Anime often focuses on the lives of teenagers doing a laundry list of things teens probably shouldn’t be doing. It’s a tried and true method of making stories more universal and relatable because we all either are or were kids once upon a time.

 

Given that I’m now 30 and have been watching anime for longer than I haven’t, it’s always refreshing to see a story about a character who I can consider more of a peer (you know, sans all of the supernatural, gravity-defying, world-breaking stunts they can still do without throwing out their backs).

 

To lean into this theme a little more, here are some of the lessons I’ve learned from anime that features characters who are actually old enough to rent a car.

 

Life Will Always Throw a Wrench Into Your Best Laid Plans

 

 

One of the newer entries on this list, SPY x FAMILY, is kind of like Mr. and Mrs. Smith if you throw in a psychic toddler to make things even more interesting. The crowd-favorite series focuses on a spy using the alias Loid Forger and an assassin named Yor Briar. The two get married to keep up their respective cover stories as a psychiatrist and a city clerk. The real kicker is that neither of them knows the other’s true identity. The only person who does is their adoptive daughter, Anya, the psychic toddler I mentioned earlier who can read minds. 

 

SPY x FAMILY is a show that a lot of adults can relate to, especially those dealing with the pressures of parenthood. But even for those of us without children, learning to roll with the unexpected twists and turns of life is a part of being an adult. 

 

RELATED: SPY x FAMILY’s Loid and Yor Forger Are Great Spies and Better Parents

 

When the mission started, Loid thought that it would be a relatively quick job. Now virtually nothing has gone according to plan and he constantly has to adjust — usually on the spot. Meanwhile, Yor is on a neverending journey of self-assessment in the pursuit of improvement.

 

To Anya, her new papa and mama are the best, but most of us adults will tell you that we’re trying to figure out this thing called life as we go.

 

Be Prepared to Not Be Prepared

 

 

Have you ever let your ambition get you into a messy situation that you have to work your way out of? Maybe you started a new job and didn’t fully realize what you signed up for until you started. Akane Tsunemori, the main protagonist of PSYCHO-PASS, dealt with this exact situation when she first joined the police force for her very first job.

 

When the series starts Tsunemori is a rookie cop in a futuristic world where advanced technology lets authorities predict when people have the potential of becoming dangerous criminals. These people are then tracked down and arrested (or killed). As overwhelming as that can be, she has a whole unit working alongside her. This includes other cops and people who have been labeled as being just as dangerous as the people they’re tracking, including her partner, Shinya Kogami. 

 

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Tsunemori’s realization that her new job isn’t quite what she signed up for is also another very common adult issue you can find in the series. In my own case, I’ve taken many jobs that made themselves out to be something totally different during the interview process. The best advice I can give you is to do like Tsunemori and surround yourself with people you can rely on and the rest will slowly start to make sense over time.

 

Or, at worst, you’ll have someone to commiserate with.  

 

You’ll Butt Heads With People You HAVE to Work With

 

 

Samurai Champloo features not one, but two wandering samurai that you’ll likely get attached to. On one end of the philosophical spectrum we have Mugen, an unpredictable wild card and rebellious fighter. On the other end we have Jin, a calmer, more calculated, more precise ronin. 

 

While I would never suggest that you and the troublesome person from accounting grab a couple of swords and fight it out, Samurai Champloo can offer some funny examples of conflict resolution like dramatic coin flips or random baseball games.

 

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One especially cool thing about Samurai Champloo (along with the soundtrack) is that it never clearly declares one character superior to the other as they both help escort Fuu through a fictional version of Edo-period Japan to find someone from her past. 

 

Life isn’t always about who wins or who’s better in the end. You’ll often find yourself in positions where you’ll be forced to work with someone you either don’t have much in common with or don’t get along with. To avoid conflicts in general, try to see things from the other person’s perspective to understand what their motivations, concerns and preferred results are. If that doesn’t work, it’s always good to have someone like Fuu around to break the tension and keep you focused on the goal at hand. 

 

You Have to Find Your Own Path

 

Image via Netflix

 

For a long time the general consensus was that almost any adaptation of a video game property was going to be a complete failure. Castlevania is absolutely an exception to that rule — or at least a sign that the trend is improving. The series follows Trevor Belmont, the last living member of a clan of disgraced monster hunters as he takes on Count Dracula with the help of a magician named Sypha and Dracula’s own son, Alucard. 

 

Through many of its characters, Castlevania explores the hurdles a lot of us have to go through — albeit in a much more dramatic and horrifying setting. Coming to terms with your connections to estranged family members, grieving the loss of people you care about, and learning to step out of your family’s shadow are all pretty par for the course when navigating adulthood.

 

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Along with such journeys comes the part where you try and figure out good coping mechanisms. Your attempts, at first, may not be the best. Just look at how Trevor deals with being the last member of the historic Belmont family of monster hunters — a lot of drinking, violence, and sarcasm.

 

Eventually, the three learn about the power of collective healing and how to live for themselves and not what others expect from them. That’s a message a lot of us can learn from. 

 

You May Feel Lost After Reaching Your Goals

 

 

One-Punch Man’s Saitama actually looks older than he is due to the fact that he worked out so hard that he not only gained superhuman abilities but also lost all of his hair. When you add that to his generally laidback demeanor and average appearance, it’s not surprising that no one realizes that he’s the strongest superhero in the world unless they witness it first-hand. 

 

As someone who embraced entering his 30s by completely shaving his head, I feel like I got a raw deal in comparison. But it still makes me feel good to see that one of the strongest characters across all anime is also trying to find a healthy work-life balance. 

 

RELATED: A Brief History of Superhero Anime, From Astro Boy to My Hero Academia

 

One of the biggest lessons I learned from Saitama (which actually goes directly against most anime tropes) is to not become so goal-oriented that it becomes your entire purpose. Even after famously doing 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 air squats and running 10 kilometers a day until he got superpowers, he still felt a void in his life. Unless you’re super lucky, we all tend to go through dips in satisfaction and fulfillment at times. That’s why it’s so impressive to me that Saitama’s able to persevere through a life that leaves him feeling pretty unfulfilled at the beginning and turn it into one he can find bright spots in. 

 

Not to completely rip off a Lifetime motive, but maybe the key really is finding the right goals and enjoying the journey and connections we make along the way. One Punch Man: The Christmas Clash, coming to a streaming service near you (not really).
 

 

We Still Have a Lot of Growing (And Healing) To Do

 

 

What adult anime lesson list would be complete without a mention of Cowboy Bebop? Often considered the pinnacle of the medium, this series touches on a lot of themes that can be relevant to adulthood. There’s leaving the past in the past, finding the balance between relying on others and handling your responsibilities and fighting killer clowns in space. 

 

Sorry, maybe that last one isn’t so universal. 

 

RELATED: How Confidence Helped Cowboy Bebop Create An Enduring Legacy

 

Cowboy Bebop is a bit different than most popular anime because of the characters’ places in life. Instead of being a crew made up of teenagers, most of the characters are adults who, well, still have some growing to do. Despite how animated they can get with each other, Spike, Jet, and Faye are more muted and stoic when dealing with their more personal stories.

 

Personally, I found this refreshing, as no two people live the exact same life so no two people will heal the same way. Whether they realize it or not, Spike, Jet, and Faye are helping each other share the load a little bit. After all, if most anime is anything to go off of, friendship is one of the most powerful tools in the world. Even when you feel like you’re better off dealing with everything on your own, it’s more manageable when you have help.