Anime Lectio: The Girl from the Other Side

                                                             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.

Racism is usually based on different skin color, but in anime, racism is usually based on where you are from and who you are because of that.  There are many examples of how this is seen in anime, but the example that I'm going to focus on here is the short anime series The Girl from the Other Side.

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.

In the short anime series The Girl from the Other Side, a creature from what is known as the Inside finds an injured girl from what is known as the Outside. This creature, simply referred to as the girl as Teacher, takes the girl to his home where she can recover from her injury. Even though the creature plans to find a place for this girl to live with other humans since he thinks that would be better for her, the girl likes living with this creature. After trying to find an appropriate place for the girl, the creature realizes that the best place for her is with him.

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.

Even though racism in anime is usually based on where you are from and who you are because of that, skin color can still be important. In the short anime series The Girl from the Other Side, for example, the people from the Outside (humans) are white while the creatures from the Inside (humans that become monsters) are black. I think this color difference is used to signify the difference between the Outside and the Inside since I also think that the Outside and Inside aren't actual places, but states of being, meaning the Outside represents the good, or light, side of humanity (yang from yin and yang) while the Inside represents the dark side of humanity (yin from yin and yang). This color difference also explains the differences between who characters are. Where they are from isn't very clear, but racism isn't always the same in every situation, meaning there are different reasons for it, but it's still a problem no matter what it looks like.

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 an understanding of what racism looks like and really is when we see, as well as a way to understand it and/or end it depending on what it really is.