Anime has become a more and more popular form of entertainment over the past several years. According to a Summary Report by The Association of Japanese Animations, Japan’s animation market has consecutively grown from 2009 to 2019, with seven of those years breaking records. The plots of anime vary from series to series, with some being more fantasy fiction focused such as Demon Slayer and Naruto, to sports such as Kuroko’s Basketball and Haikyuu, to “Slice of Life” such as Blend S. 

In light of this, many aspects of anime plots are intentionally exaggerated or reflections of fantasies, including character appearances and capabilities, as well as cliche situations that the characters find themselves in. But there are some themes or takeaways of anime that are very realistic and sometimes are meant to put the viewers into the shoes of the characters. Many anime that do this the most effectively are anime that revolves around high school life.

One particular anime that masterfully creates relatable characters is My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected, also known as Oregairu. The story follows the experiences of Hachiman Hikigaya, the cynical loner of his class who refuses to get along with his classmates due to a distorted view of life. However, his outlook on his remaining time in high school and his attitude towards others change once he is forced to join his school’s Volunteer/Service Club and meets two girls, Yukino and Yui. Hachiman begins to better understand the people around him and that life should be enjoyed to the maximum, while he develops his own feelings for Yukino. This reflects how high school students sometimes have a narrowed perspective of life, which affects one’s mood and even personality, and highlights the importance of social interaction.

Despite this, there are some aspects of Oregairu that are difficult or impossible to see happening in real life. This includes the relationship between Hachiman and his teacher, Shizuka Hiratsuka, who constantly guides him throughout his personal struggles in determining what he wants his relationship with Yukino and Yui to be. Hiratsuka goes as far as driving him to a batting cage late at night to talk with him alone while casually smoking cigarettes next to him, something that very few if any teachers would do.

Some anime seek to emphasize the pursuit of one’s true passions and interests. The anime Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, which began airing at the beginning of 2020, follows three girls, Asakusa, Mizusaki, and Kanamori. Both Asakusa and Mizusaki have a passion for creating anime, but Mizusaki’s parents want her to become an actress, as she is already a prominent child star. Despite this, Mizusaki continues to work with Asakusa and Kanamori, starting the Film Club, or Eizouken, and creating multiple successful animations while eventually making her parents see that she enjoys what she does, gaining their approval. Many high school students arrive at a crossroads, where they must choose between pursuing what they are passionate about or pursuing what others expect of them. Personally, I felt that this anime taught me that even when others may disapprove of what you want to pursue in life, if and when you convince them through your own efforts that you know what you’re doing, we as people can do anything we set our minds to.

Once again, however, there are some scenes in the anime that fail to live up to reality. One major scene is when Mizusaki and Asakusa must make it to the auditorium where their anime will be shown during the school culture festival. With the help of the Robotics Club, the two race across their school campus using a zipline while being chased by the Security Club, whose members are all dressed in riot gear. Meanwhile, Kanamori blackmails the students in charge of setting the air conditioning for every building in the school to set the auditorium to a lower temperature. These are all considerably exaggerated measures that the three girls take in order to have their anime succeed at the festival, and would likely never happen in real life.

Another major aspect of high school that some anime cover is romance. Kaguya Sama – Love is War tells the story of Kaguya Shinomiya, who serves as her prestigious school’s student council vice president and is the daughter of the head of a large business group in Japan, and Miyuki Shirogane, the student council president who comes from a low-income family, as the two use mind games to trick each other into confessing their love. 

While the plot at its core is a classic romantic comedy, it also highlights the struggles of being born into certain socioeconomic circumstances, as Kaguya works to change her icy personality, which she developed to prevent herself from being harmed by the heartless businessmen that are her family, in order to make herself more approachable. Meanwhile, Miyuki is forced to come to terms with and lower his facade of being the highest academic performer in the school who has no flaws. 

Furthermore, Kaguya, Miyuki, and their other student council members have to deal with the social problems of their friends and classmates in addition to their own, reflecting how many high school students are swamped by many societal assignments every day and struggle to accept their social identities, instead choosing to change them to fit the narratives of others. All of these are very real situations that high school students would find themselves in.

On the other hand, just like Eizouken and Oregairu, there are some scenes in the anime and manga that would be hard to believe in real life. One instance is when Ai Hayasaka, Kaguya’s personal assistant, breaks into the student council room at school in the middle of the night to replace the coffee Miyuki drinks with a non-caffeinated version. She must evade the room’s security system and also wears a stealth suit while infiltrating, all so Kaguya can try to make a sleep-deprived Miyuki confess to her the following morning. Another scene that is clearly fictional is when all the student council members are peeping inside the council room at their friends when Miyuki begins to tell the others about how many dates two people in a relationship must have in order to reach specific “milestones.” 

In addition, I interviewed some acquaintances from school about whether they think high school anime could accurately represent real-life high school experiences.

“Anime shows teenage characters that can struggle with issues that teens can relate to. It kind of gives an outlet to show that people can still struggle or face awkwardness that happens with high school,” says junior Kyle Wang.

“Anime often depicts overly dramatic scenarios in order to keep the viewers’ attention. Such situations do not commonly occur in real life except in very extreme circumstances which do not represent the majority. Shows like Love Live! would be hard to believe in real life, as the concept of high schoolers becoming professionals in fields such as musical idols wouldn’t be possible in real high school,” says Evan Kwan, another junior.

All three of these anime highlight many aspects of high school life. However, they can’t really serve as a mirror of high school as a whole. While anime can represent certain parts of a high schooler’s life, it’s difficult to capture a whole experience, as not everyone has the same high school experience. It’s also worth noting that high school anime often are based on high school life in Japan, which has some differences compared to American high school life. Nonetheless, while anime is often meant to be a source of entertainment, it can also serve as a teaching tool and a reminder that there are people who notice and understand what high schoolers have to go through.

Photographic Courtesy of WALLPAPERFLARE.COM