So, I wrote a post a while ago about the books that helped shape my writing. And I thought it’d be fun to share some anime that have impacted me and my writing. Plus, I thought this picture was hilarious, and since it’s in an anime style, it’s fitting for this post.
I’ve been an anime fan since 2002 when I was around seven or eight. I remember waking up early every school morning to watch Inuyasha on [adult swim] with my sister. At this age, I didn’t know that anime was or that it was completely separate from cartoons. It was an interesting show about demons and I loved the characters. The designs of everyone, with Sango and Kagura having my favorite outfits. My sister loved the cute character more, including Shippo and Kirara. Despite not knowing exactly what was going on in the plot, I loved watching it. Inuyasha was one of the earliest media I remember that introduced me to mythical creatures, like demons and spirits. To this day, demons are one of my favorite paranormal creatures and I have several series featuring them.
Shortly after we finished Inuyasha, I randomly came across Toonami’s block of anime. Though I don’t remember much of the anime they used to show, one anime stuck out: Naruto. I ended up watching halfway through an episode, about forty episodes in. I saw the fight between Rock Lee and Gaara, and though I had no idea what was going on, who these people were, or why they were fighting, I loved it. It’s still one of my favorite anime fights to this day, and it hooked me on the series. Toonami ended up rerunning the show from the beginning and I would come home from school excitedly to watch 2 hours of Naruto to catch up. Naruto has been a huge part of my life since then, where I collected all the manga, cosplayed, and I’m even planning a Naruto tattoo.
Partway through my watch of Naruto, Toonami began airing Bleach, which was about soul reapers protecting others and taking care of “hollows” which tended to cause damage. One of the biggest aspects of Bleach that drew me in was the way their swords, zanpakutos, worked along with the crazy power scaling. The unique powers and character designs were a huge draw for me. There was a lot of thought put into each character Ichigo, the main protagonist, came across. He’d run into an enemy, who may only show up for two episodes, but their design and attitude were amazing and memorable. The different classes in Bleach were intriguing, from the soul reapers, the Espada, to the visored, and the quincies. I’ve been rewatching the series and am still in love with the wide cast of characters and the fights. The main form of fighting is through sword fights, with a few small exceptions like Uryu’s archery and Chad’s fullbring punches. I’m pretty sure Bleach is why I love swords so much to this day. I’ve dreamed of owning my own sword one day and would love to design a personal one.
Getting back to writing, when I was a preteen, I wrote Naruto fanfiction with a friend. We wrote to each other small stories, mailing them to each other. I still have most of the letters she sent me to this day. Slowly, I gained the confidence to post some fanfiction up for reviews. Having quick responses and critiques of my writing helped my writing abilities develop. Sometimes, I still go back and reread what I’ve written, both on fanfiction and what I sent my friend, to compare how far I’ve come. Though I must admit, reading some of the metaphors I wrote as a teen is a bit cringeworthy now.
Seeing the wide variety of fantasy worlds in anime has inspired me to create my own. Not on this list, but anime worlds I admire are Fullmetal Alchemist, Code Geass, The Promised Neverland, Madoka Magica, and Blue Exorcist. In several stories, I’ve built vast magical systems and kingdoms that I’d love to see animated one day. That’s a huge dream though and would like to first be published before I work towards an animated piece.
Do you have any influences on your writing? Whether it’s books, films, shows, or anime? Let me know!
And as always, happy writing!
Kaylen Azalea Grimm 