I watch a ton of anime. Those who know me know that I speak Japanese and so use anime as a means of keeping it reasonably active in my head despite not having had an actual opportunity to speak it in a very long time.

I tend to watch a lot of 'slice of life' anime - the kind that focus on the day-to-day happenings of people. Those people are usually high school or middle school students, mainly because once you finish high school in Japan, it's time to settle in to the work-hard-until-you-die ethic that is common there. There aren't a lot of "working people living their lives" anime unless their jobs are assassins or special agents or something far more interesting. Occasionally, you will get something like "Aggretsuko" - which is about blowing off steam after a hard workday, but otherwise, very few anime focus on adult life without some sort of supernatural or bizarre future being involved. You might find a hidden treasure like "Gintama" if you are lucky, but otherwise, adult life is not really something people focus on. As a result, slice of life anime tends to focus on school life, since this is when Japanese are still wondering what the future holds, thinking about relationships and learning how to function in groups or even make groups out of potential friends.

As a result, within these anime can be found any number of characters to identify with - the lonely type who is disconnected from everyone else, or the youthful character who still believes the world is magical (despite everyone else seeing it the way it is)... The student council president and his/her group of friends/associates, the plucky cheerful guy/girl who seems impossible to keep down, the athletic guy/girl who is trying desperately to connect with everyone who just sees them as a terrific athlete... And all of these characters have a hidden backstory that gets explored throughout the series as someone (the main character) manages to draw them into a web of interconnectedness that "saves" their school years and usually ends in a happy relationship.

I am not in my 20s anymore. I'm not lost in the colors and hype of anime at this point. I have studied Japanese and understand the nuances of what is being shown about Japan's sociological issues in these shows. They are an exploration of the issues inherent in Japanese culture, regardless of what manner they are expressed. For example, I can tell when the cutest anime has a dark element of reality at its heart most of the time and it is exploring something wrong with Japanese culture. I can point it out, watch it as the author/show explores the issue in an inherently Japanese manner. Anime, for me, is an escape into a world of "what-if's" and a continuing look at how Japanese culture is examining itself and pointing out it's own flaws for anyone who is looking or paying attention.

That being said, I cannot help but be drawn into these shows. The lonely guy who ends up with the popular girl simply by chance (Horimiya), or the outgoing fellow who helps a desperate girl trying to escape her reality (Chuunibyou and other Delusions), or sometimes even the fellow who has lost all connection with the world and needs some outside force to make them reconnect with the world around them (Ano Hana) all use the storyline to explore relationships and how love can blossom despite the awful circumstances that lie hidden in the characters' backgrounds. By the time the series are over, you feel like you have made a bunch of friends and desperately wish to keep in touch with them, even though the story is over and you will likely never see another episode or season. They explore dark situations with a strong, powerful emotional impact and leave you feeling satisfied with the experience.

And always, ALWAYS, I am left with something of a hollow feeling when I look at the way my own life has turned out. Yes, I have had some amazing experiences. Yes I have some amazing friends. Yes, I write and interact with you guys rather regularly (especially for me, someone who doesn't pick up a phone unless the shit has hit the fan and it's too late otherwise). I have a smart, loving son who is still coming to grips with the world after his own dark past, I have three wonderful "voids" (black cats) who think I'm the end-all, be-all and whom I think are the end-all, be-all in exchange. I have a few very close friends, a ton of folks I know and rarely chat with but care about, and a vast collection of folks I like to hear about and rarely ever interact with. I have a good job. I am comfortable and relatively happy.

And that is where the fallacy of anime or Facebook or any other social environment comes into play - You see other people living their lives, but you don't know their innermost details. You don't know their daily struggles - you only see what they share or show and that is not their typical life, unless they are incredibly forthcoming. You see the highlights of their lives. You hear about their successes. You might hear about their challenges - but you don't see it all.

I love anime. Especially slice-of-life. They give me an escape from what I think is 'normal' and show me a world where happiness is just a matter of the right connection being made. The silly stuff, the action stuff, and the crazier stories are fun to watch, but it is in the daily life that you get to imagine, "what if that was me?" and pretend for a moment how things could be better.

In the end, aren't we all just trying to find a little piece of happiness to hang onto? Whether that is the right person, the right job, the right situation in life, or the right friends - all of us want to feel accepted and loved. And, despite the cultural differences I can see thanks to my education and training and background, that is what these shows are all about.