I remember back when I was a college freshman-- back when I was meeting the people who would become my friends for the first time-- and I was constantly asked why I chose to be an English major. I always gave the same answer.
“I want to become one of the greatest comic book writers in the world!”
I still want to write comic books, but since then, I’ve decided not to limit myself to one medium. I now want to write poetry, novels, short stories, and screenplays.
Anyway, I remember one time I told one of my friends how I really wanted to become a comic book writer, and he told me that I reminded him of the anime, "Bakuman." I hadn’t really watched a lot of anime before then, and was only slowly entering the world of dramatic expressions and brightly colored hair, but I decided to add "Bakuman" to my “watch later” list.
After watching the first couple episodes, I immediately saw why I reminded my friend of "Bakuman." The anime is about Moritaka Mashiro and Akito Takagi, two high school boys, and their journey to become the greatest mangakas (manga creators) in Japan. The artist and writer duo encounter all kinds of obstacles, including a rival mangaka genius, Eiji Niizuma.
Though the Mashiro and Takagi duo are in competition with Niizuma, they still support each other and sometimes work together to bring the best out of each other. It reminds me of the relationships that I have formed with other English majors and amateur writers that I encounter. Even though we work toward the same goal, and sometimes have to compete, we all motivate each other and offer advice so that we all can be the best writers we can be. I think there is something noble and romantic about that.
Speaking of romance, "Bakuman" is also a kind of love story between Mashiro and his high school crush, Miho Azuki. Mashiro’s motivation to become a famous mangaka and to get one of his works adapted into an anime is to fulfill a promise to Azuki. She will voice the heroine of the anime, and the couple will get married.
Though the anime is a very dramatic look at the dedication that goes into making manga, and the love story is a bit unrealistic, I could not help but feel motivated after watching it. If ever I needed motivation to write, I could just watch an episode of "Bakuman," and I could write tons of pages in under an hour.
That is why I think anime like "Bakuman," and fiction in general, are so important to our lives. We see our own struggles and experiences in the lives of the protagonists, and sometimes even the antagonists. We see these characters accomplish incredible feats and rise up after suffering horrible losses, and we tell ourselves that we are capable of being strong like those characters.
I know that everyone has something that they hold dear, like how I hold "Bakuman." It might be a song, a movie, or a short story, but it is something that inspires us to be better and to never give up on our dreams. And that is something very important.
No matter what happens, never give up on your dreams, no matter how hard life gets or how far away your goal may seem. You are the main character, and you always win in the end.
