Escaping through a Second Reality

From the blinding lights of a television screen, our young minds would drift off into a non-existent yet real dimension. 

It travels into a world blooming with vibrancy and wonder — where you soon find yourself surrounded with fairies dazzling in a soft glow, witches floating on their wooden brooms, elves wielding magic from their own palms, and dragons traversing across azure skies stretching endlessly. 

Yet once the cartoon airing on the screen rolls out their closing credits, you blink — and you’re forced back into the dull reality reminding us that magic only exists in the bounds of our imagination; and perhaps this is why, despite reaching adolescence and adulthood, fantasy stays as a big part of the media we consume, especially in anime.

A Mind of Wonder

From every fairytale book we’ve read during our childhood, every cartoon with astounding abilities that we’ve watched, and every belief passed down from our ancestors were the very moment where fantasy dwelt in our minds. 

It existed long before we came to be. Fantasy originated from the narratives of gods, inhuman beasts, the supernatural in ancient mythology, and folklore around the globe. However, time evolved and scientific laws became the logic of the world — debunking the supernatural in the process, and so fantasy changed as a genre of literature with mystical elements untethered from science yet bound by imagination.

With this new-found freedom, authors soon utilized the genre to explore themes by creating their own world filled with magical creatures, astonishing magical abilities, unique roles like warriors and mages, and conflict resonating with readers despite them being worlds apart. Their imagination bloomed into novels and series loved by many, such as The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien and Harry Potter written by J. K. Rowling.

And before long, other inspired creators then mixed their minds full of wonder with their artistic creativity.

Animating the Supernatural

Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney, and Yey! dedicated to Filipino children were the star of every sunny afternoon during everyone’s childhood. Our childhood was undeniably built on these fictional cartoons, and it provided us the joy of dreaming the impossible — fantasy.

Yet as the years flew by, we grew taller — and soon outgrew the childishness we had. We advanced into the hardships of adolescence and adulthood, and the world forced us to abandon the spark of magic we hoped to have, not until Japanese studios relit the dim light of supernatural fascination within us.

Anime provided the familiar comfort cartoons gave us when we were young. Though the plot in anime has matured compared to the old cartoons loved by many, the intricate lines and vivid colors drawn by groups of artists; the perspective and cinematography absorbing viewers into the vibrant world of anime, and the characters reflecting the personalities of real people despite being bound within a 2D space sparked the joy and interest of the masses — and fan-favorite Japanese studios like Studio Ghibli, MAPPA, and Ufotable greatly reflect these.

Today — ever since the COVID-19 pandemic — anime has dominated major streaming services such as Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video. Additionally, Netflix reported more than 150 million member households commonly watched anime on the platform, and as authors and creators come together with their excellence in art and imaginative literature — the supernatural is animated and once again reigns over the hearts of many.

But really, what makes fantasy anime so adored anyway?

Fantasy over Reality

There exist hundreds — perhaps millions of other genres of anime and different types of media and literature to indulge in, yet fantasy anime never fails to place in the Top TV shows on streaming platforms such as Netflix in the Philippines. It may appear childish for mature Filipinos to watch such shows, but why do we — who abandoned their fantasies for practicality — persist in watching fantasy anime?

Perhaps it’s because of the alluring art pulling us in, or maybe due to the complex plot and relationships piquing our curiosity. It must be the fancy spells they cast during battle, or the fascinating places they uncover during their adventures. But really — it’s every element combined giving us the warmth and happiness of fully being immersed in a second reality with no problems to endure.

Fantasy anime allows us to escape from the dull reality we face every day. It brings our weary soul into a universe free of high taxes and bills to pay. We travel into a world without commuting problems due to high gas prices, and we get to live in a fictional country where characters use their magic instead of their voices to fight fair. In today’s world — where politicians in the country prove themselves corrupt, diplomacy failing and terrorism succeeding — there’s nowhere else to flee except for the second reality that fantasy anime provides us. 

The colors unfolding on our screens paint our monotonous reality — blinding our eyes and bringing our minds into a world blooming with the vibrancy and the wonder of magic familiar from all those years ago. An episode may last for at least 25 minutes, but it’s enough time to enjoy this fantasy as we calm ourselves from the chaos we constantly face in reality.