Anime Lectio: Shenmue the Animation

                                                            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. 

The martial arts class that I help with hasn't been going very well this year. The students don't really listen to what their teachers are trying to teach them through what we show them and they seem to be more interested in what they want to do instead. I do a little with anime too, but it's mostly martial arts and the anime I talk about focuses on that. There's more to martial arts and anime than what people can see, but teaching that isn't going as well this year as it has in the past.

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 anime series Shenmue the Animation, based on the video game Shenmue, starts when a boy's father is killed by someone that the boy doesn't know. He doesn't even know why his father was killed either, but he's determined to find out, and not just seek revenge, no matter what it takes, which leads him to new places, friends, and enemies. His martial arts training that he learned from his father helps him in his determination, but as he remembers his father telling him, it's not enough. With the help of others, the boy figures out that this means he needs to know how to use his martial arts, not just use it.

7.  Reflect on the anime

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

There was a day in the martial arts class this year when I had to teach the class myself since the colleague I help with the class wasn't going to be there. I did have ideas of what to do, but the colleague left work for the students to do, as well as what to show them, so I did that instead. One of my ideas was to show them the anime Shenmue the Animation in order to try to get them to listen to what martial arts is really about, but there are other ways to do that too. Maybe I could still do that since we still have about a week left as of this writing. Anyway, martial arts is more than just kicking and punching since kicking and punching isn't part of some of them. This also means that martial arts involves learning to know how to kick and punch based on the style of fighting that you are using, as well as what that style involves and what all fighting styles involve, which is proper etiquette and behavior.

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 that we can understand what martial arts means, as well as understand how to use it.