Anime attempts to entertain. Contrary to popular belief, anime is not just for kids (any viewer of Death Note, Serial Experiments Lain or Cowboy Bebop would agree). Though many find a reason to criticise it, anime has been, for me (and undoubtedly for countless other otakus or fans of anime-manga), a cherished part of childhood and young adulthood. Here are two anime that released recently that you must watch if you haven’t already! 

One Punch Man
What is today being cited as one of the greatest anime ever made, or “the saviour of anime”, started in 2009 as a crudely drawn webcomic by an artist who goes by the pseudonym, One. After catching the eye of manga artist Yusuke Murata, the webcomic was released in manga form in 2012. The phenomenal success of the manga led to Madhouse, a leading Japanese animation studio, airing the One Punch Man anime between October and December 2015.

One Punch Man features as its protagonist the stoic Saitama. The story is set in a fictional Japan where cities are named by the letters of the alphabet and the world is inhabited by an array of monsters that show up from time to time to create chaos and cause destruction. Cities are governed by the Hero Association, which employs humans with a variety of superpowers, to protect the civilian residents.

The novelty of the seemingly conventional settings lies in Saitama’s ability to defeat any monster (or fellow hero) with just one punch, hence the reason for his perpetually stoic expression.

Glass Reflections, a leading anime review channel on YouTube, captures the complexity of the show’s success eloquently when it observes that One Punch Man isn’t impressive because it is unique or groundbreaking, but because “it takes what we expect from the norm and flips it on its head”. The show not only celebrates the entire superhero/action/ adventure genre but (very refreshingly) also makes a parody of it, a trend also evident in shows like Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, known best for its dark deconstruction of the generally light-hearted magical girl genre (shoujo).

Shirobako
The plot of Shirobako is simple. Imagine watching a movie about making a movie. Yes, Shirobako gives us a peek into the anime industry. 

This is not an entirely new concept, if you consider Bakuman, which is an anime about writing manga. Both Bakuman and Shirobako prove how an anime showing the viewer the unseen side of an industry we think we know can also be truly interesting. It gives the viewer an insight into how much work goes into producing the finished product that we love to watch or read.

What works best about Shirobako is that it is about real people. The series traces the job of a young production assistant and her interactions with the staff of a production house —  the animators, the voice actors, the directors and the authors of the manga they animate. 

Shirobako charmingly portrays the disarray and chaos of the anime industry, the personality clashes, the missed deadlines as well as the friendships made, the satisfaction of a completed project, the tireless work of the staff and the bonds they create while doing so, all the while providing a fascinating peek into the industry. The only quibble you might have with Shirobako is its simplistic overview of the industry. But it still is a delightful watch, one that informs as well as entertains.  

Sagnik Guha
What anime have you discovered lately? Share with other otakus at t2@abp.in