As much as I’ve grown to love Japanese culture, it was anime that started it all for me.

Like most millenials, I remember us having The Pokemon Movie on VHS, in the solid yellow case and shiny pokemon card inside. Crying when Pikachu cries …uh! My heart!

While that is one of my first strong anime memories, there were many more through my teenage years that really shaped me, my morals, and love for Japan’s art.

Here are a few that remain big favourites. (Sticking to series here, not movies)

Card Captor Sakura

You won’t find such powerful heart-string-pulls in this anime as some later in this post, but I have fond memories watching the English Dub on some random channel at like 5am every morning during my teen years, and thank goodness I got up every every day to watch it.

CCS is a magical girl anime aimed at a younger audience, and yet it explores sexuality in a beautiful way. It doesn’t call it out, it just presents it as a normal part of life and relationships. I didn’t even realise it until I rewatched it when I was older! I wish there was more media that showed love as love in all it’s forms ❤ Oh and Sakura’s costumes are adorable, so yeah.

Fruits Basket

I can’t remember how I found this. I do remember that I didn’t necessarily watch this through ‘official’ routes in the early days of the internet let’s just say.

Viewing platform aside, FB starts as a funny anime where people turn into animals, to delving into subjects of grief, identity, family, and acceptance.

While I do find Tohru a bit of a sickly-sweet character through the first half of the series. It starts to peel away that even those ‘perfect’ characters have flaws, needs, and can be selfish, and that doesn’t make them bad people.

FB taught me to treat others with respect, and to see them as individuals: we’re all different. I will carry my love for FB with me for the rest of my life no doubt.

Clannad & Clannad After Story (and other Key Animation series)

Get the tissues! Clannad, in particular After Story, makes me cry uncontrollably.

While it follows a lot of classic anime tropes: the tsudere, the book worm, the guy surrounded by cute girls. You would be forgiven for seeing it as your everyday school anime series. Stick with it though, and it reveals lost youth, troubled parents, illness, loneliness, and finding yourself. A lot of animes do this but Clannad does it fabulously, and with a great soundtrack.

Where it really gets you though is Clannad After Story (the second series) where you follow the protagonist after school and into working life. Here we explore themes of family, marriage, navigating work life balance, and being a parent.

So few animes take you beyond the classroom, so Clannad AS is special in this regard, and it is gut-wrenching (be prepared for tears). There’s also a little splash of fantasy in there which I love. It sums up how I feel when I visit Japan: there’s just something a little bit magic about it.

Full Moon wo Sagashite

The plot of this anime is pretty heavy from the get go – even though it’s got an overall light hearted and funny style. We’re talking terminal illness and death gods for goodness – is this really a kids anime??

That mix is very well navigated however. It shows courage, following your dreams, looking back with rose-tinted glasses and eventually facing reality. It’s a powerful anime for sure that pops into my head from time to time, despite never rewatching it.

The drawing style is very of it’s time but I absolutely love it, and have the art book, of course.

Ouran Hugh School Host Club

This makes it onto the list again because it plays on the idea of identity and expression. The main character, a girl, is mistaken as a boy for pretty much the whole series – that’s kind of the point – and has no qualms with it whatsoever. She knows who she is and doesn’t care how others view her. It shows a strong willed, independent, honest character. You can’t help but be gift a little bit of courage to ‘be yourself’ after watching OHSHC.

It also explores (somewhat) the theme of classes in society and the huge gap between the lives of the rich and working class. I kind of wish it explored it more, but it does a good job of it.

It’s also fabulously animated and absolutely hilarious. I haven’t read the manga so I don’t actually know how it ends…I will one day!!

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So there you go. There are lots more but I better wrap this one up.

Anime is easy to snigger at or consider not a ‘sophisticated’ art form, but the themes, design, music, and lessons have followed me throughout my life. I can’t wait to see what gems are yet to be discovered, and I can guarantee I will still be watching, crying, and laughing to it for many many years to come.

What anime shaped you? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!