Anime Lectio: Ningen Fushin

                                                             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.  

If individuals have been betrayed by humanity and don't trust it, then can these individuals trust each other enough to form an adventuring team to save the world? This is an interesting question to think about, as well as an important one if you are like one of the individuals in this question. It's also a question that I started thinking about after seeing the first episode in the anime series Ningen Fushin.

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 Ningen Fushin starts off when four individuals are betrayed by people they care about. All four of these individuals have their own ways of dealing with their betrayal, but they all end up sitting with each other at the same table in a tavern due to a lack of space. After the four of them say the same thing at the same time about hating humanity, they decide to form an adventuring party together in order to save the world. Despite not initially trusting each other, the individuals in this adventuring party manage to get along. This trust is put to the test when this adventuring party is tasked with finding an ancient artifact, which is a sword that allows for two of the party members to fuse when needed in order to defeat stronger opponents. This sword is also a person that joins the adventuring party after they decide to use it for themselves. After other adventures, which involves finding another ancient artifact person, these adventurers learn how to get a long with each other better, but still need to do more in order to save the world.

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.

The longer title of Ningen Fushin is Ningen Fushin: Adventurers Who Don't Believe in Humanity Will Save the World. I usually prefer shorter titles when watching anime, so with a title like Ningen Fushin, I just use those two words. Besides, the longer part of the title is in my description of the anime, which is usually/should be the case for anime descriptions anyway. Anyway, the longer part of the title is also another way of saying the question I thought about in the initial reflection for this post. Is it possible for adventurers who don't believe in humanity to save the world? If these adventurers don't believe in humanity, then how can they believe in each other? These adventurers do believe in each other more over time, so saving the world together is most likely something that they will do over time also.

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 also realize that what we want and/or need to do, either with others and/or without them depending on what we want and/or need to do (and how much of it), takes time.