Anime Lectio: Grave of the Fireflies, Barefoot Gen (1 and 2), and In This Corner of the World

                                                           1. Why do Anime Lectio? 

Anime Lectio is a time for us to stop and take a breath. Between work, activities, family life, and social media, our minds are always moving. We rarely take time to contemplate and ask, why am I watching this anime? What’s the point of all this? And, how is this making me feel? 

2. Put away all distractions 

(phones, work, etc.)

We are so enslaved to things that stimulate our minds. Let this be a moment for us to free our minds, look inside of ourselves, and be at peace.

3. Deep Breathing

Take several deep breaths. Let your mind relax. If you’ve had any questions, desires, or struggles that you’ve been hiding or stuffing away, let them rise up to the surface. 

4. Open yourself to God’s Presence

Remember God places all our thoughts and desires inside of us, and He uses them to draw us closer to Himself. God gives us a community to help us understand who we are and what He is calling us to do. The faces of other people you know and don't know are like signs of God’s presence.  

5. Think About What’s on Your Mind in Relation to the Anime

Think about what’s been on your mind in relation to the anime.  The following is an example of such thoughts written by me.

I like to think that I see myself as a realistic person.  The decisions I make, the things that I do, both want I want to do and/or need to do, and the way I see things are based on a realistic perspective.  This perspective can change, or be different, based on what happens.  An example of this is different people reacting to the same thing, like what different people living in community think about what they are going through now.  This can also be seen when reacting to something like war, especially when trying to live through it, which can be seen in different ways in the anime movies in this reflection.

6. Brief and written explanation of the anime

Pay attention to how the brief and written explanation of the anime seen on this blog, or seeing the anime for yourself since that's better than any explanation, might “speak” to you or shed light on the things that have been on your minds.

The first anime movie for this reflection is Grave of the Fireflies*. The movie focuses on two children and their struggle to survive with just each other since their mother is killed near the beginning of the film and their father is fighting in the war (likely killed in action). Even when they do have a relative that does let them live with her for a while, the two focus on themselves, which is why they eventually leave to try to make it on their own. It seems to go well for them at first, but it doesn't end well for them.

The next set of movies for this reflection are Barefoot Gen 1* and 2. In the first Barefoot Gen movie, a family is just living their usual lives while hiding in shelters when warnings of enemy attacks come. This takes a drastic change when just one bomb is dropped where they live (the infamous Hiroshima bombing). Only the mother, who is also pregnant, as well as one of her children, survives. They manage to help each other to survive, even when the mother gives birth (although the baby doesn't survive very long) and when they decide to adopt a kid they find who reminds them of one of their dead family members. This also continues into the second Barefoot Gen movie with the addition of help from other friends the two children make. The mother also dies near the end of the second one due to the long lasting effects of the bomb dropped on them many years ago.

The last movie for this reflection is In This Corner of the World. This is a lot like the first Barefoot Gen movie, but there's more of a focus on ordinary living while hiding in shelters when warnings of enemy attacks, and actual enemy attacks, come and they can only see the big cloud that results from the infamous Hiroshima bombing from where they live.

*You can read more about these movies in the book Anime Impact

7. Reflect on the anime

Has this brief and written explanation of the anime, or seeing the anime, shed any light on what's been on your mind? The following is an example of a reflection on the anime from me.

War makes people do things they normally wouldn't do. You may like to see yourself as a realistic person, like me, but when living through war by actually experiencing the devastation it causes to innocent bystanders, not just seeing and/or hearing about it, what would you do? Could you live your usual life while worrying about what's going to happen, especially when taking shelter during an enemy attack? Answering these questions without any actual experience of it other than seeing and/or hearing about it, surviving an actual experience after the experience, and surviving an actual experience while it's happening could all have different answers. Different reactions by different people, even of the same experience, can be seen based on what they do, who they are, where they do what they do, as well as other factors. The four movies for this reflection are an example of this.

8. Final Prayer

Please voice any prayer intentions for friends, family, or people around the world that relate to this anime. The following is an example written by me.

Let us pray for those involved in war in any way, whether they are fighting in war, are victims of war, and/or are fighting their own wars, like dealing with this pandemic.