Anime has a certain reputation. You either love it, hate it…or you just think it’s for kids. As someone who has been watching it from as long as I could remember, Anime has a certain magic to it that you won’t find in other forms of media.
Because their main characters are usually human beings or people we could relate to, as opposed to sponges, animals, and oddly colourful weirdly shaped creatures who’s only purpose is to entertain us, we can learn through them and be inspired by them.
For me, anime taught me a lot of lessons. The main one’s being that:
- It’s okay to be myself, and that it’s even better to be different
- Even regular kids and teens, like me, can make a big change in the world
- If I have a goal or dream and refuse to give up, I can reach it
- All the answers I need are inside of me. Listen to your heart first
[I actually made a whole article about 15 valuable lessons you can learn from anime, so be sure to check that out after 🙂 ]
What I also love about anime is that there are series about so many different topics and niches.
There’s animes about every sport and probably every instrument. There’s animes about cooking, writing, travelling, martial arts, games and video games, teaching, investigations, and much much more.
Because we get to see relateable characters in earthly experiecnces, we get to see their struggles, doubts, failures and how they overcome that.
Even if the anime has some unrealistic features like superpowers, the people behind that still have real emotions and insecurities when it comes to achieving what they were chosen to do.
But all in all, despite these challenges, despite the pressure surrounding them, despite being such a loser in the past, despite their pain, depression and anxiety….they look forward and fight to overcome all they are. We get to see them grow and it pushes us to grow too.
So if you’re interested in watching something inspirational, check out these series below!
If you’re interested in learning more vocabulary and kanji so you can watch anime and dramas, read manga, sing J-pop at karaoke, or play raw Japanese video games, check out my 250+ Kanji for Japanese Media (+Sentences) article and my Japanese Study Guide!
Haikyuu
If you think life is rough, imagine being Hinata. He aims to be great at Volleyball, but is often mocked because, sadly, he’s very short. Watch him use his disadvantage as a weapon and shock everyone who looks down on him.
K-On!!
Considered a slice of life, but it’s a true inspiration for musicians like me. Watch Yui as she learns guitar, and HTT become a beloved band beyond their school.
Food Wars
Souma had a dream of taking over his father’s restaurant, but his dad had to work abroad and close shop. His dad gets him to enroll in the most prestigious cooking school and see if he will survive in food battles and make it to graduation.
Love Live!
Honoka finds out her school is planning to close down and wants to save it. She was inspired to start a school idol group to gain attention and thus, more applicants. People don’t believe in her or her dream, but girls start to join, and they defy the odds.
Silver Spoon
Do you remember what life was like back in school? How about a journey back in time. Watch these teenagers work their hardest to create the future they dream of.
One Punch Man
Saitama is said to be unbeatable. He can destroy anyone with ‘one punch’. He wasn’t always this way though. In fact, he was the everyday man. But he felt inspired and put himself through a rigorous workout and became an unbeatable hero. That’s just the beginning of this story.
Assassination Classroom
Imagine this. A class of the worst students, bad grades, delinquents etc, mocked by their peers and placed in bad terrain. They now have a mission to kill their homeroom teacher who threatens to destroy the world in a year, but that same teacher is helping them not only academically, but in life. Such a good show!
Yuri On Ice
Yuri was born to skate, but he has faced defeat. Despite this, he still wants to try. He is luckily chosen to be mentored by his idol, one of the top skaters, Viktor. and starts working towards being the best.
Mob Psycho
Meet Mob. A kid who is mocked for being plain and boring, but he’s actually keeping his psychic powers at bay. Mob wants to be average, and he makes that his goal. He works towards them by getting a job, joining clubs, and just trying to improve himself.
Bakuman
Bakuman follows the story of two teens who have a dream to make it big in Japan’s extremely tough manga business. See real hard work, dedication and motivation push these two to the edge.
Beyblade
This was one of the first childhood shows I rewatched and it was more epic and inspiring than I remember. Beyblade is about more than spinning tops. It requires skill and strategy. Watch these kids try to win the competition.
Hajime No Ippo
Ippo was bullied, but was saved one day by a pro boxer. That boxer took him and started teaching him how to fight. Ippo’s potential starts to show and we follow his journey to being a champion!
Little Witch Academia
Imagine this. You want to be a great witch like your idol but…you’re not a witch. You end up going to a witch school anyways to learn, but is mocked because you lack ability. However, one can still learn and be great.
Death Note
This is a slightly messed up show but there’s a reason it’s always at the top of lists. Death Note is a masterpiece, showing two masterminds trying to win a very serious battle. Both trying to outsmart one another for the sake of what they believe is right.
Gokusen
Gokusen was the first drama I watched but the anime is great as well. Follows an energetic teacher who pursues her dream of being a teacher, despite her Yazuka/gangster origins and responsibilities. She has to hide her background, but it comes in handy when dealing with a class full of delinquents.
Hikaru no Go
Hikaru no Go is a relatively new anime series but has received high ratings and they said the MC is one of the most loveable you’ll meet. He comes across his grandfather’s Go board and after hearing a story from a spirit who inhabits the board, he aims to master Go and accomplish the perfect Go game to release the spirit.
New Game
If you liked Bakuman, this series seems to be quite similar. The MC Aoba started working at the Eagle Jump game company and her and her coworkers are in charge of character design for the company’s newest game. The job isn’t easy and the MC questions if she’s right, but this is her dream. Watch her push through.
Bamboo Blade
The MC in this series is Kojirou, a kendo instructor at Muroe High School. And guess what? He’s totally broke. He finds out that if his team can beat his senpai’s team, he could win free meals for the year. Guess who’s going to work hard to find and coach his students towards victory to achieve his dream?
Hanayamata
The MC Naru always felt like an underachiever with few interests, but she felt inspired after meeting Hana who is fixated on creating this club dedicated to Yosakoi. Yosakoi is a traditional Japanese dance performed by groups of people at festivals and events. You can probably ask our bassist about that as he partakes in it.
Kenichi The Mightiest Discipline
Imagine this. You learn the basics of martial arts for the sole purpose of defending yourself, but you end up beating a high-ranking member of the school’s karate club and now become a target for all delinquents. Fun right? There’s no super powers in this show, so Kenichi must continue learning and training to stay on top.
A Place Further Than The Universe
This story sounds like a great series for youth who are either hesitant to live their best lives or are not sure about what they want to do. The MC Mari is relatable in that she wants to make the most of her youth but is afraid to do so. Things change when she encounters a girl who has been saving up to go to Antarctica to find her missing mother. Follow the two on their crazy adventure.
Run With The Wind
This show focuses on two college students, one who has sworn off competitive running and one who is determined to achieve running status and glory. They end up in a team and the goal is to participate in Hakoden, a very difficult 10-part relay. I personally hate running, but who knows, this show may change my mind.
Hibike/Sound! Euphonium
Sound Euphonium not only follows the main characters journey, but various characters in this school band and their goals as individuals and as a group. Some were new to their instrument or took it more casually so they couldn’t pass auditions, while others are working hard to win solos and so on. There’s no powers or gimmicks here, just hard work paying off.
Bang Dream
While K-On! is undoubtedly the better band girl anime, they were a bit more casual during their journey. Whereas Kazumi in this series saw a band play at a local venue and knew she wanted to do the same. She is new to guitar and doesn’t really know what she’s doing, but she’s going to work hard to make her dream a reality. She doesn’t have much time as the venue is set to close not far in the future. See this protagonist work, fail, and continue working towards her dream.
Shirobako
This series is probably closer to Bakuman then the game one I mentioned above. This series follows 5 best friends who love anime and form an animation club. After showcasing an amateur anime at a culture festival, the 5 decide to pursue careers in the industry with goals of creating a popular mainstream show.
Space Brothers
This series follows two brothers who witnessed a UFO one night and decide to become astronauts. Most people would give up on such big ‘crazy’ dreams like that, and they did, but something reignites this dream and they decide to pursue it despite their self doubts cause….life is short!
My Hero Academia
I’m not surprised by My Hero Academia’s popularity. My friend’s have been telling me to watch it since season 1, but I had a feeling it was going to go on for a few series. I finally got to catch up during the pandemic and I was immediately sucked in. Deku, the main character, wasn’t born with a quirk or a power like everyone else, but he wanted to be a hero more than anyone and still acted to help others without one. He was chosen to be the successor of the #1 Hero’s quirk, but he still has ways to go to handle and control his quirk. It’s nice to see a soft hearted hero work hard to catch up and pursue his dream.
Naruto
When I originally made this post, I couldn’t include it as he had yet to reach his dream, but I heard now that he did become Hokage. If you’re willing to spend hours of your life watching this little ninja make it from rejected loser to top of his village, I’m sure it will inspire you.
One Piece
This show isn’t done yet and who knows when it will be, but as they are approaching 1000 episodes, I would hope and assume Luffy will achieve his dream of becoming Pirate King and creating a country of pirates. You may as well catch up if you intend to watch this massive highly rated series.
Conclusion
That’s all I have for you. I’ll keep an eye out for new animes for another post, but I’m sure this list will keep you busy for a while.
Be sure to comment below on your favourite animes and how they have inspired you!
And if you’re interested in learning more vocabulary and kanji so you can watch anime and dramas, read manga, sing J-pop at karaoke, or play raw Japanese video games, check out my 250+ Kanji for Japanese Media (+Sentences) article and my Japanese Study Guide!
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