Anime Lectio: Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

                                                             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 to know someone, whether you are dating them, want to date them, or know them in any other way, should involve other important people in their lives.  These other important people don't have to be everyone, but it should definitely people who want to be involved, like former exes of the girl you want to date.  An interesting example of this can be seen in the anime series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.

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.

Based on the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, the anime series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off offers a different take on what happened in the movie. While the title character does end up defeating the exes of the girl he wants to date in order to be with her in the movie, he is actually mysteriously transported to the future during his fight with the first ex. While the title character's friends think he died as a result of this fight, which leads to making a movie, and even a Broadway play, about what could've happened, the title character learns that the one who mysteriously transported him to the future was actually his future self in order to stop the fighting from happening. The reason for this is to prevent a future where the title character defeats these exes, gets the girl he wants to date and even marries her, but they end up getting divorced and his life doesn't go anywhere. Despite this warning, the two still try to date, even though his future self still tries to stop that by preventing them from kissing. They even end up fighting his older future self too, but with the help of their friends, as well as a version of the girl from the future, they manage to defeat his older future self in order to continue their relationship with sabotaging it.

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.

Whether you defeat the exes of the girl you want to date in order to date her or don't do that, either because you don't have to or you can't do that, understanding others is important. This is true in any kind of relationship, as well as understanding yourself, in order to make the relationship work and to understand it in order to make it work. The anime series is an example of this since the future selves of the title character, as well as the future self of the girl he wants to date, need to understand themselves better in order for their present relationship to continue. Their past isn't important. Nor is their future. What's important for them, as well as us, is what we do now, as well as understanding 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 understand the people involved in the relationship(s) that we want to have, including the relationship with ourself, now, which is always changing.