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While we all love the outrageous hair colors, epic transformations and high-school hijinks in anime, I can't help but notice the increasing drift towards more realistic portrayal of characters in recent series. Not only does this add a fresh layer of relatability, but it also allows us to connect on a whole new emotional ground with the characters.
Let's take "March Comes in Like a Lion" as an example. Rei, the protagonist, is a professional shogi player, but he doesn’t feel fulfilled in his career, struggles with depression, and has a complicated relationship with his adoptive family. The series does an excellent job portraying these problems without romanticizing or trivializing them. It's powerful seeing this kind of authentic portrayal in the anime sphere.
Another example is the intricately portrayed character struggles in "My Hero Academia". We see kids grappling with self-doubt, society's expectations, physical disabilities, and more. It is refreshing to see these everyday battles alongside the broad-scale conflicts.
This inclination towards realism in character portrayal has opened an avenue of appeal to a more diverse demographic of viewers and has led to a more profound understanding of what anime can offer as a storytelling medium – reaching beyond the conventional limits of action, comedy, and tragedy. It certainly makes you appreciate the art form even more. What are your thoughts?
Let's take "March Comes in Like a Lion" as an example. Rei, the protagonist, is a professional shogi player, but he doesn’t feel fulfilled in his career, struggles with depression, and has a complicated relationship with his adoptive family. The series does an excellent job portraying these problems without romanticizing or trivializing them. It's powerful seeing this kind of authentic portrayal in the anime sphere.
Another example is the intricately portrayed character struggles in "My Hero Academia". We see kids grappling with self-doubt, society's expectations, physical disabilities, and more. It is refreshing to see these everyday battles alongside the broad-scale conflicts.
This inclination towards realism in character portrayal has opened an avenue of appeal to a more diverse demographic of viewers and has led to a more profound understanding of what anime can offer as a storytelling medium – reaching beyond the conventional limits of action, comedy, and tragedy. It certainly makes you appreciate the art form even more. What are your thoughts?