Anime Lectio: Yakitori: Soldiers of Misfortune

                                                            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. 

Getting something done as an individual versus getting something done with others depends on things like what needs to be done, who you are doing it with and for, and why you are doing it.  Why you are doing what you are doing may not be important, or as a significant factor, if you don't have much of a choice in what you are doing and have to do it.  This idea can be seen in many ways, like in Chapter 68 of the Rule of St. Benedict about the assignment of impossible tasks to a brother, but one example of this can be seen in the anime series Yakitori: Soldiers of Misfortune.

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 Yakitori: Soldiers of Misfortune, five humans end up working together in a combat unit that's part of an army in a war between alien races. Besides their personalities getting in the way of them agreeing to work together most of the time, the fact that their training is different and more difficult than the other units they are fighting with and that their unit is essentially treated as decoys and equipment doesn't always help either. Despite all of these difficulties, they manage to eventually work together in order to get their job done and go on another mission together.

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.

When thinking about what's on my mind in relation to this anime, I mentioned a certain chapter in the Rule of St. Benedict about the assignment of impossible tasks to a brother. In this chapter, the impossible tasks assigned to a brother are tasks that are burdensome and something that he cannot do. While the task given to the one unit in the anime series Yakitori: Soldiers of Misfortune is burdensome, the people in charge of their unit believe that it's a task that only they can do. The unit itself may not think this, like the brother assigned an impossible task, but other people may know what's better for them, which is one of the reasons why listening to others is important. Listening to others is important for other reasons and it's important to pray about that in order to understand that.

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 listen to others when working with them, as well as to what other people have to say about this and about listening to others.