By Ilona Kinnear
Watching anime is a great way to pass time when you aren’t worried about passing finals, or when you are. Either way, anime is awesome. I have compiled a set of three anime, one from the past, one from a recently completed season, and one from the current season to help you get your anime fix.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: TEGAMI BACHI LETTER BEE
Who thinks being a postal delivery man would be an epic job full of adventure and battle? You would after watching Tegami Bachi Letter Bee!
Set in a post-apocalyptic world where the only light comes from a man-made sun, and monsters that feed off the hearts of people run rampant, the story follows a boy named Lag Seeing and his quest to become a Letter Bee, a government job where they deliver letters that contain pieces of a person’s heart.
The major themes that this story covers are the importance of memories, morality and staying connected with the people who are close to you.
This is definitely a great anime to watch. I binged through it in a few days despite being fifty episodes long. It is a well-paced story and has catchy theme music. You can watch it on both Crunchyroll and Hulu. And after you’re done watching, I also definitely recommend the manga the show was based off of, because the anime strays from the manga at the end.
ONGOING ANIME: YONA OF THE DAWN
Feudal Korean dramas are well-loved by many parents, my mother included. But what happens when you combine Korean drama with anime? Yona of the Dawn.
The story follows a sixteen-year-old princess named Yona who travels the countryside with her bodyguard Hak, searching for four descendants of dragons from the tales of creation.
What I like most about the story is the characters, especially the development of the main heroine.
She starts out weak because growing up, she was a spoiled princess, but she grows from traveling the country after being betrayed and thrown out of her castle. She learns that she needs to defend her comrades and change the bad situation a lot of the villages were in because of the choices her father made during his rule.
It’s dramatic and yet filled with well-paced slapstick humor that is sure to entertain. With elegant music suitable for the setting of feudal Korea, and a colorful cast of characters, this is definitely a must see. You can watch this on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Funimation. And after you’re done watching, the manga it was based on is definitely a great read.
NEW THIS SEASON: RE: ZERO
There is one anime that completely blew my expectations in the spring line up. That anime is Re: ZERO, Starting Life in Another World. One day the main character, Subaru Natsuki, is teleported to an RPG-like fantasy world. Thinking that he is now the main character of a video game, he tries to find out if he has any special abilities, but of course, he fails to find any such ability.
The main character is very genuine, unlike most male anime protagonists. He quickly solves the dilemma of whether or not he should get involved with a female lead, and of course, ends up wanting to protect her. Unlike other male protagonists who don’t appear to want the role of the hero, this protagonist is determined to take on that role, even though he is not overpowered like main characters from other anime.
Another refreshing change is that the animal side character, Puck, is also really friendly, useful, and actually gets along with the protagonist, unlike a lot of other animal side characters (I’m looking at you, Twin Star Exorcists). Without giving away too much, I can say that this anime is also a must see, and stay tuned for each new episode. You can watch this series on Crunchyroll.