For the first time, when I was suggested to start watching anime, the first thing which came out of my mouth was that ‘Anime is not my cup of tea.’ It all started when one of my friends saw the potential of watching multiple shows at the same time in me (And I am seriously not kidding). He asked me about my favorite web series, and the response was Vikings, as I loved the concept, timeline, lifestyle, and a lot to mention about those rugged warriors with hardcore lifestyles.
He then made one last attempt and asked me to watch Vinland Saga, an anime based on Vikings. After a week or so, I finally headed to an anime streaming platform and started with the first episode of the Vinland Saga. And trust me, that completely changed the scenario and influenced my mindset to a considerable scale.
The way anime starts and Thorfin, the show’s main character, loses his father in front of his eyes shook me to the core. After completing my first anime and learning a lot of life skills, I thought that watching a couple more of them is going to do no harm.
And then Death Note happened…
Right after that, I started my search for a new anime series that has impacted multiple people differently. That was the time when someone suggested Death Note. As soon as I started the show, Light Yagami showed me how a single individual could live a dual identity, and that seriously gave me chills.
However, the demise of L was really disappointing for me (and a lot of anime fans out there). I even stopped watching the show after that. But when I started, almost after a month, I realized how the drive for change could make you both God and Satan at the same point in time.
Long anime shows? What Not a drag!!!
After completing these two, I came to the conclusion that anime is something I really love. I got intrigued by the way these characters have been written. After that, I completed anime after anime but was seriously unable to pick a long one like One Piece or Naruto because of the number of episodes. Nonetheless, that spree of dodging long anime was soon going to end, and I was completely unaware of the same at that time.
One fine day, I gave a thought about watching a couple of episodes of Naruto. I, to date, don’t know how I ended up watching 20 episodes in a single go instead of two, almost ten times of what I thought at first. And yes, Naruto has been one of the most inspiring shows I’ve ever watched. The way the story has been arranged, the feeling of friendship between Naruto and Sasuke, the love of Itachi for Sasuke, Minato Namikaze being the best father without a doubt, Shikamaru’s revenge for Asuma, and whatnot.
The show completely changed the way I used to perceive life and the way I handled my relations. It taught me a lot of things, like how to never give up, how to care for people selflessly, how to wage war for love without worrying about the outcomes, how to build trust, how to take revenge, and how you need a powerful brain and strong will more than a rigid physique.
I don’t know about you, but I really loved those guys in Black cloaks with red clouds printed on them; yes, I am talking about the Akatsuki. Pain’s Shinra Tensei, Kisame’s Samaheda, Itachi’s powerful Sharingan, Sasori’s puppets, and the list goes on. Each one of them and their special powers and weapons represented something that mesmerized me.
And things went on and on and on…
Not only this, but I gave my time to a lot more anime shows in between, like Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, Kengan Ashura, Baki Hanma, etc. All of them, literally each one of them, contributed to teaching a lesson or two every time. And trust me, when I implemented my teaching from these anime shows to life, things changed upside down. As of now, I am still exploring shows, still researching the best ones, and still going gaga over the animation effects, characters, storyline, and more.
So, this was my journey from ‘Anime is not my cup of tea’ to ‘Anime gives my dopamine rush.’ The most amazing part about the whole scene is that I am not even halfway. There is much more to discover, learn, implement, and change. That said, AMG Monks is a milestone in the path of exploring my love for anime shows and sharing what I learned in terms of life with you all.
