When people ask me, a PhD candidate in Literature who has spent a lifetime reading Shakespeare, Melville, Woolf, Wilde, Austen, and many other "great" authors, why I watch anime, a show like Wandering Son is usually the answer. I am not saying that this is some how on par with literary greatness; in order to be that, it takes time and staying power (401 years after his last new play, they
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When people ask me, a PhD candidate in Literature who has spent a lifetime reading Shakespeare, Melville, Woolf, Wilde, Austen, and many other "great" authors, why I watch anime, a show like Wandering Son is usually the answer. I am not saying that this is some how on par with literary greatness; in order to be that, it takes time and staying power (401 years after his last new play, they are still making movies out of Shakespeare) to be eternally great, but Wandering Son has what so few shows, movies, and media have these days: the guts to go where people don't want you to go because they would prefer to not know.
In the last half century, there has been an increasing interest in LGBTQ media. Books, movies, and TV have all been slowly but steadily finding ways to introduce LGBTQ issues into our world. Most of the time, people are fine with it so long as it stays in the realm of adults. The reality is that many LGBTQ people don't suddenly become "queer" when they reach adulthood. Instead, they struggle with it early in life, into adolescence, and often times, well into adulthood. What LGBTQ media often lacks is addressing those early years and the struggle that it is to be different when young, especially in societies that frown upon it. It is a struggle that for some becomes too much and this struggle is why there is why suicide is such a risk for LGBTQ youth. Part of the problem is that there is nothing out there, in almost any media, telling them that there are other people like them, who also struggle, but can still find friends, acceptance, and even happiness. There is nothing out there to give these young people hope.
Enter Wandering Son, which may be the first thing on television anywhere dealing with pre-adolescent transgender issues as the focus of a television series drama, be it animated or live-action. This is why I watch anime; to see shows that are willing to go places that other mediums are afraid of and to find there stories of heart and courage. The characters you find here will pinch your heart, which is the only way I can describe the feeling I had while watching episode 1. Each of them is real in that they seem not like characters, but actual people, complex and confused. This is the strength of Takako Shimura's writing: she knows that she doesn't have the answers to life and that the struggle to form the question is what most of us deal with. Her characters always seem authentic (see Aoi Hana) because she remains aware of this and her characters demonstrate this awareness. You don't have to be an LGBTQ person to understand these characters or to like the story; you only have to know that you have a heart and that you can feel for people who suffer and hope for the end of their suffering. I bet that there is not a single person reading this review who doesn't know what that is like and how overwhelmed and amazed one feels when great suffering is eased, even if it's just a little bit.
This is a character driven story, so the plot is a standard slice-of-life that will be revealed through the day-to-day lives of the characters in the series. If slice-of-life is not your cup of tea, give this a chance anyway. Wandering Son may be a genre defying show in bringing serious story to slice-of-life in a way that does not become trite or cliche. As opposed to comedy slice-of-life, don't expect this to be light, and expect to cry. The music and art, much like Aoi Hana, sets the mood beautifully and pulls you out of the world you live in and brings you right into the world of the characters. You will lose yourself in the art of this show.
At only 11 episodes, you really don't have an excuse for not watching this show. Wandering Son will restore hope in the heart of the most jaded anime fan and it will leave you wishing there was more of this story, or at least more stories as well done as this. While the subject matter is mostly what I focus on, that aside, Wandering Son is an amazingly beautiful show that demonstrates the power that animation can have. Disney and Pixar should take notes from this series.
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