Five Anime That Have Kept Us Sane Through The Pandemic!!
It has been well over a year since the disastrous pandemic hit. While the duration varies for different countries, we have all suffered at its hands. Stuck at home, our options were limited. It is challenging to look for the bright side in the middle of all the chaos, but we all held onto something we value to get us through the tough times. Some of the unique hobbies and passions people pursued during the pandemic are Music, Arts, Gardening, Cookery, Writing, Crafting, Cosplay, Gaming, watching Movies and Series.
We Anime enthusiasts had a myriad of Anime available to us, be it old, new, or upcoming. While some fans caught up with series that were waiting in their “To Watch” lists, others took a big bite of all the new series spawned at the time. It is no question that the Anime industry increased its reputation during the pandemic, keeping fans worldwide entertained from the safety of their homes. So many titles kept us sane through the hectic pandemic, so we will be looking at our top five picks for this category! We will only be looking at series that aired during the pandemic and shot up in popularity with fans.
Haikyuu!! To the Top
The latest series of the Haikyuu Franchise comprises two seasons so far; “Haikyuu!!: To the Top” and “Haikyuu!!: To the Top 2nd Season”. Haikyuu has been one of the most successful Sports anime of all time, centering around Volleyball. Featuring the genres of Comedy, Sports, Drama, School, and Shounen, there is nothing to regret by watching this series. Production I.G Studio brings out the best in terms of the story, characters, visuals, audio, and entertainment.
In Season 1, the Karasuno High School volleyball team earned their ticket to the Nationals. Shouyou Hinata sneaks into a rookie training camp, reflects on his skills, analyzes information, and ponders how to apply it.
The whole team is more determined than ever to overcome their weak points and refine their skills!
In Season 2, the team is up against the runners-up of the last Spring Tournament, Inarizaki High School. Tensions are high, and the match only continues to get more intense in this climactic showdown! Shouyou Hinata, Atsumu, and Osamu Miya manage to deliver unexpected blows on their opponents amidst the crowd’s cheers.
Attack on Titan (Season 4)
The Final Season of Shingeki no Kyojin was finally delivered to eager fans in Winter 2020/2021. There’s no way any anime fan went unaware of its existence, as it hogged all sorts of social media and was on every Anime enthusiast’s lips. While there were a lot of critiques, most fans believe it lived up to its legendary legacy. Forget sane; this anime, with its twists and turns, turned watchers insane during the spectacular watch.
Gabii Braun and Falco Grice trained their whole lives to inherit one of the seven titans under Marley's control and help their nation eradicate the Eldians on Paradis. Their peace is violently shaken by the arrival of Eren Yeager and the members of the Survey Corps. After what they learned in the Yeager family basement, the Survey Corps have found their answer and have set out for the world beyond the walls. In this climactic conclusion of Paradis’ fight for freedom, two completely different worlds collide as each side pursues its own goals.
This is not the final conclusion, though, as Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2 will be released in January 2022. We can only steel our nerves and wait!
Jujutsu Kaisen
Studio MAPPA's masterpiece this season is JJK; the reviews and the skyrocketing popularity speak for themselves. It started airing in Fall 2020 and took the community by storm. JJK is not to be missed, especially for Action, Demons, Supernatural, School, and Shounen fans. The animation is probably the most noteworthy, being top-notch even in current standards. The hype kept so many fans going, whether with fangirling, drawing parallels, and appreciating strong female characters.
Ordinary high schooler Yuuji Itadori idles his time away at the Occult Club, but his life takes a flip when he encounters a cursed item. He soon finds himself in the World of Curses, which are mysterious beings formed from human negativity, as supernatural events occur left and right. The cursed item he swallowed is revealed as a finger belonging to the demon Sukuna Ryoumen, "King of Curses. Yuuji is ordinary no more as he discovers his newfound powers. At the Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School, he begins to tread the path of a Jujutsu sorcerer.
Horimiya
Hori-san and Miyamura-kun, the Rom-Com anime the community has been clamoring for years. It was finally delivered in the Spring of 2021, and fans were not disappointed. The hype was genuine and what awaited unsuspecting watchers was a heartwarming and beautiful story with colorful characters. Horimiya is a must-watch, and its take on Slice of Life anime is forever iconic! If this wholesome anime can’t help you through the pandemic, we fear very few others actually can.
Kyouko Hori and Izumi Miyamura seem the least likely to get along. Hori is almost perfect, with beauty and brains, while Miyamura is very meek and distant. Yet one fateful meeting between them reveals their hidden selves to each other. No matter how popular, Hori lacks time to socialize with her friends due to housework properly. Miyamura lives in the shadows of his peers, his body adorned with tattoos and piercings, making him look like a gentle delinquent.
The two’s opposite personalities and odd similarities allow them to be good friends, and they end up spending time together in Hori's home. Their chance encounter will enable them to come out of their shells and find solace in revealing their concealed selves around each other.
Wonder Egg Priority
WEP took the community by surprise. How many actually saw this coming? How many knew what they were in for when they started watching this chill-looking anime? Despite its appearance, WEP is a Drama, Fantasy, and Psychological anime that shook its viewers. This unique anime looks at sanity itself, and the abstract story with a psychological thriller plot can really leave an effect on pandemic-stricken brains.
Ai Ooto is clutching at her new reality after the suicide of her best and only friend, Koito Nagase. She feels she has nothing left to live for and follows the instructions of a mysterious entity, only to end up purchasing a peculiar egg, a Wonder Egg, to be precise. She breaks this egg within a world that materializes during her sleep, where she is tasked with saving people from adversities. Doing this allows her to believe that she is one step closer to rescuing her friend.
The chance given to her is both dangerous and tempting, and she must now recognize the relationship between other people's demons and her own. Her journey is rife with past trauma, unforgettable regrets, and innate fears, all within the bizarre world of Wonder Egg Priority. This is the story of a not-so-normal girl who discovers the different inner struggles tormenting humankind and then proceeds to rescue them from their worst fears…..
Here are some of our top five picks for the Best Anime titles that kept us sane throughout the devastating pandemic! Many more series didn’t make this list but are just as praiseworthy for helping us through these challenging times. More iconic anime continue to air even now, and the Anime industry will only shine more in times to come! Keep your eyes peeled for the best every season, and never forget this beautiful passion.
