Another lesson anime teaches us is that we can't make it through life on our own. For example, in the movie "Spirited Away," a girl finds herself lost and alone in a strange world where she knows no one and she is told by the witch in charge that she is lost forever. She had to depend on the kindness and help of strangers to survive, but she was never alone. Someone was always looking out for her. Though our world seems so much crueler than this, this movie gives hope that there are people there to help us find a way out of whatever situation we find ourselves in, no matter how dire and grim it seems.
Sometimes people need to depend on other people because they're in an unfamiliar place. Other times, we need other people to simply make us feel like we're not alone. The main character in almost any anime has his/her partner, if not a small group, that they travel/interact with, no matter how successful they are on their own. This is the way it is in the series "Rurouni Kenshin." The main character of the series is a samurai with a blood-tainted past that has wandered Japan for several years since the Meiji Revolution, where he served as a deadly killer for the Imperialist regime. He finally decides that it is time to stop wandering and live a somewhat normal life again (Rurouni Kenshin). His choice to settle down results in him meeting and boarding with some interesting people, and he needs them to make him feel complete, loved, and content.
This need for friendship was also addressed by Aristotle, a philosopher whose opinions and thoughts are held in high regard all over the world, including America, in his Nichomachean Ethics. He says that having friends is the highest good and that the happy person should have friends; and since it is better to love than to be loved and to give than to receive, we need friends to carry out these actions (Thunder par 14). This is, therefore, addressed not only as a simple desire, but the unconscious goal of every person. However, in the world today, this goal remains unmet, especially in large cities where there are a vast number of people describing themselves as lonely and depressed when there are people all around them. This seemingly contradictory situation is known as "urban isolation" and, according to Steve Reed in his article "Alone in the Crowd," is caused by certain sociological factors that have developed over the past 100 years:
These sociological changes include: 1) the migration of the population to large cities since the Industrial Revolution; 2) the loss of extended family as advances in transportation create an increasingly mobile society; 3) the breakdown of the nuclear family with the social acceptance of divorce; and 4) the loss of history with people as close friends move away to pursue education, jobs and promotions. We have not yet developed the coping strategies to deal with these radical changes. (Reed par 3)
As seen by these articles and the aforementioned anime, the medium once again addresses an issue present in America and affirms the solutions that the rest of the world has declared itself.
Anime has a lot to say to Americans, despite the fact that so many people immediately discount it as something to be ignored for its stereotypical implications. The messages of hope that anime provides really need to be heard. Maybe then people could attain peace, achieve balance, and arrive at a better overall life for everyone. This seems like an unlikely and lofty result, but as long as the problems persist, anime should at least be considered as a possible aid. The Japanese have had to deal with some hard circumstances over the past century, such as the personal conflicts of World War II and the growth of urban isolation that stemmed from overpopulation, and they've adapted well to remain a stable country. As the American situation continues to degrade, we must listen to others who have dealt with similar situations. Home Bibliography