Anime Wisdom

Over the years, I've learned a lot from Anime. A lot of very powerful wisdom is handed down by some of our favorite characters in scenes that usually stick in our minds as being incredibly badass. And yet, very rarely do we actually take that wisdom and apply it to our every day lives. 

So I've taken a moment to collect some of my favorite anime quotes and share them here. Ones that I feel we would all benefit from if we took a moment to apply them to ourselves. 

 First up, Gildarts Clive from Fairy Tail gives us some incredibly powerful words to mull over.
"Fear is not evil. It tells you what your weakness is and, once you know your weakness, you can become stronger, as well as kinder."

That quote is pretty much self explanatory, up until that last little bit. How can fear make you kinder?

By understanding that if something makes you afraid, it makes someone else afraid too. If you gain the power to overcome that fear then you will be more understanding of those that are still trapped by that fear, and maybe you'll even be able to help them.

This next quote is also on the subject of fear, and it comes from Maka Albarn from SoulEater.

"We might be scared, but that's what makes us stronger."

Both Maka and Gildarts believe that fear can make you stronger, but how is that?

Gildarts believes that it's by identifying your weakness and learning to overcome it. That's part of it.

However, I think that it's more than that. I think Maka's quote leans more towards the famous (non-anime) quote by Nelson Mandela:

I learned the Courage is not the absence of fear, but triumph over it. The brave man is not he who is not afraid, but he who conquers that fear. 

Being afraid, but still mustering up the courage to go ahead and do it anyway. Whether it's talking to someone you've got a crush on, standing up for your beliefs, or going sky diving for the first time. Being afraid is natural. Doing it anyway is courageous.


 This is another Fairytail quote. I tried to mix things up a bit, but I've been binge watching Fairytail lately in an effort to catch up, so please forgive me.

This quote from Lucy is one that I feel a lot of people would really benefit from.

"There's nothing fortunate about having your fate decided for you. You have to grab your own happiness."

Now how does this apply to someone who isn't the daughter of a wealthy man trying to arrange a marriage you don't want?

It's all in that last line. "You have to grab your own happiness." If you want something from life, go get it. Screw the circumstances you're currently living in. You're only as happy as you allow yourself to be.

Sure, there's shit in the world and it makes life difficult, but if you sit around and do nothing then your fate has already been decided for you. Get up and make something of yourself, don't take no for an answer. Grab your own happiness.

 I was a kid when the original Pokemon Movie came out. I went and saw it in theaters with my sisters and cousins.

At the end, Mewtwo said some pretty inspiring things that were, unfortunately, lost on my young mind.

Thankfully, my love of pokemon endured into my adult life and I was able to rediscover that wisdom.

"I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are."

You might have been born into the poorest, most down on their luck family in the world, but that's irrelevant. Just like with the quote from Lucy above, what you do with your life is up to you. You are not where you were born, or who you were born to. You have the ability to decide and change everything about your life.

It's not easy. Things will be difficult and there will be times when you want to give up, but remember that you are ultimately in control. No one can decide your fate for you unless you let them.

And finally, our last quote is another Fairytail quote. This time from Mirajane.

"When people realize how lonely it is being on their own, they will become kind."

This one is a little less obvious, and kind of cryptic in its wisdom.

I believe that ultimately what it means is that people who are unkind or mean-spirited will ultimately change their ways if they find themselves alone and ignored.

People who don't bring positive things into your life don't need to be in your life. Don't associate with people who bring you down or make you feel badly. I don't care how long you've been friends for, I don't care what memories you share in your past. If they're unkind to you then they don't deserve the kindness of your friendship.

Don't be mean to them. Don't fight them. Don't yell or argue. Just leave them alone. If they value your friendship and find themselves suddenly cut out of your life, then they will find a way to change and make things right.

If more people cut the toxic people out of their lives, there would be fewer unkind people in the world. But too many people tolerate the mean behavior of people around them because they themselves are afraid of losing that friend.

If someone treats you badly, they're not your friend. You lose nothing by cutting them out of your life. And so long as you're kind and genuine you'll attract new people who want to be in your life and value your friendship.

What about you? Is there any anime wisdom that has spoken to you and helped to change your life?