Inspiring Manga and Anime

I came across some inspiring animes and manga and thought of sharing them here.

Naruto is an anime about a boy who was treated as an outcast in his village. The villagers avoided him and prevented other children from playing with him. In a world where only the strongest and most powerful fighter is respected, he was looked down for his lack of skill. Naruto had a dream to become the head (Hokage) of his village and used this dream to overcome all challenges and obstacles. His tenacity helped him overcome obstacles and along the way he inspired others. He was able to overcome his weaknesses and defeat enemies stronger than him and in some cases made them his friends. My children introduced this anime to me and I enjoyed it in the beginning, but the stories took too long to complete. The first series consisted of 220 episodes. It was followed by Naruto: Shippuden which follows his challenges as an adult. I did not like the later episodes which appear to repeat earlier stories.

Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple is a story of high school student who was constantly bullied in school. His chance encounter with Miu inspired him to become stronger. In the beginning he just wanted to become stronger so that he will not be bullied but as he trained his goal changed to be strong enough to protect his friends. I do not remember how I came across this manga but the story was captivating, however, it is classified as ecchi manga - not meant for children. The story is long and consist of 583 chapters (manga/comic format) and 50 episodes (in Anime format).

Eyeshield 21 is an anime about a boy who was target of bullying. As a result, of the constant running either to get away from being hurt or to forced to run errands by his tormentors, he was able to run very fast. The captain of the American football team noticed his ability and recruited him. He was forced to keep his identity a secret to avoid other teams from poaching him. It was fun to watch how he grew in strength and how others who joined the team later were became inspired. Their football team was an underdog who lost all their games to become a champion in the Christmas bowl. There is 144 episodes in this anime but it was fun to watch how the team fought against incredible odds even with losses along the way.

The Breaker tells a story of another victim of bullies who became a disciple of a very powerful martial art artist. Throughout the story, the teacher appears reluctant to teach him but with the intervention of the teacher’s companion, he was thought various movements. One such intervention was the boy being given a pill that cause the body to create limitless amount of Ki that would result in the breakdown of the body and eventual death. Towards the end of this series, his ki center was broken to prevent him from being involved with the martial arts world.

The Breaker: New Wave is the sequel to The Breaker and continues immediately after the previous story. With his ki center broken, he is not able to practice martial arts anymore. He tried to honor his master's wish not to practice martial arts anymore. However, for honor and to protect his friends he willingly put his life on the line multiple times throughout the series.

Do you know of other manga or anime out there that are as inspiring, please share in the comments.