I’ve noticed over the years the sparkle in the eyes of many slowly dulling and fading away. That’s not to say there is no happiness in their lives, but the things we all used to think about has been replaced with anxiety and worry of the future.
Do you remember when you were little, you looked up at the stars perhaps thinking you had no limits. You would reach those stars, who was going to stop you? Then as you got older, those feelings changed. You looked at the stars less. You had less time for it, you had more responsibilities, who knows the reasons you stopped. Then one day, you stopped looking at them, weighted to the ground like you’d never felt before.
Instead of looking at the stars, you started looking at the ground more. With your feet firmly planted on the ground you may be safe. Perhaps you learned the hard way about reaching for those stars. More and more had been taken from you, innocence and simple joys stripped away. You couldn’t afford to look at those stars, because if you did, you couldn’t watch your feet as you walked.
Its such a painful reality to come to terms with. At one point you were forced to realize that it was a privilege to pursue most dreams. You may have been told, “If you put your mind to it, you can do anything.” or “If you work hard and go the extra mile you will be rewarded.” I feel my generation, or people around my age all were told that growing up. The rug-pull that hit us left us on our backs, once again staring at those stars, but they never felt further away.
Now I won’t pretend I had a bad upbringing, or even an underwhelming life. I lived a privileged existence, my parents were older, so they lived through a more golden age of the economy. My father, a teacher, and my mother a homemaker. They struggled a lot at first, I heard the stories, but in the scheme of it, my mother could love her children full time. Which is all she ever wanted, at least at the time. My father could teach children who showed respect (at least compared to today), and enjoyed all the new opportunities afforded to him as a teacher of the time.
I came late to the game, my father aged 45. But they still always told me, “Work hard, never give anything less than your best. If you’re going to do something, even if you don’t like it, put your whole heart into it.” I did, along with so many others. I overexerted myself so many times. I had perfect attendance in school all the way to senior year, I tried my best with college, and when I joined the workforce, I gave it everything I had. I always joke I don’t remember my twenties because I spent it working outrageous hours trying to get ahead. It worked for my parents, it was my turn, right?
This is just to paint a point that many worked hard thinking it would translate into that success you were told you would reach. All still in attempts to reach those stars. I probably held onto my dreams of reaching the stars longer than others. When I realized not even the sky was the limit, I took those hopes and dreams, then planted them into the ground. Letting them take root, they would stay with the dirt I left my feet planted on. It’s not easy to let those dreams do that. But it was for the best.
I feel so many people have experienced what I have, even if it was different. You can see it in everything around us. Particularly I laughed at how the Anime industry had completely adopted the tone of the young hearts around it. 80’s-90’s anime was about the stars. Space, robots, a general lack of worry, but still full of mystery of what is beyond the stars or the tech world as it evolved. Even my first written works were about the stars. I was always staying up late to write about the world that must exist out there.
Then look at a lot of anime now. Slower paced, ancient times or simpler ones, magic, adventuring with friends and survival with your own two hands. You chose your fate and destiny, but the stars were once again, out of your reach. Bring in herbs on your fetch quest for the local adventurers guild and rent was paid. The Isekai dream of getting hit by a truck to hopefully wake up in a different world suddenly felt more likely and sought out than reaching those stars. It is also, unironically, far more likely to happen than reaching those stars.
Most recently, I have seen the concept of “[BLANK] got kicked out from the hero’s party but without me they suck and I’m actually super strong and will receive so much validation in this new quest of mine.” style anime. Its taking the already grounded existence, and just plain screams out “I just want someone to validate how hard I’ve worked” kind of feel to them. Don’t get me wrong, they can be incredibly fulfilling to watch. I highly recommend “Banished from the hero’s party, I decided to live a quiet life in the countryside.” if I’m being honest. But it really drives home the fact that people just crave, and need validation.
While I feel anime does a good job following the trends of young minds, even live action shows try to toss societal norms out the window in hopes of giving you the chance to make your own choices in the world. Look at “The Walking Dead” and its popularity. A whole world reset, and everyone was all for it.
Our dreams have all been chained, our wings clipped, and we have had to adapt to find the little pieces of joy that get us through the day. We’re tired and sad of the world we have been left to try and navigate. People who can no longer even dream of being the hero, suddenly feel like perhaps they were meant to be the villain. In society today, there’s so much conflict. Socially, politically, and everywhere in between. Some who refuse to be dragged into corners find themselves being yelled at by all sides. Those who truly still try to have an open mind and heart find themselves in a constant fight or flight. Those who can truly agree to disagree but smile and get a bite to eat after are further and further apart than ever before. While others keep trying to get further and further from “the enemy” that suddenly you’re in a void alone.
So what do you do, when the world is no longer made for you, the stars are out of reach, and all you can do is look at the dirt as you walk forward? I think that’s what so many people need to really focus on, because before you know it, that anime title will just be: “I exist, but I’m not alive.”
EK Creates 