Anime is really inspiring. There’s this caliber of storytelling in japanese animation that just can’t be found anywhere. Grand music, detailed characters, sprawling story-lines, beautiful animation: it all comes together amazingly with anime. I just finished watching Outlaw Star with DJ. That’s the second time I’ve ever seen it the whole way through, from start to finish… and I know clearly why a) the person I am today and b) why I love outlaw star so much.
The story of Gene Starwind and Co. is quite extensive and heroic. Watching Gene in action and seeing him change from a mis-guided sleezeball into a passionate hero is so inspiring. Seeing the things he accomplishes just instills this sense of greatness inside of me that can’t be ignored. Watching the show as such a young child had to have played a role in shaping who I am. As I’m sitting here, wanting to go off and do great things, back then I must have felt the same. And having first seen the show at such an impressionable age… I’m glad such inspiration made its way into my soul. I’m sure that witnessing it for the first time made me recognize right and wrong, made me stand up for goodness and reject evil. Not saying I didn’t know those things before… but it’s reinforcement. Reinforcement, reassurance- it’s all wonderful. When you see such a cretin go from directionless to stable and go from standing for nothing to upholding justice… it makes you realize that the good in this world truly is what’s right and worth fighting for. Not only does the main character of this bad ass show realize good is better than evil, but all the people behind the show creating it and supporting it feel the same way too. Seeing good prevail in such an involving piece of entertainment really made me want to be a better person and it still does. It reminds me of why I stand up for the things I stand up for.
For example (there are many, this is just one I can think of immediately)… Gene went around with a bunch of women in the beginning and didn’t care much for them except for their sexual company. But by the end of the series Gene has a certain respect for women, so much so he commits himself to one person and it’s anything but sexual. Sometimes I question why I’m so sensitive and moralistic when it comes to love.. It’s so easy to just hook up and not be tied down and be sexually satisfied. But… where’s the point in all of that? It’s all just for some quick, conditional fun. Whereas when you’re a loyal person and involve yourself in a deep love, the rewards are so much more numerous and fulfilling. Gene’s change of heart reminds me why I’m so committed to Harriet and why I’m more than happy to make her my last ever love. Gene’s transition is so amazing because it’s like… not only does he stand up for true love by the end, but he CHANGED. He was one thing… and became another! Changing one’s ways doesn’t come easy and by witnessing his transformation, that just brings the message home even stronger.
But okay. I’m exhausted. I’m surprised I wrote this much.
