I believe there are benefits to watching or listening to anything. Anime or not.
What matters most is if you pay attention. That’s where the secret sauce is which benefits you in some way.
Here’s a quick list of 9 solid reasons anime will make you smarter, and add meaning to your life.
1. You learn unexpected things
If you watch Jormungand, you learn about the realistic lives of arms dealers. And how they travel the world, surround themselves with bodyguards, and end up in dangerous situations.
Not to mention how they’re the reasons wars break out in the first place.
If you watch School Live, you learn about mental health issues like PTSD.
If you watch Little Busters, you learn about a real life condition called: Narcolepsy. A condition that causes you to fall asleep whenever you feel relaxed or happy.
If you pay attention, the anime you’ve watched have taught you something valuable, useful, or interesting. Making you more knowledgeable in the process.
2. You learn about Japanese culture
This one is obvious, and while it might not always be 100% right, it mostly is accurate.
Anime is made by the Japanese after all, and gives you insights into their culture. Even if a little!
3. You learn about Japanese food
This one’s a given. It’s anime after all.
If you watch Ranma 1/2 you learn about a dish called: Okonomiyaki, which is made on the island of Okinawa. In the anime a character called: Ukyo runs her own Okonomiyaki restaraunt.
if you watch Shakugan No Shana, you learn about a type of Japanese food called: Melon bread (Melonpan).
And if you watch Pokemon or School Rumble, you’ll learn about Onigiri (a type of rice ball).
This list is endless…
4. You learn life lessons
Too much arrogance leads to losses eventually, and your self-esteem gets crushed in the process.
Bullying others has its implications later in life, no matter how subtle it is.
Not being thankful for your parents may lead to regret one day if they die suddenly.
All 3 of these life lessons happen in 3 anime series:
- My Hero Academia.
- A Silent Voice.
- Orange.
No matter the anime, there’s always something to learn that will help you. And this is even true for comedy series which are more subtle when it comes to life lessons.
5. You learn about relationships
Not all anime relationships are realistic. Let’s be real about that.
But when they are realistic you learn about the hardships, pains, tragedy, and even the benefits of being in a relationship.
And depending on the anime, it’ll walk you through all the struggles that come with it.
6. You learn about hard work, patience, and team work
Watch Haikyuu and it’ll teach you about team work, and why it’s so crucial.
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Watch New Game and you learn about the struggles of pursuing what you love. And starting out as a beginner.
Unlike Films, anime has life lessons of all kinds because of the amount of genres and topics it has.
7. You learn about the ugly side of human nature
Watch Elfen Lied and this picture is painted perfectly. The anime deals with rape, child abuse and violence after all.
Tune into Black Lagoon and you’ll see the dark-side of how the grittiest places on earth tend to be (even if a little exaggerated).
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A lot of these dark lessons are sprinkled throughout the anime industry. And some of them are hard to swallow.
Related: Dark Anime Series You Should Consider Watching
8. You learn about communication
Watch ReLife and you’ll understand this. Or even watch Kokoro Connect.
Lack of communication always leads to misunderstandings and problems. When we don’t understand each other, friction is caused.
Next thing you know violence, madness, pain and tragedy are soon to follow.
9. You learn how to have fun
Watching anime is a fun activity by itself. But when you watch:
- Comedy.
- Parodies.
Or anything similar, it teaches you how to have fun, chill, relax and not take life too seriously.
A life without fun is no life at all.
In a nutshell: The main benefit of anime is learning!
I’ve learned about culture, historic facts, conditions, and too many things to count on both hands from anime.
It’s like an adventure. The more you watch anime, the more you discover. Because there’s so many shows, you’l never run out of new things to watch and new thing to learn.
