Anime Lectio: The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting

                                                            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.

Treatment of women is something that I am thinking about a lot now since it has come up a lot in the school where I live and work frequently, including our morning assembly this morning called Convocation.  It's not an issue I have myself, or ever really had, but I can see why it's important since not everyone knows how to treat women since our students are not used to doing that.  Doing something that you are not used to doing is important for everyone since that is how we learn, whether it's learning more about ourselves, learning more about others, and/or learning more about what you are doing and why you are doing it.  An example of this can be seen in the anime series The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting.

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 anime series The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting, the main character, known as the strongest and most dangerous member of the yakuza family that he's part of, is told by his boss to be the babysitter for his young daughter. This does help in taming the main character, which his boss most likely has in mind since in addition to being the strongest and most dangerous in the family, he's also a loose cannon, meaning he's difficult to control. The main character still proves his strength and demonstrates to others when he feels like he needs to as to why he's so dangerous, but he's not as extreme as he used to be because of his babysitting job. The two aren't really used to each other at first, but over time, despite a minor setback, they grow attached to each other, respect each other, and are changed for the better because of this babysitting experience.

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.

Treating others with the proper respect no matter who they are is important for everyone, which is also why learning how to do that is also important for everyone. There may be different things different people want someone to do, but what ultimately matters is what this someone needs to do, especially if what this someone needs to do involves other people in order to improve themselves. In the case of The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting, the main character needs to listen to his boss, not himself, about babysitting his daughter since his daughter needs this main character as much as, if not more than, he needs her.

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 how to properly treat others, as well as an understanding of why that's important.