“If you feel yourself hitting up against your limit, remember for what cause you clench your fists! Remember why you started down this path, and let that memory carry you beyond your limit.” All Might, My Hero Academia
“A hero is not one that never falls. He is one that gets up, again and again, never losing sight of his dreams.” Rock Lee, Naruto
“All I’ve ever faced since I was born…was adversity. No matter how many come at me, no matter what happens, I’ll fight them all…Come at me!” Asta, Black Clover
When it comes to anime, I have one simple requirement: people being punched in the face. That’s it! Naturally I’m drawn to the action genre, specifically those series which focus on martial arts combined with hidden powers, magic, ki, or chakra. While I can enjoy a good fight sequence for what it is, I’m also drawn to the underlying idea or concept it is conveying (or, at least, what I think it’s trying to convey).
A common motif or theme within the action anime genre, is the struggle of the individual character who is often handicapped in some significant way, to overcome the environment into which they were born/thrown, and achieve their dreams. This narrative may unfold in dynamitic ways, but the core motif of overcoming adversity is typically presented as a defining trait of the character. Examples are abundant: think of the orphan Naruto and his dream to become Hokage, the quirkless Deku and his dream of becoming a hero, the magicless Asta and his dream of becoming the Wizard King, etc.. In short, the protagonists can be outlined as follows:
Birth--------struggle-------hardship------more struggle------more hardship-------Goal/Dream
In most of these shows the series ends, or should end (looking at you Naruto), with the attainment of the goal/dream. While the achievement of the goal or dream may be aesthetically satisfying, it is not ultimately “the point.” The underlying message here is a rather paradoxical one: the struggle is the most important part of the story, or at least the most entertaining. This message is also mirrored in the writings of philosopher Albert Camus. We are born into an indifferent and often hostile universe, and additionally into a disadvantaged social/economic/cultural/ethnic position (Unless, of course, you are a part of the 1%). Camus compares the human condition to Sisyphus, a once cruel king who in the afterlife, is forced to roll a large bolder up and down a hill for all of eternity. You are Sisyphus. Your lot in life is one of constant, unending struggle. Nevertheless, as Camus says, “one must imagine Sisyphus happy.” Wait…what? How could Sisyphus possibly be happy? How can Naruto smile in the midst of a life or death battle? Because it is the suffering that defines us, molds us. We are what we suffer. Embrace the suck! To use the words of Camus, “The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart.”
All of this may sound like trite platitudes to you, and you may be right. However, to use the words of David Foster Wallace, “the fact is that in the day to day trenches of adult existence, banal platitudes can have a life or death importance.” It’s Asta’s commitment to his dream of becoming the Wizard King which allows him to go toe to toe with the most powerful mages in the kingdom, in spite of the fact that he can’t use magic. Dreams and hopes may be intangible, or never actualized, but they allow us to combat the absurdity of existence.
“I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain! One always finds
one’s burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that
negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well.
This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither
sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of
that night-filled mountain, in itself forms a world. The struggle
itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must
imagine Sisyphus happy.” Albert Camus
Post by Michael Granado