Top Five Most Insightful Anime Quotes
People watch anime because it’s entertaining. We get to escape reality for a bit, and jump to another world of fantasy. Explore the environment of a fictional city, place ourselves in the shoes of characters as they run after their dreams, and experience a different life than what we have in reality. However, though set in a fictional world, anime sometimes offers us nuggets of wisdom from time to time, often in the form of quotes, that can influence our life and/or perspective of reality. Here are some of them:
“People don’t always want to do what they’re good at.”
— Kouichi Azuma (Kimi To Boku)
Just because someone is good at something does not mean that’s what they want to do. You may be skilled in basketball or knowledgeable in history, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you want to become a professional basketball player or a history professor. True, most people choose a career where they’re already good at. But it does not mean it has to be that way. If you want to try other things, besides the ones where you’re more experienced in, then go for it. Don’t limit yourself to only the things you’re talented in. Do what you want, not what you’re good at.
“Perspectives are skewed when you only hear one side of the story.”
— Ferdinand (Ascendance of a Bookworm)
When we’re crossing the street, what did our parents teach us to do? To look at both sides of the street, left and right, for any incoming vehicles before crossing. Why? It is to keep us safe. Much like crossing the street, when we’re faced with an issue, especially a sensitive one, it is important to look at both sides before making a decision and taking action. This is to allow you to make the best decision possible and help ensure you take the right course of action. Your judgements will be better if you know the entirety, the full context, of a problem.
“I realize that I can keep going if I don’t worry about how stupid I look!”
— Leorio Paladiknight (HunterxHunter)
What’s one thing that holds us back when we want to achieve our dream and/or run after our goals in life? It’s worrying about what other people will say or think about us. Will my friends make fun of me if they found out what my dream is? Will people laugh at me if I fail and say I was a fool for thinking I could succeed? These kinds of thoughts plague us and slow us down. Because we value other people’s opinion more than our own, we’re afraid to be seen working hard at something by people who don’t think we’ll succeed at all. It’s because of this that we easily give up on something, not just because we might fail, but because of what people might say when we do fail. However, you can keep going if you stop worrying what others might think or say about you. You have no reason to hold back. Whether you succeed or fail, people will always have something to say. It’s just noise. Let them go. You see an opportunity, take it. Ignore the noise and go after your goals.
“Listen to me, Atsushi-kun. I’ll give you some advice for once, like a proper senpai. Stop pitying yourself. Pity yourself, and life becomes an endless nightmare.”
— Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)
Don’t pity yourself. Here are two reasons: (1) If you pity yourself, you’ll tend to exaggerate your problems and see your life as an endless cycle of misfortune. Due to cognitive distortions, your view of reality might get skewed and you’ll feel more hopeless than you should be. And (2) there will always be something to feel pity about yourself. Whether it’s about your looks, lack of money, health problems, relationship problems, or you keep losing your keys, there is always something to despair about. This makes pitying yourself “an endless nightmare”.
“Actions come with consequences. You can’t escape that. Make sure you never forget that, human.”
— Drowa (Black Clover)
Everything we do have consequences. Whether we judge a consequence as good or bad, it is still the result of our own decisions and actions. It is impossible to live in a society, to live in this planet, without affecting our surroundings in some way. You cannot choose a course of action that has no consequence. You can, however, choose which consequences you are willing to take. Keep that in mind.
Watching anime does not only entertain us, it has the potential to help us become better people. And it can do that one quote at a time. Thanks for reading.
