Anime Lectio: Mr. Villain's Day 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. 

Everyone needs to take some time for themselves in order to be more productive in the work that they do.  What's also important in being productive in the work that you do is doing the work in an environment where you can take your time to do your work and not get too busy doing that you forget about your being.  As I have said before when reflecting on the Rule of St. Benedict, a guide for Benedictine monks written by our founder St. Benedict, we are human beings, not human doings.  An interesting example of this can be seen in the anime series Mr. Villain's Day 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.

A villain who's the leader of an evil organization that isn't from Earth that figures out how to conquer Earth actually enjoys what Earth has to offer on his days off.  While he looks more menacing where he works, despite being a good boss and caring about his employees, he doesn't look really menacing on his days off.  On his days off, he just likes to relax, focusing on his obsession with pandas and interacting with, as well as helping, random people he meets.  This includes a kid he befriends who is also interested in pandas, a worker at a convenience store that he goes to regularly, and even the group of heroes that fights his evil organization (he calls a truce with them on his days off when he sees any of them - one in particular).   

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.

As human beings, and not human doings, we are defined by who we are and not by what we do, even though what we do influences who we are. A villain is only considered a villain by the person who is considered a hero (also true if there's more than one "villain" and or more than one "hero"). This is one of the things I think about with anime a lot since the idea of heroes and villains isn't always black and white, or as clear as you may think and/or see. The anime series Mr. Villain's Day Off offers an interesting look at what a character who is considered to be a villain is like both when he's working and on his days off to offer a complete picture of what a villain could be like. Not everyone is completely evil or completely good, whatever that may mean depending on what it means to be a hero or a villain and who determines that, and this can be seen in the anime series Mr. Villain's Day Off.

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 what good and evil actually is, as well as understanding why people are considered to be heroes and others villains (and even both) depending on who you ask.