I Want to be the Very Best, Like No One Ever Was! Finding Inspiration & Building Resilience Through Anime
S3E8: This week, Josué & Rae talk about inspiration and perseverance gained from anime! Josué has been noticing a trend on his socials' where people are talking about how anime characters inspired them to keep going, to keep fighting, to never give up during hard times. This is by far, most often seen in Shonen series, and Josué & Rae examine classic Shonen tropes such as "leveling up", the "I wanna be" motivations, and the training arcs. Rae embarrassingly struggles to pronounce "Hokage". The hosts compare and contrast Eastern vs Western mythology and storytelling tropes, such as "leveling up" vs "the chosen one" in eastern and western cultures, respectively, with the eastern collectivist "grind culture for the benefit for everyone" culture vs the western "individualistic power and privilege above all" expectation. Josué & Rae explore how these series and characters portray courage, bravery, fear, "doing it scared", and how supporting characters especially grow by recognizing and accepting their limitations and focus on helping their friends through their strengths (which usually doesn't involve literal physical strength).
Themes/Topics Discussed:
Themes/Topics Discussed:
- Change
- Cultural representation
- Fear
- Finding Oneself/Identity Development
- Leadership
- Moral dilemma
- Power struggle
- Problem Solving
- Resilience
- Standing up for others
- Standing up for oneself
Relatable Experiences:
- Acceptance
- Clarity/Understanding
- Fear/Anxiety
- Fighting
- Loss (other than death)
- New Life Event (New Rules)
- Separation
- Growth
Anime/Characters Mentioned:
- Deku (My Hero Academia)
- Goku (Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z)
- Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z (series)
- Naruto (Naruto/Naruto Shippuden)
- One Piece (series)
- Roronoa Zoro (One Piece)
- Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
- Jinbei (One Piece)
- Sanji (One Piece)
- Nami (One Piece)
- Nico Robin (One Piece)
- Silvers Rayleigh (One Piece, mentioned)
- Sailor Moon
- Shonen (genre)
- Pokemon (anime)
- Record of Ragnarok (Netflix)
- Celestial Dragons (One Piece)
- Usopp/Sniper King (One Piece)
- Tony Tony Chopper (One Piece)
- Franky (One Piece)
- Krillin (Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z)
- Rock Lee (Naruto)
- Sasuke (Naruto)
- Witch Hat Atelier (referenced)
- Attack on Titan (referenced)
Non-Anime Media Mentioned:
- Batman (DC Comics)
- Superman (DC Comics)
- The Flash (DC Comics)
- Rocky (film)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation (Best of Both Worlds part I & II)
- Jean-Luc Picard/Locutus of Borg (Star Trek TNG, Star Trek: Picard)
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
- Worf (Star Trek: TNG and DS9)
- Jadzia Dax (Star Trek: DS9)
- Doctor Who (series)
- The Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi)
- Mortal Combat (game)
- Super Smash Bros. (game, referenced)
- One Piece Live Action (Netflix)
- SuperBetter: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver, and More Resilient by Jane McGonigal
Contact Us:
- Join the discussion on the GT Forum at https://forum.geektherapy.org/ and connect with the Geek Therapy Network through the links at https://geektherapy.org/.
- Check out our other shows on the GT Network: https://network.geektherapy.org/
- Join us in the Geek Therapy Discord
- Follow Geek Therapy on Bluesky: @GeekTherapy.bsky.social
Conversation Starters:
Which anime characters have inspired you? How have your favorite characters made you more resilient or determined?
[These show notes were proudly written with NO AI by a real human.]