Anime Lectio: Tomo-chan is a Girl!

                                                          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.  

How you see someone can influence what you think about them, as well as influence what you think about yourself and what others think about you.  Such influence isn't complete since it's only based on what you can see and think based on that instead of also what the other person thinks about you, what the other person is really like, and other things about the other person.  An interesting example of this can be seen in the anime series Tomo-chan is a Girl!

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 Tomo-chan is a Girl! starts off with a girl telling her male friend that she loves him like a girlfriend, but the male friend thinks of the girl as one of his male friends since he thinks of her as a guy. With the help of her two female friends, as well as other friends and her parents, the girl attempts to get her male friend that she loves in a romantic way to see her as a girl. After many interesting attempts at this, including learning more about their other friends and the parents of the girl (and the moms of the two female friends), the male friend that initially thought of the girl as one of his guy friends sees her as not only a girl, but also his girlfriend.

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 anime series Tomo-chan is a Girl! raises interesting questions about what it means to be male and what it means to be female. There are obvious biological differences, but these differences can be forgotten about, second-guessed, or confused when focusing on other differences between males and females defined by society, like clothing, likes/interests, and appearance. Such definitions put people in groups and prevent people from being seen as individuals who are more than just definitions.

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 see and define people as individuals and not just as part of a group.