but you will find those (usually the more geeky ones, but that just means they're the brave ones who aren't ashamed of what they watch) who will loudly argue for their favorite anime, such as Naruto, Bleach, or Dragonball Z.

Why are cartoons and anime so different from reality tv or crime shows? When you look at any live-action television show, it's focused on the realities of life and is full of drama, comedy, and murder. You get what you get, with all the messy situations and crap that goes into making life what it is. Cartoons, on the other hand, are more focused on trying to impart some sort of message to kids. This is usually about friendship, love, hope, forgiveness, never giving up, etc. The villain is usually clearly defined, the protagonist is always the good guy who finds some way to save everyone, and the take-home message of every episode is that good will always triumph if you stick to your values.

Anime blends these two genres together. It takes the realities of life (death, murder, and all the tragedies and crap you can think of) and gives it some sort of good will triumph overarching message about friendship or never giving up or love or all that gooey stuff. Some anime focuses a bit more on the realities of life and the consequences of our actions, and the fact that there is evil and we don't always have answers for the hard questions (Death Note, Psycho-Pass), but this is what makes it for adults and not children and why it is acceptable to watch once you're no longer a child. Adults have become jaded and can no longer believe in the perfect outcomes of children's cartoons. What they can believe in are the messages portrayed through the more hardcore stories of anime shows that aren't afraid to show how life really is so that we can relate but can still come up with an ending that gives us the hope of a better world and a better life.

Some really good animes are Fairy Tail, Naruto, Bleach, and Psycho-Pass. Fairy Tail, while far from being realistic, imparts great messages about friendship, bravery, forgiveness, and never giving up all while keeping the action up and the audience in tears or laughter. Naruto, a classic, is focused on not living down to expectations but following your dreams, reaching beyond your potential, and never giving up. Bleach, another classic, looks at fighting for justice, even when everyone else is against you, doing what's right even if it goes against the norm. And Psycho-Pass (the only semi-realistic one in this list, albeit sci-fi and futuristic) really makes one think about justice, right and wrong, an individual's role in society, the structure of government, and human nature. All of these are amazing shows with great messages that are too violent for younger audiences, but are perfect for adults who still want to dream and hope and believe in humanity, despite what the news networks try to tell us. There still is, and always will be, hope for humanity and for a better, brighter future. That is what watching anime has shown me and why I will always argue that anime is as good as, if not better than, all those  CSI and NCIS and all those other crime drama shows out there. Why focus on death when we can focus on life? That is my question here, why are so many people so interested in watching shows about murder and hatred? I don't get it at all.

Anime = a better outlook on life.